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Missoula County

Welcome to Missoula County

Published: 2020
By Jerry Marks
Missoula is known as the Garden City because of its ability to grow local food crops. In the early days, fruits and vegetables were marketed to surrounding mining communities. Today a number of stores and restaurants use locally grown food crops, and producers can market through seven farmers markets. Missoula County has a population of 120,647 people. Missoula, the county seat, has a population of 77,058. The major industry for many decades was timber. That has declined significantly since the early 1970s and Missoula has become a regional trade center. Additional categories of economic importance are educational services, health care and social services. Due to the interest and concerns about invasive species, the Extension office and Weed District are combined into one department. Considerable effort has resulted in new tools and sustainable methods of managing invasive weeds such as the biological weed control program. Through the encouragement of the Governor, the department has provided statewide leadership in organizing a Montana Invasive Species Council.
Lolo Peak as seen from near the Missoula County Extension office.