The Bob Marshall Wilderness Area is a congressionally-designated wilderness area located in Western Montana region of the United States. It is named after Bob Marshall (1901–1939), an early forester in the federal government, conservationist, and co-founder of The Wilderness Society. In the 1930s while working for the United States Forest Service, Marshall was largely responsible for designation of large areas to be preserved as roadless within lands administered by the Forest Service; he achieved this through promulgation of various regulations. Formally designated in 1964, the Bob Marshall Wilderness extends for along the Continental Divide and consists of . The five ranger districts administering "The Bob" manage of trail that are open to foot and stock use only.
Description
"The Bob", as it is known by locals and nicknamed by the U.S. Forest Service employees, ranges in altitudes of 4,000 to more than 9,000 feet (1,220 to 2750 m). The Bob is also home to many other large mammals, such as moose, elk, black bear, mountain goat, bighorn sheep, wolverine, cougar, Canadian lynx, and wolf. Wilderness areas within National Forests and Bureau of Land Management areas allow hunting in season.
Surroundings
thumb|[[Pentagon Mountain in the Bob Marshall Wilderness]]
The wilderness, along with the adjoining Scapegoat and Great Bear wildernesses, make up the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex, with components administered by the Lolo, Flathead, Helena, and Lewis and Clark National Forests, respectively. All three wildernesses total .
The wilderness is located in parts of Flathead, Lewis and Clark, Powell, Teton, Missoula, and Pondera counties, and lies mostly within Flathead National Forest (70.3%) and partially within Lewis and Clark National Forest. The wilderness can be accessed by trails (via foot travel or on horseback) from surrounding roads.
thumb|Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex
U.S. Route 2 is to the north and separates the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex from Glacier National Park. U.S. 89 and 287 are to the east, and Montana highways 200 and 83 are to the south and west. Popular points of entry from the west are located near the communities of Swan Lake, Seeley Lake, Lincoln, and Hungry Horse. From the east, the Bob Marshall Wilderness is accessible from Augusta, Choteau and Dupuyer. The wilderness is approximately west of Great Falls, Montana; north of Missoula, and east of Kalispell; all of the communities have airports with commercial flights.
History
Established on August 16, 1940, by Secretary of Agriculture Henry A. Wallace, the Bob Marshall Wilderness was created by combining the South Fork Primitive Area (584,000 acres), the Pentagon Primitive Area (95,000 acres), and the Sun River Primitive Area (240,000 acres). The wilderness was administratively created in 1940 from the South Fork, Pentagon, and Sun River Primitive Areas (which were designated in the 1930s). Passage of the Wilderness Act in 1964 provided for this wilderness to become part of the National Wilderness Preservation System.