The Gallatin National Forest (now known as the Custer-Gallatin National Forest) is a

United States National Forest In the United States, national forest is a classification of protected and managed federal lands. National forests are largely forest and woodland areas owned collectively by the American people through the federal government, and managed by ...

located in South-West

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 Columb ...

. Most of the Custer-Gallatin goes along the state's southern border, with some of it a part of North-West

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

Geography

The forest area comprises a total of with around located in the Gallatin Forest area and within the Custer. Most of the Gallatin borders

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowst ...

and is a part of the

Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) is one of the last remaining large, nearly intact ecosystems in the northern temperate zone of the Earth. It is located within the northern Rocky Mountains, in areas of northwestern Wyoming, southwestern M ...

, an area which encompasses almost in and around the park. The Custer National Forest is spread out along Eastern Montana and the North-West side of Wyoming, with most of its land being held in Montana. The forest stretches through about six counties, including Park, Gallatin, Sweet Grass, Madison,

Carbon Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent—its atom making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds. It belongs to group 14 of the periodic table. Carbon mak ...

, and Meagher. There are six separate

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually highe ...

ranges within the forest including the Gallatin, Madison, Bridger, Crazy, Absaroka, and Beartooth Ranges. The Beartooth's are home to Granite Peak, which at , is the highest point both in the forest and in Montana. A separate section of the forest north of Livingston, Montana, is located in the Crazy Mountains which rise over above the Great Plains to the east. The forest includes two wilderness areas, the Absaroka–Beartooth and the Lee Metcalf, along with some of the tributaries for the

Yellowstone Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...

, Madison, and

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

rivers.

Wilderness Areas

* Absaroka–Beartooth Wilderness () * Lee Metcalf Wilderness ().

Wildlife and vegetation

While the lower elevations are often covered in grasses and

sagebrush Sagebrush is the common name of several woody and herbaceous species of plants in the genus '' Artemisia''. The best known sagebrush is the shrub '' Artemisia tridentata''. Sagebrushes are native to the North American west. Following is an al ...

, higher altitudes support Douglas fir, with several species of spruce, cottonwood and

aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the '' Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (Chin ...

being the dominant tree species. Of the of streams and

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

s there are major tributaries of the

Yellowstone River The Yellowstone River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately long, in the Western United States. Considered the principal tributary of upper Missouri, via its own tributaries it drains an area with headwaters across the mountains a ...

, which bisects the western and eastern sections of the forest running through Paradise Valley. Major tributaries of the Missouri River, the Gallatin and

Madison River The Madison River is a headwater tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 183 miles (295 km) long, in Wyoming and Montana. Its confluence with the Jefferson and Gallatin rivers near Three Forks, Montana forms the Missouri River. Th ...

s, also are found in the forest. The habitat supports over 300 wildlife species, including the grizzly bear, bald eagle, and peregrine falcon. Many western North American species are represented in this climax ecosystem including elk,

mule deer The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer. Unlike the related whi ...

, bison,

moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult ma ...

bighorn sheep The bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') is a species of sheep native to North America. It is named for its large horns. A pair of horns might weigh up to ; the sheep typically weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates three distinct subspec ...

pronghorn The pronghorn (, ) (''Antilocapra americana'') is a species of artiodactyl (even-toed, hoofed) mammal indigenous to interior western and central North America. Though not an antelope, it is known colloquially in North America as the American a ...

, cougar, gray wolf and

black bear Black bear or Blackbear may refer to: Animals * American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species * Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species Music * Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...

. Fish within the numerous rivers and other bodies of water include

white sucker The white sucker (''Catostomus commersonii)'' is a species of freshwater cypriniform fish inhabiting the upper Midwest and Northeast in North America, but it is also found as far south as Georgia and as far west as New Mexico. The fish is common ...

longnose sucker The longnose sucker (''Catostomus catostomus'') is a species of cypriniform freshwater fish in the family Catostomidae. It is native to North America from the northern United States to the top of the continent. It is also found in Russia in ri ...

mountain sucker The mountain sucker (''Catostomus platyrhynchus'') is a sucker found throughout western North America, on both sides of the Rocky Mountains, including the upper Missouri River, Columbia River, Sacramento River, and Colorado River. It is not li ...

longnose dace The longnose dace (''Rhinichthys cataractae'') is a freshwater minnow native to North America. ''Rhinicthys'' means snout fish (reference to the long snout) and ''cataractae'' means of the cataract (first taken from Niagara Falls). Longnose dace ...

, western mosquitofish, mottled sculpin, and gamefish such as Yellowstone cutthroat trout,

mountain whitefish The mountain whitefish (''Prosopium williamsoni'') is one of the most widely distributed salmonid fish of western North America. It is found from the Mackenzie River drainage in Northwest Territories, Canada south through western Canada and ...

, and the introduced rainbow trout, brown trout, and brook trout. Various subspecies of

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', '' Salmo'' and '' Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salm ...

are plentiful in the streams and they contribute to the forest being one of the preeminent fly fishing regions in the United States. The population of Yellowstone cutthroat trout in and near Gallatin National Forest have been at risk of hybridization with rainbow trout.

History

The forest was founded in 1899 as a part of the Northern U.S. Forest Service, eventually being named after

Albert Gallatin Abraham Alfonse Albert Gallatin (January 29, 1761 – August 12, 1849) was a Genevan–American politician, diplomat, ethnologist and linguist. Often described as "America's Swiss Founding Father", he was a leading figure in the early years o ...

(1761–1849), a U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and scholar of Native American languages and cultures. In 1959, a 7.2-magnitude

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...

occurred in Madison Canyon outside of Yellowstone National Park, resulting in a massive landslide that blocked the Madison River and formed what we know as Quake Lake. As of 2014, the Gallatin National Forest and Custer National Forest were merged administratively in order to combat rising costs, with a new management plan created for both national forests in 2020.

Management

Since 2014, the Gallatin and Custer National Forests are managed together as the Custer–Gallatin National Forest with a headquarters in Bozeman, Montana and an additional office in

Billings Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the seat of Yellowstone County and the principal city of the Billings Met ...

. There are seven local ranger district offices for the forest, with locations in West Yellowstone, Livingston, Bozeman, Gardiner, Ashland, and Red Lodge for Montana and Camp Crook for South Dakota.

Access

There's access to the forest off Interstate 90 South on

U.S. Highway 89 U.S. Route 89 (US 89) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway with two sections, and one former section. The southern section runs for from Flagstaff, Arizona, to the southern entrance of Yellowstone National Park. The northern section ...

from Livingston, Montana, to Gardiner, Montana, or South on U.S. 191 from Bozeman, Montana, to West Yellowstone. Over of

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. ...

s are located in the forest providing access to wilderness areas and interlinking with trails in

. There are almost 40

vehicle A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles (motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters for disabled people), railed vehicles (trains, trams), ...

accessible campgrounds scattered throughout the forest, numerous picnic areas, and even cabins that can be rented for a nominal fee through the forest's district offices. West Yellowstone, Montana provides access both into the forest and to Yellowstone National Park and is a popular

snowmobile A snowmobile, also known as a Ski-Doo, snowmachine, sled, motor sled, motor sledge, skimobile, or snow scooter, is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. It is designed to be operated on snow and ice and does not ...

center during the winter. Nighttime temperatures can be below

freezing Freezing is a phase transition where a liquid turns into a solid when its temperature is lowered below its freezing point. In accordance with the internationally established definition, freezing means the solidification phase change of a liquid ...

any time of the year, and

mosquito Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...

es in the late spring and early summer are abundant. Summertime high temperatures average in the 70s Fahrenheit (21–26 °C), and the wintertime lows can drop below −40 degrees. Most of the

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

falls in the form of snow with some places averaging over annually. File:Daisy Pass - Gallatin National Forest (3762835307).jpg, Daisy Pass near

Cooke City, Montana Cooke City is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Park County, Montana, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 75. Prior to 2010, it was part of the Cooke City-Silver Gate CDP. The community si ...

File:Gallatin National Forest 99-6512 (5881293246).jpg, A view of Gallatin National Forest in 1921 File:Gallatin National Forest 99-6591 (5881304604).jpg, A photograph taken of the Forest in 1962 File:Looking south over Yellowstone from Gallatin National Forest (14924610824).jpg,

, seen from Gallatin File:Building Destruction (3856477518).jpg, The remains of a building damaged by the 1959 Yellowstone earthquake

References

External links

Custer-Gallatin National Forest
- official site
Gallatin County Emergency Management

Gallatin National Forest Ranger Log Books, 1906-1930.
Held at

Montana State University Archives and Special Collections The Montana State University Archives and Special Collections, also known as the Merrill G. Burlingame Archives and Special Collections, is located in Bozeman, Montana. The archives is on the second floor of the Renne Library on the Montana State U ...

{{authority control National Forests of Montana National Forests of the Rocky Mountains Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Protected areas established in 1899 Protected areas of Gallatin County, Montana Protected areas of Park County, Montana Protected areas of Sweet Grass County, Montana Protected areas of Madison County, Montana Protected areas of Carbon County, Montana Protected areas of Meagher County, Montana 1899 establishments in Montana