Our southwest section, the Beartooth Ranger District , is one of the gateways to Yellowstone National Park, and is part of the greater Yellowstone area, one of the largest intact temperate ecosystems left on the planet. Views from Beartooth Scenic Byway are spectacular, as the road winds upward of 11,000 feet. The Custer is well known for lake and stream fishing, and provides habitat for mountain goats, bighorn sheep, moose, elk, white-tail deer, mule deer, mountain grouse, black bear, cougar, and bobcats. Occasionally grizzly bear are seen in areas of the wilderness located on the Custer. South-central Montana's Ashland Ranger District offers a variety of topography, varying from rolling grasslands to steep rock outcrops.
Vegetation varies from prairie to dense stands of ponderosa pine.