Helena National Forest

Elkhorns Wildlife Management Unit

History and Management

Elkhorns: History and Management

photo by Leslie O'Neil

The Elkhorn Mountains, roughly 300,000 acres in southwest Montana, is managed in partnership as the Elkhorn Cooperative Management Area (EMCA), where different agencies work together to manage the mountain range regardless of political boundaries. The EMCA is managed by the Beaverhead-Deerlodge and Helena National Forests, the Butte Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks (MDFWP).

Together, since 1992, these agencies have focused their efforts on the re-introduction of bighorn sheep, a comprehensive travel plan, improved livestock management throughout the mountain range, a strategy for conserving cutthroat trout, maintaining and reconstructing trails and trailheads, reintroducing fire as a process on the landscape, reclaiming abandoned mines, as well as a variety of other projects.

ELKHORNS WORKING GROUP The purpose of the Elkhorn Mountains Working Group is to advise the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, & Parks, the USDA Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management in the development of collaborative recommendations related to wildlife/livestock management strategies in the Elkhorn's.  PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE Mark Meloy said in an article in Montana Magazine “Undoubtedly, all long-time residents have a soft spot in their hearts for some wild place in Montana.” While the Elkhorns have been my full time job for the past 11 years, I must admit that they have also become my “soft spot”. In addition to being a source of endless challenges, they have given me solace and fed me spiritually. The Elkhorns seem to be one of those places that cast a spell on the people who go there often, and like Mark, I am willingly under their spell forever.

USDA Forest Service - Helena National Forest
Last Modified: Monday, 25 June 2007 at 12:49:59 EDT