Supporting stewardship of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness and fostering appreciation of wild lands.
The Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness comprises nearly 1 million acres of pristine wildlands bridging the Custer Gallatin and Shoshone National Forests in Montana and Wyoming. With the greatest expanse of alpine tundra in the Lower 48, the highest peaks in Montana, and 25 miles of border with Yellowstone National Park, the A-B is a crown jewel of both the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and the National Wilderness Preservation Syste
HOW DO YOU PRONOUNCE THAT NAME?
Absaroka and Beartooth are the names of mountain ranges on the west and east side of the wilderness, respectively. “AB-ZOR-KA” comes from the word Apsáalooke, meaning “People of the Large-Beaked Bird”: the proper name for a local Indigenous community, the Crow Nation, with more than 10,000 enrolled members. The second part comes from the Apsáalooke word “Na Piet Say,” which translates to “Bear’s Tooth”: the name for a prominent mountain spire visible from U.S. 212, the “Beartooth Highway” (or a pillar on the east face of Beartooth Butte, depending who you ask). The A-B is the homeland of these and other Indigenous peoples like the Bannock, Blackfeet, Cheyenne, Shoshone, and many others, and it has been called by many other names in many other languages.
© by Patrick Cross
HOW ABOUT THE NATIONAL WILDERNESS PRESERVATION SYSTEM, WHAT’S THAT?
Established in 1964, it’s a collection of 762 Congressionally-designated areas found within National Forests, National Parks, National Wildlife Refuges, and U.S. Bureau of Land Management lands. They are managed for their untrammeled (free from modern human control), undeveloped (free from permanent residence or structures of modern humans), and natural characteristics, and to provide outstanding opportunities for solitude and primitive recreation. The A-B joined the system on March 27, 1978. There are wilderness areas outside the NWPS too: the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in northwestern Montana, for example, established the nation’s first Tribal Wilderness in the Mission Mountains. And of course, there were people influencing the landscapes with actions like controlled burns, residing on the landscape and building permanent structures like mountain sheep traps, being active participants in nature, and using these lands for activities other than recreation for thousands of years prior to 1964.
WHAT’S THE ABSAROKA-BEARTOOTH WILDERNESS FOUNDATION THEN?
We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to promote stewardship of the A-B Wilderness and foster appreciation of all wild lands, which we do through volunteer engagement, education and outreach, and community collaboration. We partner with the U.S. Forest Service and others to maintain trails, pull invasive weeds, and restore heavily impacted sites; share information on wilderness ethics, regulations, skills, and values; and collect data for management decision-making and scientific research. We welcome ALL wilderness enthusiasts to join us as members and volunteers: the A-B is your land too!
Check out our Award-Winning Atlas!
Our “Atlas of the A-B Wilderness” is an award-winning book! Voices of Yellowstone’s Capstone won a Gold Medal at the 2020 Independent Publisher’s Book Awards, was a finalist for nonfiction at the 2021 High Plains Book Awards, and won the Big Sky Award for best work by a Montana author at the 2021 High Plains Book Awards! Order NOW online! Read a review!
ABWF’s Specialty Montana License Plate by Parks Reece
At the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness Foundation, our greatest achievements have always been driven by people with a passion for the A-B Wilderness. The ABWF organizes volunteers who work tirelessly with the Forest Service on trail building and maintenance projects: everything from wielding a Pulaski or crosscut saw to pulling invasive weeds. We also carry on educational outreach, artist-in-residence and trail ambassadors programs, tapping the talents of people who love the A-B Wilderness.
We are excited to announce our brand new ABWF-sponsored Montana specialty license plate, sporting beautiful and fanciful artwork by renowned Livingston artist Parks Reece. It just came out and is already generating tremendous buzz. We thank Parks for his generosity and passion for supporting our magnificent Wilderness!
