Welcome to the Northern Region!

Adventure beckons

From steep mountains to rolling prairies, come discover the rich landscapes of the Northern Region!

Visit your Northern Region Forests and Grasslands

Flathead National Forest
USDA Forest Service Photo
View full-sized photo on Flickr

Northern Region Orders, Alerts, and Notices

The Northern Region manages 25 million acres of public lands across 5 states. Our 12 National Forests spread across North Idaho, Montana, and a sliver of northeastern Washington. The 4 National Grasslands of the Dakota Prairie Grasslands are in North Dakota and northwestern South Dakota. Come experience the best of your public lands!

  • Northern  Region Fire Hiring  

    Phase 1 Hiring for 2024 Jobs opens August 31, 2023!

    Each year we hire permanent GS-3 to GS-9 fire positions in four phases throughout the year. The Northern Region fills 150 to over 200 permanent fire positions across 10 National Forests and Grasslands in Idaho, Montana, and North Dakota.

    Fire Hiring

  • Work With Us

    There’s so much you can do in a Forest Service career! Our extraordinary diversity of employment occupations and locations makes it easy to find a position to suit your talents.

    Jobs in the Northern Region

  • Confronting the Wildfire Crisis

    The Northern Region is home to two designated Wildland Fire Crisis Landscapes in Montana and Idaho: The Kootenai Complex and the Nez Perce-Clearwater-Lower Salmon Landscape that includes the watersheds of the Clearwater, Salmon, and Snake Rivers in the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests.

    Learn How We are Confronting the Wildfire Crisis

  • Great American Outdoors Act

    Bridge timbers are stacked along side a gravel road in the mountains, with workers in hardhats cabling them for helicopter pickup.

    The GAOA is allowing us to invest in recreation infrastructure, public lands access, and land and water conservation.

    Discover the things the Northern Region Forests and Grasslands are doing to make improvements in our public land resources!

    Northern Region GAOA

  • Rent a Room with a View

    A white one-room fire lookout cabin sitting on a rocky mountain peak with a wide vista behind.

    The Northern Region is home to rental cabins and lookouts across Montana and Northern Idaho.  Which one will you visit next?

    Rent a Cabin or Lookout

  • Interagency Recreation Passes

    Interagency recreation passes provide access to recreation sites managed by a number of Federal agencies.

    Interagency Recreation Passes

  • Mushroom Harvesting

    Three tan mushrooms with wrinkly oblong heads grow in a group from the forest floor.

    Past wildfires bring with them the possibility of bumper mushroom crops!

    Find out about Harvesting Mushrooms

  • The Wildfire Crisis Strategy

    Learn more about the National 10-year strategy to address the wildfire epidemic across landscapes nationwide, including the Northern Region.

    Read more about the Wildfire Strategy

  • Shared Stewardship in the Northern Region

    Shared Stewardship is an invitation to States, Tribes, local governments, partners and stakeholders to set landscape-scale priorities, leverage resources, and work across boundaries to improve forest and watershed conditions, and protect communities. Learn about efforts in the Northern Region to work more deliberately with our neighbors and partners to expand forest restoration and treatments across boundaries, resulting in a more resilient landscape.

    Northern Region Shared Stewardship