Nursed by a moist Pacific maritime climate found in few other places in the generally arid state of Montana, the Kootenai National Forest is lushly overgrown with trees. Fifteen species of conifers alone can be found here, including ponderosa, lodgepole, and juniper, as well as Douglas-fir, Engelmann spruce, larch, and grand fir. The tenacious whitebark pine clings to the high, rocky folds of the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness, while hushed cathedrals of giant hemlocks and western red cedars rise above the forest floor. Read More »