The Land
A forest fire in 1988 burned 47,000 acres (190 km²) of the mountain range, leaving carpets of seedlings growing into new lodgepole pine forests. The land has been used extensively in the past for gold and silver mining, logging, and open range grazing, leaving a noticeable impact; most notably the abandoned mining town of Elkhorn. Recently with efforts conducted by the BLM, Montana FWP and Helena National Forest, new conservation and wildlife management plans have been put into place including big horn sheep reintroduction and the westslope cutthroat trout restoration program. Management of the 2000+ elk heard in the area and the suppression of noxious weeds is also an ongoing task.
Despite the impacts of mining, around 100,000 acres of the Elkhorns were still roadless as of 1992; this included 85,000 acres of roadless National Forest land as well as adjacent BLM, state and private lands. Congress designated 175,000 acres of the range as the "Elkhorns Wildlife Management Area," and one of Montana's most productive elk herds inhabits the range. Because the Elkhorns are higher in elevation than the nearby section of the Continental Divide, they catch more moisture than do most other ranges east of the Divide. For this reason, the Elkhorns are especially diverse, with 148 documented vertebrate species.
Read more about this topic: Elkhorn Mountains
Famous quotes containing the word land:
“The land may vary more;
But wherever the truth may be—
The water comes ashore,
And the people look at the sea.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“The great fact in life, the always possible escape from dullness, was the lake. The sun rose out of it, the day began there; it was like an open door that nobody could shut. The land and all its dreariness could never close in on you. You had only to look at the lake, and you knew you would soon be free.”
—Willa Cather (1873–1947)