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Mission Mountains Wilderness Flathead Nazionafou4t Montana

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Mission Mountains Wilderness Flathead Nazionafou4t Montana A Proposal. Mission Mountains Wilderness Flathead NaZionaFou4t Montana beyond civilization lies Wilderness, where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOREST SERVICE 7'-'i"J - t7 A PROPOSAL MISSION MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS FLATHEAD NATIONAL FOREST MONTANA Recommended by: (Chief, Forest Service) ir"17' Report Approved: /77/ (éetar of Agriculture) tate) Report on the Proposed MISSION MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS Flathead National Forest Montana Recommendation: This report recommends that 71,927 acres of the Mission Mountains Primitive Area and 1 ,280 contiguous acres, for a total of 73,207 acres, in the Flathead National Forest, State of Montana, be added to the National Wilderness Preservation System by Act of Congress. It will be called the Mission Mountains Wilderness, Flathead National Forest. Administration will be in accordance with the provisions of the Wilderness Act, Public Law 88-577, dated September 3, 1964, and the Regulations of the Secretary of Agriculture, Title 36, Code of Federal Regulations 251.70-251.84. It is further recommended that Primitive Area status be lifted from 2,018 acres found to be unsuitable for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System. U. S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Northern Region Missoula, Montana TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE SUMMARY Location Principal Features and Attractions Proximity to Population and Other Classified Areas Acreage Summary I THE AREA 2 Historical 2 General Description 3 Important Scenic and Land Features 3 Climate 3 Forest and Other Vegetative Cover 3 RESOURCES 4 Wilderness Recreation Wildlife 6 Water 6 Forage 7 Forest Cover 7 Geology and Minerals 8 PUBLIC INTEREST 9-10-11 MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS 12 Structures and Activities 12 Fire 12 Forest Insects and Diseases 12 Land Adjustments and Non-Federal Lands 13 CONCLUSIONS 14 Areas Suitable for Wilderness 14-15-16 Areas Not Suitable for Wilderness 17-18-19 Other Areas Receiving Consideration 19-20 APPENDIX 23 Boundary Description and Map Views of Other Agencies and Officials of Government Special Management Prescriptions for Proposed Exclusions 1-6 Summary of Inventoried Potential Winter Sports Sites Wilderness Act (P.L. 88-577) Secretary of Agriculture's Regulations North Face of Gray Wolf Peak, Mission Mountains MISSION MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS (PROPOSED) KEY MAP jLkFatty Ced:r L._. \ Ph cf (. SSION MOUNTAINS ESS yopoeo t) it ic,..a LAKE CO MISSOtJLA CO OJ,n,1 a0 .LfCoJ4L FLATNEAO CON DO N LEGEND Proposed Wilderness 8owda'y -. - Cowify Line Pr,vo/e Land Red Ft; z2.PkMCOO;C 1NAr1 PAnorao,C * Cha,Ie L Mountaneer Utn Park LOLO NATIONAL FONEST Sa GrARWaU Gray / SCALE 0 T 2 3 4 3MIIfl SUMMARY LOCATION craggy mountain peaks offer abundant op- portunitiesforprimitive The proposed Mission Mountains Wilder- andunconfined ness is a part of the Flathead National Forest. recreation, for solitude and challenge. It gen- It is located in the Mission Mountain Range in erally meets all the criteria set forth in the portions of Lake and Missoula Counties in Wilderness Act. Man's hand has been very light northwestern Montana. It is 65 miles south of on the area, except at a few of the lakes near Kalispell and 85 miles north of Missoula, Mon- the eastern boundary. Except for recreation tana. there has been no esource use development or management.The area offers great op Access to the area is gained by secondary portunities for scientific and '..ij.Istudy roads leading from Montana Highway No. now and in the futiiiIt is well known or its 209 and from U. S. 93; trails from the latter scenic quality. pass through the Flathead Indian Reservation which borders the entire western boundary of The area has a primitive environment of the proposed Wilderness. natural rugged beauty and remoteness in which visitors can experience solitude, self-reliance, PRINCIPAL FEATURES AND and serenity. Man can completely isolate him- ATTRACTIONS self from civilization in this area. Numerous lakes, some of which provide The Mission Range is an outstandingly good fishing for...cjjtthrot, brook, org scenic part of undeveloped America. trout add to the area's recreation attractive- ness. Glaciated crests, snow-capped peaks, per- manent glaciers and snow fields, alpine lakes, PROXIMITY TO POPULATION AND clear streams, and waterfalls are typical. Top- OTHER CLASSIFIED AREAS ography is severe. Vertical cliffs, knife-edged ridges, cirques, and talus slopes characterize The area is within 175 miles of four of the Missions. the six largest Montana cities; Helena (popula- tion 22,700), Butte (population 23,400),j- The varied wildlife is one of the area's ouJa (population 50,700), and Great Falls main attractions. The Missions contain zzjy (population68,500).Kalispell (population bear, mai lain_oat, elk, mule deer, white- 10,500) is 65 miles away and Billings (popu- black bear and iolverine, lation 61,600) is 380 miles. Spokane, Wash- and pTrie marten inhabit ington (population 183,000)is290 miles the area and, though seldom seen, their tracks away. in the snow addt rest to,,winter tfps. 7 4t444' The 950,000-acre Bob Marshall Wilder- The wilderness resource of the area is ness is1 5 miles east of the Missions. Glacier truly outstanding. The forest-covered lower National Park (I ,000,000 acres) is 100 miles hills, the subalpine cirques and lakes, and the north. ACREAGE SUMMARY Mission Mountains Primitive Area 73,945 Additions + 1,280 Exclusions "$8 Mission Mountains Wilderness THE AREA HISTORICAL Divide from their reservation intoArI what is now The historical name "Mission Mountains" lakes. The is traced directly to the Catholic priests whose 1IIiideveloped mostf the nikT? missionary endeavors with the Salish-Flathead trails which exists today. They took game tribes contributed to the culture of the valley randfish which were dried, smoked, and west of these mountains during the 19th cen- packed out to their reservations. Arrowheads, tury. beads, and other artifacts are occasionally During the late 1800's and early 1900's, found along the shores of lakes andold / traveled over the Mission campsites. 2 GENERAL DESCRIPTION IMPORTANT SCENIC AND 'l' LAND FEATURES The Mission Mountains are within the Glaciation has produced spectacular fea- Flathead National Forest in northwest Mon- tures such as high craggy peaks, vertical cliffs, tana. The proposed Wilderness extends along knife-edged ridges, and many amphitheater- the east slope of the Mission Range in Lake like basins. tour permnerit glaciers remain and Missoula counties, 65 miles southeast of today. Many alpine mountain lakes are sur- Kalispell, and 85 miles northeast of Missoula. rounded by open slopes with a profusion of The territory is 2-7 miles wide and 30 miles summer season wild flowers. Along the Mis- long, in a north-south direction. Two paved sion Divide, wind-deformed, grotesque- highways, Montana Highway 209 and U. S. shaped trees are a prominent feature. Clear, Highway 93, are located east and west of the pure water cascades over bedrock streambeds area in the Swan and Mission Valleys. All- to the Swan Valley. purpose forest, farm, recreation, and logging Topography, particularly in the southern roads extend from these highways toward the portion is severe.Elevations vary from 4,500 boundaries. to 9,369 feet above sea level. Some of the out- Appendix A contains a detailed descrip- standing mountains include Gray Wolf Peak, tion of the boundary of the proposed Wilder- Sunset Crags, Goat Mountain, Mountaineer ness. The area is depicted on a map in this re- Peak, Panoramic Peak, and Daughter-of-the- port and on file in the offices of the Forest Sun Mountain. This array of sharp peaks and Supervisor, Flathead National Forest, Kalis- severely broken country offers the backpacker pell, Montana, and the Regional Forester, a hiking and mountain climbing challenge. Missoula, Montana. Panoramic views of the Bob Marshall Wilder- The proposed Wilderness contains 73,207 ness, Glacier National Park, and surrounding acres, which includes 2,865 acres of private valleys are an added a ction land. Recommended for inclusion in this pro- There are about'akes var ing froth posal are 71,927 acres of the existing Mission small potholes tot e 325-acre Gra1Vii' Mountains Primitive Area and 1,280 acres Lake. Outstanding scenië1ëflncude High adjacent to the Primitive Area. Two thousand Park, Lost, Turquoise, Elk, Cold, Frigid, Jim eighteen acres of the Primitive Area are recom- Lakes, Crystal, Glacier, Hemlock, Cedar, Piper, mended for exclusion. Crescent, Island, and Heart. The Mission Mountains Primitive Area was CLIMATE establfshed October31, 1 93J, by Chief Forest- Summers are short, with a usual growing erR.Sivariin ërauthority of Regulation season of 60 days or less. Frost occurs every L-20. The area contained about 67,000 acres month of the year. Temperatures rarely rise which included about 18,500 acres of Northern above 85 degrees. Annual precipitation aver- Pacific Railway Company lands. In 1939,8,500 ages 50-60 inches, mostly in the form of snow. acres were added to the northern part of the Primitive Area of which about 3,500 acres FORESTAND OTHER VEGETATIVE COVER belonged to the Northern Pacific Company. Vegetative cover varies with elevation. On In 1952, 19,124 acres in the Primitive Area the lower slopes are Western larch, Douglas- were acquired by the Government from the fir, and spruce forests. Higher up in the Mission Northern Pacific Company through an ex- Range, meadows, parks, lakes, beargrass, and change for lands elsewhere. The remaining flower-covered slopes; scattered alpine larch, 2,865 acres of private land in the Primitive whitebark pine, and alpine fir characterize the Area are being acquired by the Government scene. Above timberline, which is about 8,000 through another land exchange with Burling- feetonly sedges, lichens, moss and small ton Northern Inc.
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