Lost Trail National Wildlife Refuge is located in the U.S. state of Montana and consists of 7,885 acres (32 km2). Established in 1999, it is one of the newest National Wildlife Refuges in the U.S. and is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior. The refuge was originally a sprawling horse and cattle ranch dating back to the late 19th century and was known as the Lost Trail Ranch. The refuge consists of prairie and wetlands, and has a wide diversity of plant and animal species, including over 100 species of birds such as canada geese, sandhill crane, wood duck, green-winged teals and herons. Several species of grouse also inhabit the refuge. Predatory bird species such as the great horned owl and red-tailed hawk are also found here.
Both the threatened grizzly bear and the endangered gray wolf have been seen in the refuge. Other mammals more commonly found include white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk (wapiti), moose and the black bear. The less common wolverine, badger, lynx, bobcat and marten have been recorded on the refuges known species list.
The refuge is located about 45 minutes west of Kalispell, Montana following U.S. Highway 2. The refuge is not permanently staffed and has few improvements. As a part of the National Bison Range Complex, this refuge is managed from the headquarters of the National Bison Range.
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—Eugène Ionesco (b. 1912)
“Perhaps of all our untamed quadrupeds, the fox has obtained the widest and most familiar reputation.... His recent tracks still give variety to a winter’s walk. I tread in the steps of the fox that has gone before me by some hours, or which perhaps I have started, with such a tip-toe of expectation as if I were on the trail of the Spirit itself which resides in the wood, and expected soon to catch it in its lair.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
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—Ida M. Tarbell (1857–1944)
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—Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904)
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—Thomas Gray (1716–1771)