The Gallatin National Forest contains 2,151,171 acres of National Forest land, checkboarded around 388,433 acres of privatly owned land, the result of land-grants to the railroads around the turn of the century and given to settlers as incentives to relocate there. The Forest Service is actively engaged in working to "swap" land in order to eliminate the in-holdings, especially where wildlife migration corridors are involved. Over 68,000 such acres have been consolidated to the Forest in the last 10 years. About 41% of the Gallatin is designated wilderness and the Forest administers 581,000 acres of the 944,748 acre Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness and 140,594 acres of the 259,000 acre Lee Metcalf Wilderness.
Seven National Recreation Trails can be found in the Gallatin, and a total of over 2290 miles of hiking trails are available. Over 4000 miles of streams, 1740 of which are deemed fishable, exist in the Forest. Another 18,800 acres of reservoir and lake hahbitat are available. The habitat supports over 300 wildlife species, including the threatened/endagered grizzly bear, bald eagle, and peregrine falcon. Winter range exists for elk, white-tailed deer, mule deer, bison, moose, bighorn sheep, and antelope. Predatory species include mountain lion, bobcat, grizzly and black bears, eagles, hawks, falcons, and owls.
The Lee Metcalf Wilderness contains 140,594 acres and is home to grizzly and black bears, mountain goats, and bighorn sheep.