The Rattlesnake Wilderness is located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Montana Montana () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West List of regions of the United States#Census Bureau-designated regions and divisions, division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North ...

. Created by an act of

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

in 1980, the wilderness is within

Lolo National Forest __NOTOC__ Lolo National Forest is a national forest located in western Montana, United States with the western boundary being the state of Idaho. The forest spans 2 million acres (8,000 km2) and includes four wilderness areas; the Scapegoat a ...

and is located only 4 miles (6.5 km) north of

Missoula, Montana Missoula ( ; fla, label= Séliš, Nłʔay, lit=Place of the Small Bull Trout, script=Latn; kut, Tuhuⱡnana, script=Latn) is a city in the U.S. state of Montana; it is the county seat of Missoula County. It is located along the Clark Fork Ri ...

. The wilderness area is a component of the

Rattlesnake National Recreation Area Rattlesnake National Recreation Area is a United States national recreation area located 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) north of Missoula, Montana in the Rattlesnake Creek drainage area. It is administered by the Lolo National Forest and is adjacent t ...

. It protects much of the high country of the Rattlesnake Mountains.

U.S. Wilderness Area The National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) of the United States protects federally managed wilderness areas designated for preservation in their natural condition. Activity on formally designated wilderness areas is coordinated by the Na ...

s largely do not allow motorized or mechanized vehicles, however bicycles are permitted within the Rattlesnake Wilderness on designated routes. Although

camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more natu ...

and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques ...

are allowed with proper permit, no roads or buildings are constructed and there is also no logging or

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...

, in compliance with the 1964

Wilderness Act The Wilderness Act of 1964 () was written by Howard Zahniser of The Wilderness Society. It created the legal definition of wilderness in the United States, and protected 9.1 million acres (37,000 km²) of federal land. The result of a lo ...

. Wilderness areas within

National Forests A state forest or national forest is a forest that is administered or protected by some agency of a sovereign or federated state, or territory. Background The precise application of the terms vary by jurisdiction. For example: * In Australia, a ...

and Bureau of Land Management areas also allow

hunting Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/ tusks, horn/ a ...

in season.

References

External links

* * * Protected areas of Missoula County, Montana Wilderness areas of Montana Forests and Wilderness Areas of Missoula County, Montana Lolo National Forest Protected areas established in 1980 1980 establishments in Montana {{MissoulaCountyMT-geo-stub