USFWS · Montana

Pablo National Wildlife Refuge

Pablo National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge of the United States located in northwestern Montana. It is a unit of the National Bison Range Complex of refuges. It is within the Flathead Indian Reservation, about 2 mi (3.2 km) south of Polson.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Wildlife Refuge2,482 acresUSFWSMT
Official page at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ↗
Pablo National Wildlife Refuge
Photo by Jesse Achtenberg, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in the public domain, from Wikimedia Commons.
4 fires
active
Sl Beaver Plie Rx (prescribed burn) · 27 mi from the center
3 more within 50 miles
Incident details ↓

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Wildlife Refuge
Managed byU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
StateMontana
Size2,482 acres
FWS regionRegion 6
Center point47.64° N, 114.16° W
Night skySome glow on the horizon (Black Marble reading 41)

Boundary map

1 outline

Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees

The outline is the agency boundary simplified for display, so small parcels and inholdings may not show. The agency page has the authoritative map.

Weather by month

NOAA climate normals →
Weather by month near Pablo National Wildlife Refuge20°30°40°50°60°70°January: 0.94 inches of precipitationFebruary: 0.79 inches of precipitationMarch: 0.89 inches of precipitationApril: 1.43 inches of precipitationMay: 1.99 inches of precipitationJune: 2.44 inches of precipitationJuly: 0.84 inches of precipitationAugust: 0.76 inches of precipitationSeptember: 1.19 inches of precipitationOctober: 1.59 inches of precipitationNovember: 1.22 inches of precipitationDecember: 0.93 inches of precipitationJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 27.7°F averageFebruary: 29.4°F averageMarch: 37.8°F averageApril: 44.9°F averageMay: 53.3°F averageJune: 59.8°F averageJuly: 68.0°F averageAugust: 67.3°F averageSeptember: 58.3°F averageOctober: 45.6°F averageNovember: 34.3°F averageDecember: 27.6°F average0 in0.5 in1 in1.5 in2 in2.5 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Polson, 3 miles from the center point at 3,010 feet, station USC00246635 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 15 inches a year.

Large units span more than one climate. The station stands in for the center point, and the outer parts of the boundary can be warmer or colder.

Fire nearby

Within 50 miles · as of 2026-11-01
  • Prescribed
    Sl Beaver Plie Rx

    27 mi from the center point

  • Prescribed
    Rx Pln Rocky Swamp

    39 mi from the center point · 10 acres

  • Prescribed
    Hh Betty Baptiste Hand Piles Rx

    39 mi from the center point

  • Prescribed
    Rx D7 Second Skinny S40 S51

    40 mi from the center point · 111 acres

Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge, and is measured from the center of a boundary that may be many miles across. Check the agency page for closures.

Explore

Nearby on the other atlases

National Register listings within 15 miles · 3 in all · Register Atlas

Landmarks are listed first, then by distance from the boundary.

Guidebooks for Montana

We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.

  • Camping Montana
    Kenneth L. Graham, 2019
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Best Backpacking Trips in Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado
    Mike White and Douglas Lorain, 2019
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Moon Montana
    Carter G. Walker, 2019
    Find at Bookshop.org

Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.

Reference

Questions people ask

How big is Pablo National Wildlife Refuge?

2,482 acres.

Source: How acreage is computed

Who manages Pablo National Wildlife Refuge?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

What state is Pablo National Wildlife Refuge in?

Montana.

Source: How states are assigned

How do I get to Pablo National Wildlife Refuge?

A point inside the boundary is at 47.635° N, 114.159° W. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Is there a fire near Pablo National Wildlife Refuge right now?

4 active incidents within 50 miles as of 2026-11-01, the nearest Sl Beaver Plie Rx at 27 miles. Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge.

Source: Fire nearby

Are there historic places near Pablo National Wildlife Refuge?

The National Register has 3 listings within 15 miles, including Polson Feed Mill and Olsson, Don E., House and Garage.

Source: Register Atlas

Sources

  • Boundary, name: the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refuge boundary layer.
  • States and territories: computed by intersecting the boundary with Census state polygons and coarse outlines of the territories and outlying islands. A place is listed when it holds at least one percent of the area. A boundary that touches no outline is listed under the nearest one.
  • Acreage: geodesic area of the published polygon. The agency’s official acreage can differ where the boundary includes water, easements or inholdings.
  • Photograph: the image Wikidata records for this refuge (Q7121704), the item linked to its Wikipedia article. Author and license come from the file page on Wikimedia Commons.
  • Description: Pablo National Wildlife Refuge on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. The article was accepted because its title contains this unit’s name.
  • Campgrounds: the Campsite Atlas index of federal campgrounds, matched to this boundary at build time.
  • Night sky: NASA Black Marble (VIIRS, 2016 composite) sampled at zoom 6 around the center point.
  • Weather, alerts, air quality, river flow and earthquakes load live in your browser from NWS, AirNow, USGS and iNaturalist when you open the page.