Lewis and Clark National Forest is located in west central Montana, United States. Spanning 2,912 square miles (7,500km2), 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. Here, 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]
The forest lands were defined and established by the federal government in 1897, following its Treaty of 1896 with the Blackfeet establishing their adjacent reservation. This 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.
Prior to that, 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 National Forest has 29 vehicle-accessible campgrounds. Two ski areas also operate within the forest. Almost 1,500 miles (2,400km) of hiking trails provide access to remote locations in the seven different mountain ranges within the Forest. Solitude is most common in the Crazy Mountains and in the wilderness areas near the Continental divide. Summertime average high temperatures are in the 70s°F (20s°C), but the winter can be very cold, especially in the more exposed eastern sections. Snow can linger for up to 10 months of the year along the Continental divide.
In the late 19th century, after the end of the Indian Wars, the federal government worked to move Native American tribes on to Indian reservations, requiring them to cede land and extinguish their land claims to large areas of territory. The United States wanted to open the West to settlement and development by European Americans. The Blackfeet Indian Reservation, with members mostly of the Piegan Blackfeet branch, was established by Treaty of 1896 to the east of this forest area and Glacier National Park, bordering the province of Alberta, Canada, to the north.
The forest was established on February 22, 1897, as the Lewis and Clarke Forest Reserve under the management of the United States General Land Office. On June 9, 1903, the Flathead Forest Reserve was added, and on March 2, 1907, the spelling was changed to Lewis and Clark, and land was added. The forest territory had been transferred to the U.S. Forest Service in 1906, and was designated by the government as a National Forest.
The Badger-Two Medicine area is a 200 square miles (520km2) portion of the Lewis and Clark Forest that is adjacent to the Blackfeet Reservation and Glacier National Park. It is sacred ground for the Blackfeet tribe. The Treaty of 1896 gives Blackfeet tribal members the right to hunt and fish the area in accordance with state law and to cut wood for domestic use.[8] The Blackfeet have battled to protect Badger-Two Medicine by keeping the area roadless and by fighting proposed oil and gas drilling all along the Front, which is managed largely by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).[9] The Blackfeet have been assisted by conservation groups, preservationists (including the National Trust for Historic Preservation), outdoor sportsmen, ranchers and business owners.[10][11]
Approximately 93,000 acres (38,000ha) are currently recognized as eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) as a traditional cultural district (TCD), but proponents continue to lobby to have the entire Badger-Two Medicine area recognized as an eligible TCD.[10]
The U.S. Forest Service has banned motorized travel on 186 miles of trails in 2009.[12] In January 2011, a federal district judge cleared the roadblock on the U.S. Forest Service's Badger-Two Medicine travel plan. The plan allows motorized access on 8 miles (13km) of established trails and bans all snowmobile travel.[13][10]