DEFINITION OF WILDERNESS (Wilderness Act - 1964)
A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain. An area of wilderness is further defined to mean in this Act an area of undeveloped Federal land retaining its primeval character and influence, without permanent improvements or human habitation, which is protected and managed so as to preserve its natural conditions and which
 (1) generally appears to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of man's work substantially unnoticeable;
(2) has outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation;
 (3) has at least five thousand acres of land or is of sufficient size as to make practicable its preservation and use in an unimpaired condition; and
(4) may also contain ecological, geological, or other features of scientific, educational, scenic, or historical value.

The state of Montana is roughly 94,105,600 acres. Of that acreage, 3,501,410 acres (5,470.95 Sq Miles) are federally protected as wilderness in Montana. Montana is also home to several of the largest wilderness areas in the Lower 48.

Listed below are the 15 Wilderness Areas of Montana :

Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness Total Acres: 937,032 acres Year Designated: 1978 Agency: US Forest Service

Anaconda Pintler Wilderness Total Acres: 158,712 acres Year Designated: 1964 Agency: US Forest Service

Bob Marshall Wilderness Total Acres: 1,062,694 acres Year Designated: 1964 Agency: US Forest Service

Cabinet Mountains Wilderness  Total Acres: 93,272 acres Year Designated: 1964 Agency: US Forest Service

Gates Of The Mountains Wilderness  Total Acres: 28,460 acres Year Designated: 1964 Agency: US Forest Service

Great Bear Wilderness  Total Acres: 286,636 acres Year Designated: 1978 Agency: US Forest Service

Lee Metcalf Wilderness  Total Acres: 242,068 acres Year Designated: 1983 Agency: Bureau Of Land Management & US Forest Service

Medicine Lake Wilderness  Total Acres: 11,366 Year Designated: 1976 Agency: US Fish & Wildlife Service

Mission Mountains Wilderness  Total Acres: 74,597 acres Year Designated: 1975 Agency: US Forest Service

Rattlesnake Wilderness  Total Acres: 34,304 acres Year Designated: 1980 Agency: US Forest Service

Red Rock Lakes Wilderness  Total Acres: 32,350 acres Year Designated: 1976 Agency: US Fish & Wildlife Service

Scapegoat Wilderness  Total Acres: 259,756 acres Year Designated: 1972 Agency: US Forest Service

Selway Bitterroot Wilderness  Total Acres: 1,347,644 acres Year Designated: 1964 Agency: US Forest Service

UL Bend Wilderness  Total Acres: 20,819 acres Year Designated: 1976 Agency: US Fish & Wildlife Service

Welcome Creek Wilderness  Total Acres: 28,248 acres Year Designated: 1978 Agency: US Forest Service

The state of Montana is roughly 94,105,600 acres. Of that acreage, 3,501,410 acres (5,470.95 Sq Miles) are federally protected as wilderness in Montana. Montana is also home to several of the largest wilderness areas in the Lower 48.

       "Happy Rockhounding and Enjoy Your Public Lands"

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