Lewis and Clark National Forest

Lewis and Clark National Forest
Location	Montana, U.S.
Nearest city	Great Falls, Montana
Coordinates	47°11′N 111°27′W / 47.183°N 111.450°W / 47.183; -111.450
Area	1,863,788 acres (7,542.48 km2)[1]
Established	February 22, 1897[2]
Governing body	U.S. Forest Service
Website	Lewis and Clark National Forest

Lewis and Clark National Forest is located in west central Montana, United States. Spanning 2,912 square miles (7,500 km²). The region was inhabited by various cultures of Native Americans for a period of at least 8,000–10,000 years. When the Lewis and Clark Expedition came to this area, different areas of the large forest territory were used by members of the Blackfeet, Sioux, Cheyenne, Flathead and Crow nations for hunting and as an area for their seasonal winter camps. The forests provided shelter from the winter.

The forest lands were defined and established by the federal government in 1897, following its Treaty of 1896 with the Blackfeet forced to cede lands and move to a reservation adjacent to the national forest. The forest is one of the oldest forest preserves in the U.S. The forest is named in honor of the members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which passed through the forest between 1804 and 1806 while exploring the Louisiana Purchase for President Thomas Jefferson.

The forest is managed as two separate zones. The eastern sections, under the Jefferson Division, is a mixture of grass and shrublands dotted with island pockets of forested areas. Cattle leases to local ranchers as well as timber harvesting are the norm. The western Rocky Mountain Division, which straddles the Continental divide, is managed chiefly for environmental preservation, as much of the land has been designated as wilderness. Forest headquarters are located in Great Falls, Montana. Local ranger district offices have been established in Choteau, Harlowton, Neihart, Stanford, and White Sulphur Springs.^[3]