| Scouting in Montana | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Scouts hiking in Bob Marshall Wilderness | |||
 Scouts at the Upper Missouri River Breaks | |||
Scouting in Montana has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live.
One of the first, if not the first, Boy Scout troops in Montana was organized in Butte. In February 1917 Troop 1 in Butte held an event for the public which included music, as well as "exhibition drills, first aid work, and signalling, closing with the presentation of a play." [1] Also in 1917, this same troop made the news because their activities inspired the creation of a new troop in nearby Centerville, "Twenty-two boys made the trip [a hike from Butte to Divide and back], which was filled with tests for the boys... En route one of the boys suffered from a strained back. A litter was built for him and he was carried to the destination. This was a test in first-aid work... Another hike will be held when the weather permits. The boys were forced to trudge through deep snow on their Washington birthday trip." [2]
By 1918, unofficial Wolf Cub packs appeared in Butte.[ citation needed ]
In 1920, the Deer Lodge County Council (#314) was formed, changing its name in 1924 to the Deer Lodge Area Council (#314). In 1926 the Deer Lodge Area Council changed its name to the Deer Lodge, Granite, and Powell Council (#314). In 1928, the Deer Lodge, Granite, and Powell Council merged into the Silver Bow Council (#313). In 1919, the Helena Council (#316) was formed, changing its name in 1925 to the Lewis and Clark Area Council (#316) and, changing its name again in 1931 to the Elkhorn Area Council (#316). The Elkhorn Area Council closed that same year. In 1922, the Helena Council (#317) was formed, changing its name in 1923 to the Glacier Park Area Council (#317). The Glacier Park Area Council closed in 1927. In 1920, the Park County Council (#319) was formed, changing its name in 1923 to the Park and Sweetgrass Counties Council (#319) and, changing its name again in 1924 to the Yellowstone Council (#319). The Yellowstone Council closed in 1926. In 1920, the Custer County Council (#321) was formed, changing its name in 1924 to the Powder River Area Council (#321) and, closing in 1926. [3]
In 1918, the Butte City Council (#313) was formed, changing its name in 1927 to the Silver Bow Council (#313). In 1944, Silver Bow changed its name to the Vigilante Council (#313). In 1915, the Great Falls Council (#315) was formed, changing its name in 1925 to the Great Falls Area Council (#315). In 1929, the Great Falls Area Council changed its name to the North Central Montana Council (#315). In 1922, the Lewiston Council (#318) was formed, changing its name in 1922 to the Central Montana Council (#318). The Central Montana Council closed in 1924. In 1928, the Yellowstone Valley Council (#318) was formed. In 1920, the Missoula Council (#320) was formed, changing its name in 1922 to the Missoula County Council (#320). In 1926 the Missoula County Council changed its name to the Western Montana Council (#320). [3]
In 1973, the Vigilante Area, Western Montana, Yellowstone Valley and North Central Montana councils all merged to make the Montana Council (#315). [3]
There are two Boy Scouts of America (BSA) local councils in Montana. Most of Montana lies within the Montana Council, except for Daniels and Sheridan counties, which are part of the Northern Lights Council.
| Montana Council (#315) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | Great Falls, Montana | ||
| Country | United States | ||
| Founded | 1973 | ||
| President | Greg Beach | ||
| Council Commissioner | Gary Ely | ||
| Scout Executive | Jory Dellinger | ||
| Website Montana Council | |||
The main council office is located in Great Falls. There are Field Service Offices in Billings, Bozeman and Missoula.
The Montana Council formed in 1973 from the merger of four councils: the Vigilante Area Council, Western Montana Council, Yellowstone Valley Council and the North Central Montana Council. [4]
The largest of its council camps is K-M Scout Ranch (pronounced K bar M), located 23 miles (37 km) north of Lewistown near the old mining town of Kendall. [5]
Camp Melita Island is a council camp located on Melita Island on Flathead Lake. Melita Island was bought by Montana Council in 2005, but its Scouting history dates back to about 1945 when the island was leased from the Scottish Rite and used as a camp for three decades.[ citation needed ]
The Council also offers a high adventure backpacking program at the Montana High Adventure Base (MOHAB) [6] operated by the Boone and Crockett Educational Foundation based at the Elmer E. Rasmuson Conservation Center at the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Ranch, just east of the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex and near Dupuyer, Montana. The program began in 2005, and became affiliated with the Montana Council in 2009. Scout troops from any council may participate. [7]
As of 2006, Northern Lights Council serves all of North Dakota, and parts of South Dakota, northwest Minnesota and northeast Montana.
| Girl Scouting in Montana | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Map of Girl Scout Council in Montana | |||
Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming is the only council serving both Montana and Wyoming. It was formed on May 1, 2008, by the merger of Girl Scouts of Big Sky Council, Girl Scouts Treasure Trails Council, and Girl Scout Council of Wyoming.
Scouting in Colorado has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day.
Scouting in Idaho has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live.
Scouting in Nebraska has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live.
Scouting in Utah has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live.
Scouting in Wyoming has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live.
Scouting in Pennsylvania has a long and rich tradition, from 1908 to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live.
Deer Lodge is a city in and the county seat of Powell County, Montana, United States. The population was 2,938 at the 2020 census.
The Montana Department of Corrections is a state agency of Montana that operates state prisons and manages community-corrections programs. The agency has its headquarters in Helena.
The Clark Fork, or the Clark Fork of the Columbia River, is a river in the U.S. states of Montana and Idaho, approximately 310 miles (500 km) long. The largest river by volume in Montana, it drains an extensive region of the Rocky Mountains in western Montana and northern Idaho in the watershed of the Columbia River. The river flows northwest through a long valley at the base of the Cabinet Mountains and empties into Lake Pend Oreille in the Idaho Panhandle. The Pend Oreille River in Idaho, Washington, and British Columbia, Canada which drains the lake to the Columbia in Washington, is sometimes included as part of the Clark Fork, giving it a total length of 479 miles (771 km), with a drainage area of 25,820 square miles (66,900 km2). In its upper 20 miles (32 km) in Montana near Butte, it is known as Silver Bow Creek. Interstate 90 follows much of the upper course of the river from Butte to Saint Regis. The highest point within the river's watershed is Mount Evans at 10,641 feet (3,243 m) in Deer Lodge County, Montana along the Continental Divide.
Anaconda, county seat of Deer Lodge County, which has a consolidated city-county government, is located in southwestern Montana, United States. Located at the foot of the Anaconda Range, the Continental Divide passes within 8 mi (13 km) south of the community. As of the 2020 census the population of the consolidated city-county was 9,421, and the US Census Bureaus's 2015-2019 American Community Survey showed a median household income of $41,820. Anaconda had earlier peaks of population in 1930 and 1980, based on the mining industry. As a consolidated city-county area, it ranks as the ninth most populous city in Montana, but as only a city is far smaller. Central Anaconda is 5,335 ft (1,626 m) above sea level, and is surrounded by the communities of Opportunity and West Valley.
The Beaverhead–Deerlodge National Forest is the largest of the National Forests in Montana, United States. Covering 3.36 million acres (13,600 km2), the forest is broken into nine separate sections and stretches across eight counties in the southwestern area of the state. President Theodore Roosevelt named the two forests in 1908 and they were merged in 1996. Forest headquarters are located in Dillon, Montana. In Roosevelt's original legislation, the Deerlodge National Forest was called the Big Hole Forest Reserve. He created this reserve because the Anaconda Copper Mining Company, based in Butte, Montana, had begun to clearcut the upper Big Hole River watershed. The subsequent erosion, exacerbated by smoke pollution from the Anaconda smelter, was devastating the region. Ranchers and conservationists alike complained to Roosevelt, who made several trips to the area. (Munday 2001)
This is a broad outline history of the state of Montana in the United States.
The Boone and Crockett Club is an American nonprofit organization that advocates fair chase hunting in support of habitat conservation. The club is North America's oldest wildlife and habitat conservation organization, founded in the United States in 1887 by Theodore Roosevelt. The club was named in honor of hunter-heroes of the day, Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett, whom the club's founders viewed as pioneering men who hunted extensively while opening the American frontier, but realized the consequences of overharvesting game. In addition to authoring a famous "fair chase" statement of hunter ethics, the club worked for the expansion and protection of Yellowstone National Park and the establishment of American conservation in general. The Club and its members were also responsible for the elimination of commercial market hunting, creation of the National Park and National Forest Services, National Wildlife Refuge system, wildlife reserves, and funding for conservation, all under the umbrella of what is known today as the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation.
Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental Interstate Highway across the northern United States, linking Seattle to Boston. The portion in the state of Montana is 552.46 miles (889.10 km) in length, passing through fourteen counties in central and southern Montana. Due to the large size of Montana, it is the longest segment of I-90 within a single state.
The following works deal with the cultural, political, economic, military, biographical and geologic history of pre-territorial Montana, Montana Territory and the State of Montana.
Link & Haire was a prolific architectural firm in Montana, formally established on January 1, 1906. It designed a number of buildings that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Regional designations of Montana vary widely within the U.S state of Montana. The state is a large geographical area that is split by the Continental Divide, resulting in watersheds draining into the Pacific Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and Hudson's Bay. The state is approximately 545 miles (877 km) east to west along the Canada–United States border and 320 miles (510 km) north to south. The fourth largest state in land area, it has been divided up in official and unofficial ways into a variety of regions. Additionally, Montana is part of a number of larger federal government administrative regions.
Transportation in Montana comprises many different forms of travel. Montana shares a long border with Canada, hence international crossings are prevalent in the northern section of the state; there are 13 road crossings and one rail crossing.
