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The National Bison Range is closed until further notice, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Thursday.

The 18,800-acre Bison Range, located about an hour north of Missoula, draws tens of thousands of visitors each year and is sometimes called the “Crown Jewel of the National Wildlife Refuge System.” Its main attraction, a 19-mile tour road for wildlife viewing, is typically open May through October.

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the Fish and Wildlife Service previously closed the Bison Range’s Visitor Center and vault toilets, but a shorter tour road and day-use picnic area remained open until Thursday, when the agency announced that it would close the refuge entirely “to ensure the health and safety of our visitors and employees in light of the novel coronavirus pandemic and the large increase in visitation experienced at the refuge in recent days that was precluding effective social distancing.”