Lee Metcalf NWR Wildlife Viewing Trail, Stevensville, MT

150,000 visitors per year use the Wildlilfe Viewing Trail and the adjacent Auto Tour Route.

Photos from Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge

The Wildlife Viewing Area (WVA) of the Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge began as an access trail to the Bitterroot River for local farmers. With the establishment of the refuge in 1963, the WVA took on its present function and identity.

	Lee Metcalf Wildlife Viewing Trail

Consisting of 160 acres of ponds, sloughs, and river bottom woodland, it has two nature trails (.9 mi. and .7 mi.), and a half-mile, paved, wheelchair-accessible trail from the parking lot to the picnic area. Equipped with a wildlife "gazebo" viewing/fishing structure, outdoor restroom facilities, benches, and information kiosk, the WVA and Refuge attract over 150,000 visitors a year.

During the spring, the WVA hosts activities of the local STOKED Program (Students Teaching Other Kids Ecological Dynamics). This hands-on, experiential method of teaching and learning has Stevensville High School students conducting field trips for groups of elementary students (grades 2-5).

Kids learning about the local environment

Together, through direct observation, posters and pictures, furs and skulls, they absorb the lessons of the natural world of the Bitterroot Valley. Lessons center on aquatic invertebrates and mammals, trees, fish migration, and animal forms, function and movement

The Lee Metcalf NWR Wildlife Viewing Area is also used daily for photography, wildlife observation, walking, hiking, interpretation, and fishing. Common breeding wildlife species there include wood duck, hooded merganser, pileated woodpecker, eastern kingbird, yellow warbler, porcupine, yellow-pine chipmunk, and red squirrels.

Maintenance of the trail areas is performed by Refuge staff and dedicated volunteers from the local communities of Stevensville, Florence, Hamilton, and Missoula.

	Birdwatching along the trail

The Wildlife Viewing Trail incorporates all the allowed activities while passing through all representative habitats on the Refuge. Lee Metcalf NWR is one of the largest publicly owned riparian properties in the Bitterroot Valley. Some 80% of Montana's birds use this particular habitat for nesting. As evidence of its uniqueness, the Refuge averages about 150,000 visitors per year using both the Wildlilfe Viewing Trail and the adjacent Auto Tour Route.

Beyond biological significance, the refuge and the trail are part of Stevensville, the first European settlement in Montana. Lewis and Clark also passed Refuge properties on their trek up and down the Bitterroot Valley.

The National Recreation Trails Program
American Trails, P.O. Box 491797, Redding, CA 96049-1797 • (530) 547-2060 • Fax: (530) 547-2035 • nrt@americantrails.org • www.AmericanTrails.org

See 190 entries in the 2007 Photo contest for National Recreation Trails

Audubon Center at the Francis Beidler Forest (photo: Mark Musselman)

Related topics:

Advocacy
Federal land issues
Funding
Management
Planning
Safe Trails Forum
Volunteers
Wildlife issues

More resources:

Cool trail solutions
Bibliography
Quotations
Glossary
Acronyms
Tools
Products & services

For more opportunities for training on trail design, construction, and management see the National Trails Training Partnership area.