No fewer than 12 areas designated for protection under the 1964 Wilderness Act are in Greater Yellowstone, comprising about 3.3 million acres – larger than Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks combined. No new wilderness has been created in the ecosystem for a quarter-century, though an effort is under way to add more in Montana.
Absaroka-Beartooth, Montana/Wyoming: The 944,000 Absaroka-Beartooth was carved out of three national forests in 1975 to protect the craggy, volcanic Absaroka Mountains and the burly granite of the Beartooths. The tallest mountain in Montana, 12,799-foot Granite Peak, is here. The Beartooths, the largest unbroken land above 10,000 feet in the Lower 48, has grizzly bears, wolves and lynx.
Lee Metcalf, Montana: The four pieces of the Metcalf includes the Madison River’s Bear Trap Canyon, the first wilderness area created in Bureau of Land Management land; the other three are on national forest. The entire forest is 254,000 acres, including crucial grizzly and wolf habitat bordering Yellowstone.
Red Rocks, Montana: Created in 1976, this 32,350-acre area in the heart of the Red Rocks National Wildlife Refuge contains key habitat for threatened wildlife, including the trumpeter swan, wolf and the occasional grizzly bear.
Bridger, Wyoming: This 428,000-acre wilderness is on the western flanks of the Wind River Range and includes 13,804-foot Gannett Peak, Wyoming’s highest. Much of the fauna is tundra above 10,000- feet. Wolves and grizzly bears are beginning to make their way into this rugged country.
Fitzpatrick, Wyoming: Once called the Glacier Primitive Area, the Fitzpatrick is 198,000 acres of high country on the east side of the towering Wind River Range. It is renowned for its 44 active glaciers, virgin timber and trout streams.
Gros Ventre, Wyoming: Though less spectacular than other wilderness areas in terms of sheer scenic beauty, the Gros Ventre — French for “big belly” — is a critical wildlife corridor for elk, mule deer and pronghorn leaving Grand Teton National Park for less-harsh winter climes. Wolves, grizzly bears and bison live here, and the National Elk Refuge herd calves in the Gros Ventre.
Jedediah Smith, Wyoming: These remote 123,451 acres are on the west slope of the Tetons on the Caribou-Targhee National Forest feature some of the best wildflower viewing in Greater Yellowstone. It is also a refuge for bears, deer and trout.
North Absaroka, Wyoming: This area along Yellowstone’s northeast boundary is so unique geologically that it was given its own designation apart from the better-known and larger Absaroka-Beartooth. The North Absaroka is best known for Pilot and Index peaks, two of the more recognizable mountains in Greater Yellowstone. It is home to a huge elk herd, bighorn sheep and grizzlies.
Popo Agie, Wyoming: This sub-alpine and alpine region is all above 8,400 feet and features 20 mountains above 10,000 feet in the Wind River Range. The 101,000-acre area has more than 300 lakes and is renowned as a climbing area, thanks to the sheer granite of the Cirque of the Towers.
Teton, Wyoming: A crucial buffer for Yellowstone and Grand Teton wildlife, the 585,000-acre Teton features some of the most remote territory in Greater Yellowstone. More than 300 species of birds, 30 types of fish and 75 mammals live here, including the grizzly bear, wolf and wolverine.
Washakie, Wyoming: At 704,000 acres, the Washakie is the largest wilderness area in Greater Yellowstone and is also one of the most remote areas in the Lower 48. It includes some of the highest mountains in the Absaroka Range and is prime habitat for wolves and grizzly bears leaving the southeast corner of Yellowstone.
Winegar Hole, Wyoming: This 10,721-acres area between Yellowstone and Grand Teton along the Wyoming-Idaho border was created in 1984 almost strictly to protect the grizzly bear, which was threatened with extinction at the time.
