Lee Metcalf Wilderness
The Lee Metcalf Wilderness is located in the U.S. state of Montana. Created by an act of Congress in 1983, the wilderness is in four separated parcels: Bear Trap Canyon unit, Spanish Peaks unit, Taylor-Hilgard unit, and Monument Mountains unit. The Bear Trap Canyon unit is managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and comprises a region of canyonlands adjacent to the Madison River.
Bear Trap Canyon is the very first designated wilderness area to be managed by the Bureau of Land Management anywhere in the U.S. The other three sections of the wilderness are jointly managed by Beaverhead-Deerlodge and Gallatin National Forests both of which are a part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The portion of the wilderness within Gallatin National Forest is also within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and borders Yellowstone National Park. The wilderness was named after the late Montana congressman Lee Metcalf.
U.S. Wilderness Areas do not allow motorized or mechanized vehicles, including bicycles. Although camping and fishing are allowed with proper permit, no roads or buildings are constructed and there is also no logging or mining, in compliance with the 1964 Wilderness Act.
Wilderness areas within National Forests and Bureau of Land Management areas also allow hunting in season.
