Bison herd grazing at the National Bison Range

The National Bison Range Complex includes four

National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge System is a designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is the system of public lands and waters set aside to c ...

s and the Northwest Montana Wetland Management District, and is located in the northwestern region of

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

in the northwestern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Administration

All of the refuges and associated lands are managed from headquarters at the

National Bison Range The Bison Range (BR) is a nature reserve on the Flathead Indian Reservation in western Montana established for the conservation of American bison. Formerly called the National Bison Range, the size of the bison herd at the BR is 350 adult bison ...

by the

US Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...

, an agency under the

US Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...

. The National Bison Range is located near Moiese, off

U.S. Highway 93 U.S. Route 93 (US 93) is a major north–south United States highway, numbered highway in the western United States. The southern terminus is at U.S. Route 60 in Arizona, US 60 in Wickenburg, Arizona. The northern terminus is at the ...

, and north of

Missoula Missoula ( ; fla, label=Salish language, Séliš, Nłʔay, lit=Place of the Small Bull Trout, script=Latn; kut, Tuhuⱡnana, script=Latn) is a city in the U.S. state of Montana; it is the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, Missoula Cou ...

Geography

The different units are scattered throughout the

Flathead Valley The Flathead Valley is a region of the U.S. state located in the Northwestern Montana. It includes parts of Flathead County and Lake County. Notable communities include Kalispell, Bigfork, Whitefish, Columbia Falls, Polson, Ronan, and St. ...

, Mission Valley, and Pleasant Valley. They include habitats of open water and open

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

s, cliff tops and tree tops, pine groves, and

quaking aspen ''Populus tremuloides'' is a deciduous tree native to cooler areas of North America, one of several species referred to by the common name aspen. It is commonly called quaking aspen, trembling aspen, American aspen, mountain or golden aspen, tr ...

groves.

Bison Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North Ame ...

herds are protected and supported within them.

Protected areas

;Refuges: *

Lost Trail National Wildlife Refuge Lost Trail National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge of the United States located in Montana. Established in 1999, it is one of the newest National Wildlife Refuges in the U.S. and is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, a ...

Ninepipe National Wildlife Refuge Ninepipe National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge and unit of the National Bison Range Complex, located in Lake County, Montana. It was established in 1921, and is within the Flathead Indian Reservation (known as the Tribal Trust ...

Pablo National Wildlife Refuge Pablo National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge of the United States located in northwestern Montana. It is a unit of the National Bison Range Complex of refuges. It is within the Flathead Indian Reservation (known as the Tribal Trus ...

Swan River National Wildlife Refuge Swan River National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge in Lake County of northwestern Montana. It is a unit of the National Bison Range Complex. Description The refuge was primarily set aside to protect prime habitat for various sp ...

;Wetlands management: * Northwest Montana Wetland Management District :Administration: *

The Ninepipe, Swan River, and Pablo National Wildlife Refuges are not permanently staffed. However, the Lost Trail Refuge and National Bison Range both have interpretive visitor centers and naturalists.

References

External links

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.gov: About the National Bison Range Complex
* National Wildlife Refuges in Montana Bison herds Nature reserves in Montana Protected areas of Flathead County, Montana Protected areas of Lake County, Montana Protected areas of Missoula County, Montana Protected areas of Sanders County, Montana {{Montana-protected-area-stub

Administration

Geography

Protected areas

See also

References

External links