Thank you to our 2026 NMLA members for a successful project season!
See you next year.
Learn more about our 2026 projects below
Assessments
Glacier National Park
Mount Brown Condition Assessment
Built in 1929, Mount Brown Lookout is Glacier National Park’s one of the oldest remaining fire lookouts, featuring a short hip roof and panoramic views of Lake McDonald via a five-mile trail.
The condition assessment by NMLA volunteers Greg Evans and Katie Marsonette found the interior cab and storage area in good condition aside from floors needing paint. However, the exterior needs substantial maintenance, including caulking and painting, replacing heavily weathered shutters and the south catwalk railing, painting the catwalk decking, securing bottom siding boards with hardware cloth and nails, reinforcing stair railings, and repairing the privy.
Heavens Peak Condition Assessment- Rescheduled to 2027
Rescheduled: The site assessment by NMLA volunteers Kirs Powell and Troy Timbo did not unfold as planned, as the access route from the Camas drainage proved unfavorable. As a result, the assessment has been rescheduled for next year using an alternative route.
Heavens Peak Lookout is located about a mile northwest of Heavens Peak. Built in 1945 by conscientious objectors during World War II, the structure combines stone and wood to withstand its rocky, windswept site, featuring a stone foundation, a stone-walled catwalk, a 12-by-12-foot cab, and a flat roof.
Kootenai National Forest
Mount Henry Lookout Condition Assessment
Mount Henry Lookout is located approximately 10 miles northeast of Yaak at an elevation of 7,146 feet. A condition assessment was conducted by Ashley, Mitch Eddy, Karen Sheets, Mark Sheets, and Bob Lambrecht with the goal of undertaking a major restoration project on the lookout in the coming years.
In 1925, the Kootenai National Forest constructed a stone-and-frame cupola lookout on Mount Henry. This structure was replaced in 1942 with the current L-4, 14-by-14-foot cab with a catwalk on a 10-foot log tower. Mount Henry Lookout was abandoned in 1973; it is now used only during emergencies and was partially restored in the 1990s.
Keeler Lookout Condition Assessment
Keeler Mountain Lookout, located in Lincoln County, Montana, within the Kootenai National Forest, sits roughly 10 miles south of Troy. Ahead of the 2026 fire season, Stacey Dunn, Larry Shadow, and Chuck Manning teamed up with the Forest Service to perform a condition assessment, exploring the possibility of reactivating the structure as a staffed fire lookout. Upgrading the lightning protection system emerged as a top priority for both the Forest Service and NMLA volunteers.
The current structure is a 53-foot treated lumber R-6 tower, marking the third lookout at this site. The location’s history dates back to 1924 with a 50-foot platform tower and a log cabin (which still stands), followed by a 50-foot pole tower featuring an L-4 cab in 1934. The present 53-foot treated timber tower with its R-6 flat cab was constructed in 1963. Access to the area is currently closed off to protect grizzly bear habitat.
Robinson Lookout Condition Assessment
Robinson Mountain Lookout is one of the few remaining gable-roof cupola lookouts, a style that was once common in Montana and northern Idaho. Built in 1929, the 12-by-14-foot shake-and-frame cabin was abandoned in 1948 and restored to serviceable condition in 1983 by the Kootenai National Forest. It sits at an elevation of 7,404 feet, just a few miles south of the Canadian border.
Volunteers Gary Weber (National FFLA Treasurer) and Chuck Manning conducted the assessment, with assistance from Ksanka Ranger District employees Marcy Goheen and Traci Swope. Atlee Yoder, a local resident who supplied the riding stock and has spent many hours stabilizing and maintaining the lookout over the years, was also instrumental throughout the process. Overall, the structure remains in good condition, though it will require future attention to resolve specific structural issues alongside ongoing maintenance.
Stahl Lookout Condition Assessment
Stahl Peak Lookout sits on a high outcrop in the Ten Lakes area. Built in 1926, this cupola-style lookout cabin served as an active fire-detection post into the 1960s. Today, it operates as an emergency shelter situated near the Pacific Northwest Trail, which spans approximately 1,200 miles from its eastern terminus in the northeast corner of Glacier National Park, Montana, to its western terminus in Olympic National Park, Washington.
Ahead of potential restoration work at Stahl Peak, volunteers Barb Hvizdak, Mark Miller, and Chuck Manning of NMLA conducted this year’s pre-project assessment. Planned improvements include removing and restoring all windows, building and replacing all shutters, and repairing the south wall, which has settled due to its loose-stack rock foundation.
Zeigler Mountain Lookout Condition Assessment
Located atop a flat 20-acre summit at an elevation of 5,296 feet, Zeigler Mountain Lookout overlooks the surrounding rugged terrain. The site was first established in 1915 with a log cabin and a three-legged platform tower, followed by a second platform tower in 1928 and a 30-foot pole L-4 tower in 1933. The current structure, a 32-foot treated-timber R-6 flat-top tower with a catwalk, was constructed in 1959.
Deb and Bob Starling, alongside Chuck and Nancy Manning, conducted a condition assessment for the Libby Ranger District to evaluate the feasibility of restaffing the lookout for future fire detection.
The lookout tower, catwalk, and cab exterior were found to be in good condition. While the door shutter was securely fastened to block rodents—preventing physical access inside—the team removed two window shutters to photograph the interior. These photos revealed very good interior condition, complete with the basic equipment required for restaffing, and no evidence of rodent activity or droppings.
Stillwater Montana State Forest- DNRC
Werner Peak Lookout Condition Assessment
We are looking for 2-4 volunteers to join for a condition assessment. You’ll be in the Stillwater area roughly 23 miles north of Whitefish, Montana. This is a drive-to lookout. Dates TBD based on assessment crew.
Projects
Glacier National Park
Porcupine Ridge Lookout Project
Rescheduled: Due to the trail access issues, this project will now take place in late September or next summer.
Volunteers Joann and Joe Schmidt, Bob Cowdrick, and Steve Glow were scheduled to perform the assessment and install new shutters (which were delivered to the lookout earlier this summer).
Porcupine Ridge Lookout overlooks the Waterton River drainage. Built between 1939 and 1940, it is a classic two-story National Park Service frame cab. Although it has not been used regularly for fire detection since about 1972, the structure remains standing and continues to support backcountry ranger operations.
Kootenai National Forest
McGuire Lookout Project Description
After 35 years of abandonment, McGuire Mountain Lookout was restored in 1982 and added to the rental system. Constructed in 1924, the lookout is a D-6 cupola design, a standard model of its era before the L-4 series became widely used.
Barb Hvizdak and Chuck Manning completed the restoration and maintenance work, which included converting the removable cupola shutters back to the original hinged system, spot painting the structure to protect it from extreme weather and installing screens to improve ventilation. Critical packing support before and after the project was provided by Alden Totten, Seline and Cody Allen, and Wayne Allen from the Northwest Montana Back Country Horsemen, along with Andrew Cote from the Riverstone Family Lodge.
The lookout is currently available for public rental through Recreation.gov.
North West Peak Lookout Project- Rescheduled for 2027
Rescheduled: The project is rescheduled to 2027 due to helicopter availability and increased wildfire activity.
Located within the Purcell Mountains in the far northwestern corner of Montana, the NW Peak Lookout sits inside the 19,100-acre Northwest Peaks Scenic Area, just south of the Canadian border and near the Idaho border. The site was first established as a patrol camp in 1921.
In 1929, a prototype gabled L-4 ground house was constructed, serving as the forerunner to the classic L-4 models built throughout the West. Although abandoned for fire detection in 1955, the structure survived the elements and was restored in the 1980s as a protected historic site. It is now listed on the National Historic Lookout Register, and it remains one of the few surviving gabled-roof L-4s.
The 2026 work plan called for reinstalling the windows reconditioned in 2024–25, replacing the exterior siding, installing new shutters and braces currently stored in the lookout cab, completing the ceiling boards, adding a new ridge cap and lightning protection air terminals, and painting the entire structure inside and out.
Mount Wam Lookout Project Description
Situated on a 7,121-foot peak in the Ten Lakes area of the Whitefish Range, the Mount Wam Lookout was built by the Forest Service in 1931 and is one of the last remaining gable-roof L-4 lookouts. Last used for fire detection in the 1950s, the structure now sits near the Pacific Northwest Trail, where it frequently serves as a shelter for thru-hikers.
To protect the historic building from the harsh mountaintop environment, Northwest Montana Lookout Association volunteers Ashley Ehrmantrout, Steve Glow, and Chuck Manning repaired and secured damaged shutters and constructed a new shutter for the entry door.
Pack support for the project was provided by members of the Northwest Montana Back Country Horsemen (NWMTBCH). Alden Totten and his daughter, Seline, packed all the necessary materials and supplies, while Guadalupe, Ezekiel, and Abraham Chentnik packed the supplies out. Thank you, NWMTBCH!
Meadow Peak Lookout Project
Sitting at 6,710 feet in northwestern Montana’s Purcell Range, Meadow Peak Lookout in Kootenai National Forest has monitored wildfires for nearly 100 years. The site’s original cupola cabin was replaced in 1936 by a 15-foot timber tower featuring an L-4 cab. In 1957, it was upgraded to the current L-4 lookout, which sits on a 10-foot treated timber frame with a wrap-around catwalk.
Troy Denman and his son Turner repaired the shutter hardware that had become bent due to the strong winds. This lookout is above the Lost Prairie drop zone and McGregor Lake. The Libby District rents this lookout from July 1 thru September 30 annually. It is a favorite. The NMLA did extensive restoration on this lookout to allow for future use.
