Mission Mountains - Ecology

Ecology

The Mission Mountains have a wide range of flora and fauna. Mule deer, elk, white-tailed deer, mountain goats, moose, black bears, grizzly bears, coyote, wolverine, lynxs, bobcats and mountain lions have all been spotted in the range. Smaller animals found in the Missions include hoary marmots, yellow-bellied marmots, snowshoe rabbit, pica, chipmunk, squirrel, porcupine, muskrat, badger, skunk, beaver, marten, weasel, and mink.

Western Montana's famous huckleberry is also found all over the slopes of the Mission Mountains in the mid-to-late summer. They are a favorite for hikers and grizzly bears alike.

The most common trees found in the range are the ponderosa pine, western red cedar, douglas fir, western larch, western white pine, lodgepole pine, limber pine, whitebark pine, Engelmann spruce, alpine fir, grand fir, western larch, quaking aspen, alder, and Rocky Mountain maple. Cedars most often grow in the creek bottoms while others are spread throughout the landscape.

Up in the higher reaches of the Missions one finds the alpine larch. Found between the elevations of about 6,500 feet-7,000 feet this tough little tree can be found all over the range, twisted and tangled along high ridges and surrounding its peaks.