LF Ranch Offering Brochure

THE CROWN OF THE CONTINENT
The Crown – aptly named for its majestic geology – forms the spine of the Rocky Mountain Front and the eastern edge of the Continental Divide. It
extends from the northern Canadian Rockies in British Columbia and Alberta southward into Montana through Glacier National Park to Rogers Pass.
Rugged limestone peaks, sheer walls, protrusive reefs and deeply cut canyons provide a view scape like nothing else in North America. Some of the
nation’s most important protected wilderness areas are here: The Crown is 10 million acres including the Lewis and Clark National Forest, which
spans 2,912 square miles; the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex, the fifth largest wilderness area in the lower 48 states at over 1 million acres; and the
Scapegoat and Great Bear Wilderness Areas are more than a half-million acres within the national forest – all adjoining the LF.
Here, in the wildest part of Montana's Rocky Mountains, are the headwaters of many major North American rivers and the origins of the Pacific and
Atlantic Oceans and Hudson Bay.
This special corner of Montana has a tangible, yet undefinable quality of
life and land; much of it remains the way that Lewis and Clark experienced
it over 200 years ago.
“I’ve been fortunate to fish, hunt, and photograph all over
the world. To this day, the LF Ranch remains one of the
most enclosed, impressive, and untouched ecosystems I’ve
seen. Big fish in small water, paired with endless views of
undeveloped land is hard to find in any part of the world.”
Nick Kelley, Photographer, Outside Magazine
The LF is one with the Crown and possesses its own special geological
features. Haystack Butte, an ancient volcanic plug, stands sentinel in
the midst of the LF. At 6,800 feet above sea level, the peak is an iconic
regional landmark, first remarked upon by Meriwether Lewis.
The topography of the LF ranges from the rugged peaks along the western
and southern boundaries that transition to mountain valleys, grassy benches to productive riparian bottoms. The backdrop of The Front to the west is
captivating with snow-capped peaks and timbered hill sides to the rolling hills and pastures that contain healthy stands of native grass species.
The Lewis & Clark National Forest, which borders the Ranch on the south and west for approximately eight miles, protects it from encroachment
and shares the same marvelous biodiversity of the region. The Nilan Reservoir borders the Ranch on the northeast corner, with a finger of the lake
extending into the Ranch. Five significant spring-influenced creeks – Ford, Smith, Goss, Blubber and Elk – flow from west to east through the various
drainages within the Ranch.
“The Front’s rich mosaic of glaciated wetlands, riparian corridors, mixed-grass prairie and coniferous
forests is formed by the dramatic collision between mountain and prairie ecosystems.”
The Nature Conservancy Annual Report 2015
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