Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Before beginning your tour, stop in at the visitors center for informative displays, know-
ledgeable park rangers, and a large relief map of the refuge marked with small lights indic-
ating where bison can likely be seen that day.
Named for the first Indian agent, Major Peter Ronan, who wrote the history of the Flathead
people and was respected by them, the town of Ronan (population 1,883, elevation 3,047
feet) was once part of the Flathead Reservation before it was opened to sale and settlement
in 1910.
Ronan's history is marked by tragedy and travesty. In 1912 a fire erupted in an automo-
bile garage on a particularly windy afternoon. Within hours, the entire town lay in ruins.
In June 1929 a robbery at the Ronan State Bank made a group of seven 20-something rob-
bers $3,000 richer. They went on a spree of robberies across the state with police always
a few steps behind. Eventually all but the ringleader were caught and either killed during
the pursuit or sent to prison. A woman who accompanied them, known dramatically as “the
woman in white,” was eventually found murdered in a Helena brothel.
Today Ronan is known for its proximity to some of the state's most beautiful wildlife
refuges, the Ninepipe National Wildlife Refuge and, farther south, the National Bison
Range.
Ninepipe National Wildlife Refuge
Located five miles south of Ronan and just north of the National Bison Range on land
of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribe, the
Ninepipe National Wildlife Refuge
(
www.fwp.mt.gov
)
is a waterfowl preserve. Established in 1921, these wetlands are at the
base of the Mission Mountains and situated around a large reservoir. The marshlands are
difficult to walk through, but good bird-watching is possible from the road that runs along
the reservoir. The refuge is situated on a popular migratory path for numerous birds, includ-
ing mallards, gadwalls, great blue herons, and swans. It has become an important breeding
and resting area for the Flathead Valley Canada goose population. The refuge is closed dur-
ing waterfowl hunting season (fall) and the nesting season (spring).
