Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation
“Maintain and restore the trail system and wilderness character of the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex.”
The work
What they do
Volunteer trail maintenance and stewardship in the Bob Marshall, Scapegoat, and Great Bear wilderness areas. Runs pack-supported volunteer trail crews.
Every year they sign one sentence and file it with the federal government: “THE BOB MARSHALL WILDERNESS FOUNDATION CONNECTS AMERICANS WITH THEIR WILDERNESS HERITAGE BY PROVIDING ACCESS TO AND STEWARDSHIP OF ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST SPECTACULAR PLACES - MONTANA'S BOB MARSHALL WILDERNESS COMPLEX, THE CROWN JEWEL OF THE WILDERNESS SYSTEM. WE HELP HUNDREDS OF HARD-WORKING VOLUNTEERS, INCLUDING YOUTH, DEVELOP A LAND ETHIC AND GIVE BACK TO THE WILDERNESS BY OPENING TRAILS. RESTORING HEAVILY USED AREAS, MAINTAINING HISTORIC STRUCTURES AND FIGHTING WEEDS. ACTIVE WILDERNESS STEWARDSHIP IS OUR MISSION.”
Where the money went, FY2025
The work, and what it cost
Keeping wilderness wild
$670KTHE STEWARDSHIP PROGRAMS THAT BMWF COORDINATES ARE INVALUABLE TO THE WILDERNESS RECREATIONAL COMMUNITY INCLUDING HUNTERS, ANGLERS, HIKERS, BACKPACKERS, HORSEMEN, AND PACKERS.
Read it as they filed it
STEWARDSHIP - THE STEWARDSHIP PROGRAMS THAT BMWF COORDINATES ARE INVALUABLE TO THE WILDERNESS RECREATIONAL COMMUNITY INCLUDING HUNTERS, ANGLERS, HIKERS, BACKPACKERS, HORSEMEN, AND PACKERS. EACH YEAR BMWF ENGAGES AN AVERAGE OF 400 VOLUNTEERS, AGES 12 TO 80, IN CONSERVATION PROJECTS. PROJECTS INVOKE A SENSE OF PRIDE FOR MONTANA'S MOST TREASURED LANDSCAPE. BOTH YOUTH AND ADULT VOLUNTEERS HAVE LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCES. IN 2025, 380 BMWF VOLUNTEERS WORKED A TOTAL OF 20,216 HOURS ON 48 PROJECTS, CLEARING 2,415 DOWNED TREES, MAINTAINING 448 MILES OF TRAIL, AND CONDUCTING 132 ACRES OF WEED SUPPRESSION. THE TOTAL VALUE OF LABOR DONATED TO PUBLIC LANDS BY BMWF VOLUNTEERS IN 2025 WAS $1,143,122.00
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Keeping wilderness wild
$92KIN 2025, BMWF PROVIDED 16 COLLEGE AND HIGH SCHOOL AGE YOUTH WITH WILDERNESS CONSERVATION INTERNSHIPS WHERE THEY WORKED SHOULDER TO SHOULDER WITH FOREST SERVICE WILDERNESS RANGERS.
Read it as they filed it
INTERNSHIPS - IN 2025, BMWF PROVIDED 16 COLLEGE AND HIGH SCHOOL AGE YOUTH WITH WILDERNESS CONSERVATION INTERNSHIPS WHERE THEY WORKED SHOULDER TO SHOULDER WITH FOREST SERVICE WILDERNESS RANGERS.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Follow the dollar
74 cents of every dollar goes to the work
Read it as a snapshot, not a scorecard. Splits move year to year with grants and campaigns, and healthy shops live all across this range.
Backed on the record by REI Cooperative Action Fund, latest filing FY24.
$762,088 programs, $128,895 management, $132,167 fundraising. Form 990, FY2025.
The people
Who does the work
Honesty note: leadership comes from each year’s federal filing, so it can run a year behind. Orgs that claim their page can update it same-day. Work at BMWF? Claim this page.
Those 380 volunteers are people who decided this ground was theirs to defend. If BMWF is fighting for your place too, the matchmaker will find your way in.
Make it 381The filings
14 years of filings
14 years of filings
Total revenue by fiscal year, as filed. Point at the line for any year.
| Year | Revenue |
|---|---|
| 2011 | $179,605 |
| 2012 | $230,317 |
| 2013 | $302,563 |
| 2014 | $281,690 |
| 2015 | $213,805 |
| 2016 | $383,952 |
| 2017 | $329,821 |
| 2018 | $346,602 |
| 2019 | $394,183 |
| 2020 | $698,280 |
| 2021 | $622,590 |
| 2022 | $757,823 |
| 2023 | $888,222 |
| 2025 | $1,262,165 |
From $180K in 2011 to $1.3M in FY25, across 14 public filings. The 2025 peak of $1.3M reads like one-time gifts, so trust the line, not the peak.
The Montana congressional delegation averages 7 of 100 on public lands. See the full scorecard
Ways in
How to help
74 cents of your dollar goes straight to the work above.
Give on their site ↗Show upVolunteer with themFind their volunteer door on their own site.
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Threatened Lands MapStand with Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation
29 years on the ground, 380 volunteers, 74 cents of every dollar on the line. That is who is holding it. There is room for one more.