Welcome to Sanders County

Published: 2019
By Juli Thurston

MSU Extension in Sanders County is a three-way partnership between Sanders County, Montana State University and the United States Department of Agriculture. This partnership provides educational programs in the areas of Agriculture/Natural Resources, 4-H Youth Development, Community Development, and Family and Consumer Sciences. Sanders County is located in Northwestern Montana. It is bordered on the west by Idaho’s Panhandle and is Montana’s 18th most populous county with a population of about 11,336 (2015 estimate). The county was established in 1905 and named after Wilbur Fisk Sanders, pioneer and U.S. Senator from Montana. Sanders County encompasses 2,790 square miles and just over 1.7 million acres. There is a diverse mix of agricultural land, small acreage subdivisions, rural communities and range or forested land. The economy of Sanders County is specialized in agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting, mining, quarrying, oil, gas extraction, and construction, which employ more people than what would be expected in a location of this size. The largest industries in Sanders County are healthcare & social assistance, construction, and retail trade. Sanders County includes the city of Thompson Falls as the county seat, Plains, and the town of Hot Springs. The Clark Fork River, a tributary of the Columbia, runs the length of the valley in Sanders County. The county also encompasses the Cabinet Mountain Wilderness and two National Forests. MSU Extension provides a unique set of services and educational resources to meet the diverse and changing needs of local clientele. Sanders County MSU Extension is supported by Commissioners Carol Brooker, Anthony Cox, and Glen Magera.