The Beaverhead–Deerlodge National Forest is the largest of the National Forests in Montana , United States. Covering 3.36 million acres (13,600 km), the forest is broken into nine separate sections and stretches across eight counties in the southwestern area of the state. President Theodore Roosevelt named the two forests in 1908 and they were merged in 1996. Forest headquarters are located in Dillon, Montana . In Roosevelt's original legislation, the Deerlodge National Forest was called the Big Hole Forest Reserve. He created this reserve because the Anaconda Copper Mining Company , based in Butte, Montana , had begun to clearcut the upper Big Hole River watershed. The subsequent erosion, exacerbated by smoke pollution from the Anaconda smelter, was devastating the region. Ranchers and conservationists alike complained to Roosevelt, who made several trips to the area. (Munday 2001)
23-532: The greatest part of the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness is located in the larger Beaverhead National Forest portion of 2,130,671 acres (8,622.52 km), which is 64% of the total area of the forest. The rest of this wilderness extends into the neighboring Deerlodge and Bitterroot National Forests . The Beaverhead section includes most of the Pioneer , Gravelly , and Sapphire Ranges. Both
46-460: A local ecotourism industry. In recent years, elk from Utah have been used to reestablish a population in Kentucky. In 2018, elk from Arizona were transported to West Virginia to help with reestablishing the population there. Unfortunately, a parasite, brainworm , has killed off some of the herd. In 1990, feasibility studies were conducted to determine if wild, free-ranging elk still had
69-418: A more commonly visited area, rises to 9,894 feet (3,016 m). Visitors can most easily access this area via trailheads at Pintler Lake to the south, and at Lutz Creek and Moose Lake to the north. The wilderness lies in parts of Deer Lodge , Granite , Ravalli , and Beaverhead counties. This segment of mountains was designated as a Primitive Area in 1937, and reclassified as a Wilderness Area in 1964. It
92-515: A place in some of their former eastern habitats. Once this was complete, healthy source herds of Rocky Mountain elk from Arizona , Kansas , New Mexico , North Dakota , Oregon , and Utah were used to introduce this elk subspecies to the former range of the extinct eastern elk . Their populated Canadian ranges occur in Alberta 's Jasper and Banff National Parks as well as British Columbia 's Kootenay and Yoho National Parks . As of 2010,
115-567: Is a subspecies of elk found in the Rocky Mountains and adjacent ranges of Western North America . The winter ranges are most common in open forests and floodplain marshes in the lower elevations. In the summer it migrates to the subalpine forests and alpine basins. Elk have a diverse habitat range that they can reside in but are most often found in forest and forest edge habitat and in mountain regions they often stay in higher elevations during warmer months and migrate down lower in
138-568: Is administered jointly by the Beaverhead-Deerlodge and Bitterroot National Forests. In 1964, Montana's Senator Mike Mansfield requested the National Park Service study the area's potential as a national park. The park service declined to pursue the idea. The name is derived from the town and its copper mining company and from Charles and Katie Pintler, homesteaders who in 1885 settled along Pintler Creek between
161-629: Is located in southwestern Montana , in the northwestern United States . It runs for 40 miles (64 km) along both sides of the crest of the Anaconda Range , covering almost 250 square miles (650 km ). To the north are the Sapphire Mountains , and to the south is the Big Hole Valley. Elevations range from about 5,000 feet (1,500 m) up to 10,793 feet (3,290 m) at West Goat Peak. West Pintler Peak, located in
184-549: The Big Hole National Battlefield and Wisdom. The forest north of Pintler Pass, including Johnson Lake, was heavily burnt by the Mussigbrod and other fires of 2000. Recreational opportunities abound. The mountains of this wilderness area and the excellent trail system make it a prime destination for peak baggers. West and East Goat Peaks, Warren Peak, Mount Evans, and Fish Peak are just a few of
207-834: The Centennial and Bitterroot mountain ranges are also located here, with the Continental divide found in the Bitterroot range. Lemhi Pass , at an elevation 7,323 feet (2,232 m) above sea level , is a rounded saddle in the Beaverhead Mountains of the Bitterroot Range, along the Continental Divide, between Montana and Idaho . Here, in 1805, the Lewis and Clark Expedition first saw
230-831: The Madison mountain range , is a part of what is known as the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem . However, most of the Lee Metcalf lies in neighboring Gallatin National Forest . The Beaverhead section lies, in descending order of land area, in parts of Beaverhead , Madison , Deer Lodge , and Silver Bow counties. There are local ranger district offices located in Dillon , Ennis , Wisdom , and Wise River . The smaller Deerlodge National Forest portion of 1,227,155 acres (4,966.12 km), at 37% of
253-629: The 10,000 feet (3,000 m) plus peaks that can be scrambled with no technical equipment. Many lakes in this wilderness area are well-stocked with trout and are popular fishing destinations. Popular lakes include Upper Seymour, Edith, Ivanhoe and Johnson Lakes. Wildlife watchers can see mountain goats , Rocky Mountain big horn sheep , and pika . Pintler Creek and the Pintler Homestead lie about 10 miles (16 km) south of Wisdom. Rocky Mountain elk Cervus elaphus nelsoni The Rocky Mountain elk ( Cervus canadensis nelsoni )
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#1732787656239276-607: The 1990s to the present. All Rocky Mountain elk in Washington are the result of reintroductions conducted in the early 1900s from Yellowstone elk herds. These initial reintroductions have expanded their range and have also been translocated within the State. Not all of these elk have all the habitat to be successful in large numbers; supplemental feeding programs are used to compensate for lost winter range . 72 Rocky Mountain elk were introduced into Pennsylvania in 1913, replacing
299-717: The National Forest are in Butte , Dillon (which is the headquarters location), Philipsburg , Deer Lodge , Whitehall , Boulder , Ennis , Sheridan , Wise River, Wisdom , and Lima . Interstate 15 and Interstate 90 , Montana Highway 43 and Montana Highway 278 , and the Pioneer Mountains Scenic Byway all provide access to forest service roads, trailheads and local communities near the forest. Pat Munday 2001. Montana's Last Best River: The Big Hole River and its People (Lyons Press). Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness The Anaconda–Pintler Wilderness
322-598: The Rocky Mountain elk herd was diagnosed with a serious disorder called chronic wasting disease (CWD). CWD affects the brain tissue of infected elk and is similar in symptoms to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad-cow disease (MCD). There is no evidence to conclude that elk CWD is transmittable to humans, and research concerning CWD and its effect on the eco-system continues. Environmental and CWD problems in Estes Park, Colorado , and, on
345-490: The climate warming has kept the snow at a lower level than in the past and has given the elk the ability to populate higher ranges than before. The lack of snow in Yellowstone has also given the elk an advantage over the wolves in their predator prey relationship because wolves rely on deep snow to hunt elk in winter ranges of Yellowstone. The total wild population is about one million individuals. The Rocky Mountain elk
368-600: The dominant tree species. Almost a third of the forest lands have no forest at all, and are instead rangeland with sagebrush , grass and the occasional cactus . The forest is also home to grizzly bear , cougar , Canadian lynx , bald eagle , bull trout , Arctic grayling , and gray wolf , the latter being a migrant from northern Montana and the Yellowstone wolf reintroduction program in Wyoming. Elk , mule deer , moose , bighorn sheep , pronghorn , coyote , and black bear are more commonly seen. The highest mountains in
391-686: The elk populations in New Mexico from near-zero numbers in the late 1800s and early 1900s, to healthy populations in the 1930s in Northern New Mexico. Population numbers of elk in Nebraska continued to increase through the 1970s and 1980s, to a level in which complaints from landowners in the Pine Ridge region led to the implementation of relatively liberal hunting seasons in the late 1980s. Elk numbers continued to increase through
414-564: The extinct eastern elk . Introductions continued for several decades, but legal and illegal hunting from the 1930s to the 1970s kept the state's population between 24 and 70 individuals. With improved research and management by the Pennsylvania Game Commission in the late 1970s, the population began to increase. The herd has continued to increase, and numbered approximately 1,350 individuals by 2020. They are legally hunted through strict permitting, and have also generated
437-530: The forest top out at over 11,000 feet (3,400 m). The Continental Divide National Scenic Trail and the Nez Perce National Historical Trail both pass through sections of the forest. In total, there are over 1,500 miles (2,400 km) of hiking trails , 50 campgrounds , dozens of lake and river boating access points and even 250 miles (400 km) of groomed snowmobile trails. Forest Service offices administering
460-589: The headwaters of the Columbia River , which flow to the Pacific Ocean , and crossed what was then the western boundary of the United States. Lemhi Pass was the point at which the members of the expedition realized that there was not a waterway that would lead from east to west across the continent. Lemhi Pass was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960. The Lee Metcalf Wilderness , in
483-926: The total area of the forest, encompasses much of the Tobacco Root Mountains and Flint Creek Range and parts of the Elkhorn Mountains ; it straddles the Continental Divide in the Boulder and Highland Mountains . A number of ghost towns serve as reminders of the extensive mining history of the region. The Deerlodge portion of the forest, located northwest of the Beaverhead portion, lies in sections of Granite , Jefferson , Silver Bow , Deer Lodge , Powell , and Madison counties. There are local ranger district offices located in Butte , Philipsburg , and Whitehall . Ponderosa pine , and various species of fir , spruce and juniper are
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#1732787656239506-403: The winter. They may even come down the mountain and leave the forest into some grassland for part of the day but head back into the timber in the evening. Climate change/warming can keep elk in their higher elevation habitats for longer into the winter than normal. Climate changes such as warming have in some cases even increased the seasonal range of elk in the winter. For example, in Yellowstone
529-476: Was reintroduced in 1913 to Colorado from Wyoming after the near extinction of the regional herds. While overhunting is a significant contributing factor, the elk's near extinction is mainly attributed to human encroachment and destruction of their natural habitats and migratory corridors. A year later, twenty-one elk from Jackson Hole, Wyoming were reintroduced to South Dakota 's Wind Cave National Park for population increase. Conservation efforts also brought
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