Wild Basics: Wilderness Factsheet
One way to describe wild lands is by the numbers. Here are some fast facts and some detailed factsheets to help you understand the state of Montana’s—and the Nation’s—wild lands.
Montana Roads, Roadless Areas and Wilderness Areas [click image to enlarge]
Montana Wilderness Facts
Montana landbase (acres): 94,109,542
Total Wilderness acres: 3,443,038
Percent of land base: 3.7%
Total number of Wilderness areas: 15
Total Forest Service Inventoried Roadless Area acres: 6,397,000
Percent of land base that is Roadless: 6.8%
Urbanization map of the United States showing urban areas (in black) and peri-urban areas (in green), based on city lights.
National Wilderness Facts
Total National Acres: 58 million
Total Wilderness acres nationwide: 107,436,608
State with most acres: Alaska contains 57,422,302 of the total acres, approximately 53%
Percent of national landbase: 4.41% of the continental United States. Excluding Alaska, wilderness comprises only 2.5%of our national landbase
Percent of land base that is Roadless: 2%
Loss of Roadless acres in past 20 years: Over 3.5 million
Learn more about Roadless Areas
State of Montana
Wilderness and Public Lands Statistics |
| Total Acres in Montana |
94,109,440 acres |
| Total Square Miles in Montana |
145,556 square miles |
| Total Remaining Montana Wildland Base |
9,839,100 acres |
| Total Wilderness Acres in Montana |
3,443,038 acres |
| Percent of Land Base |
3.7% |
| Total Number of Wilderness Areas |
15 |
| Total Unprotected Wilderness1 Acres in Montana |
6,397,000 acres |
| Percent of Land Base |
6.8% |
| Total Acres of Public Lands in Montana2 |
27,378,247 acres |
| Percent of Land Base |
29% |
| Total Public Acres by Managing Agency |
| Agency |
Acreage (% of Montana) |
| U.S. Forest Service |
16,893,000 (18%) |
| National Park Service |
1,222,314 (1%) |
| U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |
1,227,478 (1%) |
| Bureau of Land Management |
8,060,382 (9%) |
| Total |
27,378,247 (29%) |
| Federally Protected/Designated Wilderness |
3,443,038 (3.7%) |
| Designated Wilderness by Agency |
| Agency |
Acreage |
| U.S. Forest Service |
3,372,503 |
| U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |
64,535 |
| Bureau of Land Management |
6,000 |
| Total |
3,443,038 |
| Remaining Roadless Lands and Potential Wilderness |
| Agency |
Acreage |
| U.S. Forest Service |
5,337,694 |
| National Park Service |
1,037,160 |
| U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |
157,000 |
| Bureau of Land Management |
447,327 |
| Total |
6,979,181 |
| National Forests Acreage |
| Forest |
Supervision Office |
Approximage Acres |
| Beaverhead-Deerlodge |
Dillon |
3.32 million acres |
| Bitterroot |
Hamilton |
1.6 million acres |
| Custer |
Billings |
1.3 million acres |
| Flathead |
Kalispell |
2.3 million acres |
| Gallatin |
Bozeman |
1.8 million acres |
| Helena |
Helena |
975,407 acres |
| Kaniksu |
Coeur D’Alene, ID |
2.1 million acres |
| Kootenai |
Libby |
2.2 million acres |
| Lewis & Clark |
Great Falls |
1.8 million acres |
| Lolo |
Missoula |
2.0 million acres |
| National Forest Totals |
|
19.39 million acres |
| Forest Service Wilderness Areas Acreage |
| Wilderness/Forest |
Acres |
| Absaroka-Beartooth |
|
| Custer NF |
345,599 |
| Gallatin NF |
574,744 |
| Anaconda Pintler |
|
| Bitterroot NF |
41,162 |
| Bob Marshall |
|
| Flathead NF |
709,356 |
| Lewis & Clark NF |
300,000 |
| Cabinet Mountains |
|
| Kaniksu NF |
44,320 |
| Kootenai NF |
49,952 |
| Gates of the Mountains |
|
| Helena NF |
28,562 |
| Great Bear |
|
| Flathead NF |
286,700 |
| Lee Metcalf |
|
| Beaverhead NF |
107,694 |
| Gallatin NF |
140,594 |
| Mission Mountains |
|
| Flathead NF |
73,877 |
| Rattlesnake |
|
| Lolo NF |
32,976 |
| Scapegoat |
|
| Helena NF |
80,697 |
| Lewis & Clark NF |
84,407 |
| Lolo NF |
74,832 |
| Selway-Bitterroot |
|
| Bitterroot NF |
241,676 |
| Lolo NF |
9,767 |
| Welcome Creek |
|
| Lolo NF |
28,135
|
| Bureau of Land Management Wilderness Areas Acreage |
| Wilderness |
Acres |
| Lee Metcalf |
6,000
|
| U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Wilderness Areas Acreage |
| Wilderness |
Acres |
| Medicine Lake |
|
| Medicine Lake NWR |
11,366 |
| Red Rock Lakes |
|
| Red Rock Lakes NWR |
32,350 |
| UL Bend |
|
| UL Bend NWR |
20,819
|
| Total Wilderness Acres in Montana |
3,443,038
|
| National Wild, Scenic and Recreation Rivers Wilderness Areas Acreage |
| Wilderness |
NFS |
Other |
Total |
| Flathead National Wild River |
|
|
|
| Flathead NF |
38,346 |
19,054 |
57,400 |
Sources:
- U.S. Census TIGER data for State border
- The USGS National Hydrography Dataset
- Natural Heritage Program Stewardship/Ownership Data
- Duane F. Lund, GIS Programmer/Analyst, Montana State Library, Natural Resource Information System [dlund@state.mt.us]
- USDA Forest Service
For detailed information on each of Montana Wilderness Areas, we recommend you check Wilderness.net’s Montana page. [Please note: Montana Wilderness Association is not associated with Wilderness.net.]
