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This 100,000 acre wild forest is shared with Idaho's 150,000 contiguous acres and is home to a great abundance of North America's wildlife species. Not only do elk and moose thrive here but the Great Burn is also home to the more elusive wolverine, lynx and wolf.

The Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery spent nearly a month in and along the Bitterroot Range in 1805 & 1806, at times within view of what we now call the Great Burn, which got its name after the Great Fire of 1910 and still contains magical pockets of great ancient western redcedar spared by the great fire.

Well-loved and very popular with Montanans, and especially the people of nearby Missoula, the Great Burn provides world-class recreational opportunities including backpacking, wildlife watching and hunting. The clear streams nurtured by this wild forest provide outstanding fishing and habitat for the threatened bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout. This incredible wilderness resource was previously protected under the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, adopted with broad public support in Montana and across the West.

However, the Bush administration repealed the Roadless Rule in May of 2005 and the protected status of the Great Burn is now in administrative limbo. In order for the Great Burn to be protected it needs to be designated as Wilderness.

To learn to how to help contact Bob Clark at bob.clark@sierraclub.org.