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Features
Be Bear Aware!
The Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest is home to both black and grizzly bears, and provides important habitat for bears and other wildlife to use throughout the year. Learning about bears will help you become a more knowledgeable visitor to the forest, and will help keep both you and bears safe while sharing the woods.
Protecting Our Forests and Communities
Message from Forest Supervisor Emily Platt on the importance of working with partners to reduce expensive and severe wildfires through hazardous fuels mitigation work.
Restoring Beaver Creek
Beaver Creek is the primary spawning tributary for the large migratory rainbow and brown trout that move up from Holter Reservoir in the spring and fall. Beaver Creek was listed as an impaired stream by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality for both sediment and riparian damage. The Forest Service and the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks had noted declines in spawning rainbow trout over the past 20 years due to angling pressure, predation, whirling disease, and continued habitat degradation. The Beaver Creek Restoration Project is working to restore 1.2 miles of stream to its natural state improving both water quality and fish habitat. This is a collaborative effort with many partners including NorthWestern Energy, River Design Group, MT Fish Wildlife and Parks, and Pat Barnes Trout Unlimited Chapter.
Great American Outdoors Act benefits recreational opportunities across Forest
The Great American Outdoors Act gave the USDA Forest Service new opportunities to deliver benefits to the American public through major investments in recreation infrastructure, public lands access, and land and water conservation. These investments will enable communities to Build Back Better by contributing to economic growth and job creation in rural America. GAOA provides permanent full funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) that will advance the Administration’s 30 x 30 conservation goals and establishes a new National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund (LRF) to address the deferred maintenance backlog for the Department of Agriculture and Department of the Interior in fiscal years 21-25.
Are e-bikes permitted on National Forests?
E-bikes are permitted on National Forest System Lands in designated areas. The Forest Service classifies e-bikes as motorized vehicles (36 CFR 212.1). E-bikes are welcome on all motorized trails and roads on the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest. Please visit the Helena-Lewis and Clark Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM) for motorized trail location and information.
Wilderness Regulations & Tips
Planning a trip into the Wilderness: The Bob, Great Bear or Scapegoat? Before you head for the mountains, be sure to know important Wilderness and backcountry tips, rules, and regulations.
Final Decision for NCDE Grizzly Bear Plan Amendment
The signed Record of Decision for the Forest Plan Amendments to Incorporate Habitat Management Direction for the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (NCDE) Grizzly Bear Population, Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest, Kootenai National Forest, and Lolo National Forest (December 2018) is now available on the Flathead National Forest's website or on our "Planning" webpage.
Considering Purchasing an Unpatented Mining Claim??
It is important for any prospective buyer to understand what an unpatented mining claim is, and what the rights of an owner of an unpatented mining claim are.
Maps for Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act--Wilderness Areas
In 2013 Congress designated an additional 67,160 acres of National Forest System lands along the Rocky Mountain Front as Wilderness land within the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex through the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act. Along with that designation change, new maps have been created to identify those new boundaries.
2024 Seasonal Hiring is Soon
Looking for an adventure next summer? Consider applying for one of our summer openings listed on www.USAJOBS.gov between this fall!
Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center to celebrate 25th anniversary
The Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center in Great Falls will be celebrating its 25th anniversary June 30-July 2, 2023. Learn about festivities that will take place this summer.
Christmas tree permits available!
This year, Christmas tree can be obtained online or at your local Forest Service office through December 31, 2022.
Lewis & Clark National Interpretive Center celebrates National Bison Day
On National Bison Day, Nov. 7, 2020, bison enthusiasts learned about the United States' National Mammal in a virtual cross-country learning expedition from the Prairie State to the Treasure State. The USDA Forest Service’s third annual “Bison Crawl” included live presentations from Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie in Illinois, the Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center in Montana and from nearby First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park. Presentations were broadcast live.
