Meet our 2026 Artist Wilderness Connection artists! We're very excited to announce the talented folks selected to spend up to two weeks in the Bob Marshall and Great Bear Wilderness areas this summer, immersing themselves and getting inspired by this beautiful wild place. Maddie Tucker (@mads_music_art) is a visual artist and musician born and raised in Missoula, MT. She began creating art as a little girl, drawn to the natural world as her primary subject matter. An avid trail runner, climber, mountain biker, Maddie has always found peace in movement. She tries to infuse her artwork with the electricity that she feels when she is in motion or observing the movements of the world around her. Emily Roach (@larksong_studios) is a wildlife biologist and artist who uses her knowledge and experiences with wildlife to inspire her art, and vice versa. Emily specializes in watercolors but enjoys incorporating other mediums into her work as well. Her mission is to get others engaged in nature and art and to foster easygoing and creative spaces for others. Karen Minton (@kmintonartist) is an artist based in Whitefish, MT, whose current work explores the concepts and methods of the Tonalism movement of the late 1800s. Through a careful study of light, value, and mood, her oil paintings draw from familiar landscapes, transforming them into meditative spaces that invite viewers not just to observe, but to be immersed in a sense of peace and stillness. Ginny Lefler (@confluencequilts) : Raised on the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers, Ginny is a quilter and textile artist now living in NW Montana. Her works are inspired by stories, photographs, memories, inherited traditions, and places near and far; seeking to make works that are functional and will grow and change with time. AWC is a collaborative program in partnership with @glacierartmuseum_mt, Flathead National Forest and Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest. Learn more at bmwf.org/awc 🎨🖼 #lovethebob #artistresidency #bobmarshallwilderness #greatbearwilderness

We’re proud new adopters of a section of Hwy 2! BMWF has adopted the stretch between mile markers 184-186, right at Bear Creek. Our staff spent the day cleaning it up for the first time, and filled 17 trash bags! We found an old router, several shoes, and two pairs of new-to-us sunglasses. It was a great way to get outside and help clean up a beautiful stretch of road that borders the Bob. @mtdot #lovethebob

We hope everyone had a beautiful National Trails Day celebrating your favorite trails over the weekend! Thanks so much to the volunteers who dedicated their Saturday to joining us on the overgrown Canoe Trail in Seeley Lake. Thanks to this crew, this lovely walk along the Clearwater River is now fully brushed out for the first time in 4-5 years, making it much more pleasant and accessible. That means our volunteer season has officially begun! 🥳 Our volunteer crews will really get rolling next week when they start heading into the backcountry of the Bob. Here’s to another amazing summer in the wilds! #lovethebob #nationaltrailsday

We hope to see you at Flathead Trails Fest this Sunday, June 7th! 3-6 PM at Smith Fields in Whitefish. There will be kids games and activities, live music, a kids bike course, free kids bike helmets, free beer (!!!), sweet raffle prizes, and local outdoor recreation groups from the Flathead Valley. It's going to be a great afternoon celebrating our beautiful local trails! Come join us! Big thanks to @flatheadtrails for hosting this celebration. Learn more at flatheadtrails.org 🥾 #lovethebob #whitefishevents #flatheadevents

We have a really special addition to the Bob Shop, just in time for Father's Day! In celebration of the 50th year of formal Wild and Scenic designation for the Middle Fork of the Flathead River, we are excited to have "Great Bear, Wild River" by Dale A. Burk in our online store now. This title is out of print and our supply is limited, so get it while you can! Great Bear, Wild River details the effort to protect not only the river itself, but the watershed that feeds it, much of which we now call the Great Bear Wilderness. This is the story of conserving 46 miles of river and nearly 290,000 acres of the surrounding landscape with one of the most stringent conservation tools available. Plus, we've restocked our Dad Hats in two colors! Scroll 👉 to check 'em out. Put them together for the perfect gift for the Bob-loving dad in your life. Shop now at bmwf.org/shop 🧢📖🌄 #lovethebob

And that’s a wrap on training and orientation for our 2026 Seasonal Crew! Over the past three weeks, this group has soaked up a ton of knowledge about this place. We’ve done our best to set them up with the resources, tools, and skills for success this summer. They just completed Crosscut and Field Training this week, and now it’s time for them to set off across the Bob to get stuff done! 🙌 Next, Trail Techs and Wilderness Stewards will split up between four US Forest Service districts to learn from professional trail crews all summer. Crew Leaders will work together on a 10-day Pro Hitch before volunteers begin arriving in mid-June. This is a rad group, and we can’t wait to hear their stories from the backcountry this summer. Join us in wishing them the best on their next adventures! #lovethebob #bobmarshallwilderness #bobmarshallwildernesscomplex

Want to volunteer in the Bob, but on your own time? Have we got a deal for you!! Maybe you have a limited schedule, or a favorite trail you want to hit. Perhaps you just want a new way to spend the day outdoors and have a positive impact on your local public lands. This summer, we're offering two different opportunities for folks who want to help out, but do it at their own pace: 🐻 The Great Bear Trail Posse – chip in with trail maintenance needs in the Great Bear Wilderness. Training date: June 12th 🎒 Education/Research Volunteers – assist with visitor education at trailheads or solitude monitoring in the backcountry. Training date: June 23rd If either of these sound up your alley, learn more and sign up for the training by scrolling to the bottom of our project list at www.bmwf.org/2026-project-list #lovethebob #bobmarshallwilderness #greatbearwilderness #bobmarshallwildernesscomplex

We hope you'll meet us at Flathead Trails Fest on Sunday, June 7th from 3-6 pm at Smith Fields in Whitefish! Hosted by @flatheadtrails, Trails Fest features partner booths from recreation and conservation organizations, live music, family-friendly activities, outdoor education demonstrations, raffles, food vendors, and free beverages donated by local breweries. The event creates a collaborative space where hikers, bikers, equestrians, motorized users, paddlers, skiers, and other recreation communities can connect around a shared goal of sustaining accessible and well-maintained trails throughout Northwest Montana. Stop by our booth to learn more about our volunteer projects this summer, and cheers to summer in the Bob! Learn more at flatheadtrails.org 🥾 #lovethebob #flatheadevents #whitefishmontana

Our full summer team is HERE!! 🥳🥾❤️ Last week, we had a great kick off to our orientation where we threw a whole lotta information at these fine folks. Wilderness 101, bear safety, stock training, risk management, naturalist hike, and even got into the field to start learning about trail work 💪🪵 Our last few seasonal folks arrived today, and our summer crew is now complete! This week, they’ll dive into Wilderness First Aid training to continue prepping for their summer in the backcountry. We can tell these passionate, energetic young folks are going to do so much good in the Bob this summer. We can’t wait to get them out there SOON! #lovethebob #bobmarshallwilderness

Next Friday, May 22nd, we're excited to be one of five local trail organizations tabling at @rei in Kalispell for a fun meet and greet opportunity! Between 11 am and 3 pm, grab a free hot dog fresh off the grill and visit with local nonprofits who are working to expand access to the wealth of public lands in our backyard. We'll be there alongside our friends at @dreamadaptivemontana, @great_northern_trail, @flatheadriversalliance, and @hikingfoolsmt. Stop by our booth to learn more about our volunteer projects, look at maps and talk trails in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex! We'd love to see you there. We're honored to be one of the local recipients of an REI Cooperative Action Fund grant, thanks to our Kalispell store. BIG thanks to REI for supporting our stewardship and education work to engage new wilderness users across the Bob! #lovethebob #flatheadevents

The Bob Marshall Field Guide is HERE! We're so excited to share this first edition far and wide with you, our community who loves the Bob. Previously only available for our staff, this new version includes 50 pages of trip planning tips and tricks, natural and cultural history, flora and fauna identification, stories and lore straight from the backcountry. Learn more about the Bob and enhance your time spent in the backcountry by grabbing your copy today 👉👉👉 bmwf.org/shop Thanks to @camplightcreative for bringing this beauty to life!! **Please note: This is not a trail guide for the Bob! If you're looking for specific trails, check out the interactive trail map on our website at bmwf.org/trails #lovethebob #bobmarshallwilderness #greatbearwilderness #scapegoatwilderness #bobmarshallwildernesscomplex

THANK YOU to all of you who included the Bob on your list in #GiveGreatFalls, #MissoulaGives and #GreaterHelenaGives, or gave directly through our website! 🫶 Thanks to you, we have officially met our $10,000 match and are almost halfway to our $50,000 goal to fully fund our 2026 season before June 🥳🎉 Your gifts will be hard at work on 54 trail and weeds projects this summer, fueling 400+ volunteers and 20 seasonal staff on the ground. Most of our Crew Leaders, Trail Technicians and Wilderness Stewards started TODAY, and we can't wait to get them into the field very soon! We know it will take many hands to tackle this season's workload and we're excited to get after it to reopen access across the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex. THANK YOU for being a part of that effort this year! Haven't had a chance to donate yet? You can make a difference in the Bob this summer at bmwf.org/donate 🥾🏕🌄❤ #lovethebob #bobmarshallwilderness #greatbearwilderness #scapegoatwilderness #bobmarshallwildernesscomplex

It's a great day to GIVE!! 🌞 #GreaterHelenaGives is happening today, May 7th, through 8 PM tonight! Choose from more than 100 local nonprofits who are making a difference in Helena, and support the ones that mean the most to you through a single gift. If you love wild places like the Bob, we would be honored to be on your list! Your donations will be hard at work on the ground this summer, supporting more than 50 projects that will engage over 400 volunteers and 20 seasonals to open trails and restore habitat across the spectacular 1.6-million-acre Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex. Learn more and give now at greaterhelenagives.org 🫶🥾🏕🌄 #lovethebob #bobmarshallwilderness

We're so excited to be part of #GreaterHelenaGives again this year, and honored to stand beside some truly excellent non-profits who work to protect wild places in and around Helena. You can support conservation, recreation and outdoor education with a single gift to all of the following non-profits in Greater Helena Gives, from 8 pm TONIGHT through 8 PM tomorrow, May 7th, 2026! 🌞 Learn more and give now: greaterhelenagives.org Last Chance Curling Club: www.lastchancecurlingclub.com #lastchancecurlingclub #steedarenamt Montana Watershed Coordination Council: mtwatersheds.org @mtwatersheds_MWCC Prickly Pear Land Trust: pricklypearlt.org @pricklypearlandtrust Montana Discovery Foundation: montanadiscoveryfoundation.org @montanadiscoveryfoundation Wild Montana: wildmontana.org @wildmontana Helena Field School: helenafieldschool.com @helenafieldschool Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation: bmwf.org @bobmarshallwilderness 🫶🌎🌱✨❤️

Thank you to the two incredible groups of women who joined us for our 2026 Women's Packing Clinics this past weekend! We had a blast meeting you all and showing you the ropes to freshen up your Wilderness packing skills. We hope you feel confident to head into the Bob yourselves this summer! And, big big thanks to our two stellar instructors/board members, Keegan and Krissy, for sharing their years of expertise from packing in the Bob, plus steady mules to practice on 🫏🫶 We hope to continue to offer these packing clinics each spring. Stay tuned next March for 2027 dates! #lovethebob

In case you haven't seen photos coming out of the backcountry yet, here are a few that have been shared with us from our friends at the Forest Service. This winter's wind storms caused an impressive amount of blowdown that's currently impeding access into and across much of the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex. We know we'll have our work cut out for us this year, and we're excited to get out there and start making a dent. We have over 400 volunteers lined up to tackle more than 50 projects in the field – but we need your help to get us over the finish line. We're hoping to raise an additional $50,000 before June to fully fund our 2026 season. Right now we have four(!!!) chances where you can give back to the Bob: 🌊 Give Great Falls, happening now through May 2nd! givegreatfalls.org 🐝 Missoula Gives, 5 PM TONIGHT through tomorrow, May 1st! missoulagives.org 🌞 Greater Helena Gives, May 6th-7th! greaterhelenagives.org Or, give straight through our website: bmwf.org 🫶 We also have two generous donors who are matching the first $10,000 in donations that come in, and we're just $2,000 away from meeting our match! Help us get there and make a real difference on the ground this summer. Photo locations: 1, 2: Big River Trail #155 3, 4: Gordon Creek #35 5: South Fork Trail #80 #lovethebob #bobmarshallwilderness #greatbearwilderness #scapegoatwilderness #bobmarshallwildernesscomplex #GiveGreatFalls #MissoulaGives #greaterhelenagives #montana

Join us for an interactive clay tile workshop with 2025 Artist Wilderness Connection artist @magpie.pottery! On Saturday, May 16th, come to @lonepine_statepark for an artist talk and clay tile making inspired by Adi's 2-week residency spent in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. Starting at 11:30 am at the picnic shelter, hear from Adi about her experience creating art at Shaw Cabin, 14 miles deep in the Bob. All are welcome to join this portion; no RSVP required. At Noon, we'll set off on a wildflower and botany walk, then Adi will lead a clay tile making workshop using natural materials gathered on our walk. ✨Registration is required, and space is limited!✨ Must be ages 12 or older. Participants can expect to make up to 1-2 tiles each for use as a wall hanging or a coaster. To register for this free workshop contact the Glacier Art Museum info@glacierartmuseum.org or 406-755-5268. This workshop is presented by AWC partners @glacierartmuseum_mt and Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation, co-hosted by Lone Pine State Park. Learn more at glacierartmuseum.org/artists-conversations/

We have a last minute opening in our Wilderness Steward internship opportunities and we're looking for the right person to join us in the Bob this summer! This is a 14-week paid internship based out of the remote Spotted Bear Ranger Station, running from May 11th through August 14th. The selected steward will gain hands-on experience through a mix of: 🚣‍♀️ River ranger duties 🥾 Wilderness trail crew work 🌱 Invasive species removal Food and lodging are provided! This an incredible opportunity to live and work in a spectacular backcountry setting while building valuable land management and stewardship experience. Learn more and how to apply at bmwf.org/jobs Email erynn@bmwf for more info! #lovethebob #bobmarshallwilderness #bobmarshallwildernesscomplex