Bighorn National Forest Rock Creek

WWA hosted Rock Creek Congressional Tour and presentation
at the HF Bar Ranch in Saddlestring, WY. September 2007

The Wyoming Wilderness Act was one of my proudest achievements as a member of congress.” --VP Dick Cheney, 2000 PBS Interview

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ROCK CREEK HISTORY & VALUES

If designated, Rock Creek would be the first
wilderness area in Wyoming in 24 years.

Rock Creek was the last area to be removed from the 1984 Wyoming Wilderness Act. Instead 40,000 acres were added as northeast and northwest side additions to Cloud Peak with the passing and signing of the Act on October 30, 1984.

Many local citizens advocated strongly for the ‘84 passage. The most prominent was Jack Horton of the HF Bar Ranch. Jack, who received a Princeton scholarship and attended Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, gained his love of mountain adventure growing up at the HF Bar. In the 1960’s, he was recruited as the Executive Director of the Wyoming Republican Party and served as Assistant Secretary of the Interior under Presidents Nixon and Ford.

Lori VanBuggenum, Christina Isbell and Ramie Holmquist on one of our
hikes into Rock Creek in the Bighorn Mountains.

Rock Creek was special to Jack and his fiancé Margi Schroth, the present day owner of the HF Bar. He said, “We must do whatever we can to preserve this place. It’s our responsibility to see that what we enjoy today will remain for future generations.” Jack Horton’s life tragically ended in 1982, two years before the Act’s final passage, but his love for and dedication to Rock Creek is carried on by Margi.

Leases for oil and gas and the potential need for water storage were given as reasons for Rock Creek’s omission from the 1984 Wyoming Wilderness Act. In the 1990’s, three holes were drilled north, south and east of Rock Creek and abandoned. Today there is a low potential for oil and gas production. The predominantly limestone canyons are not geologically suitable for water storage.

In 2005, Rock Creek was recommended for Wilderness by the Bighorn National Forest (BNF) in the Final Revised Forest Plan.

From across the country, over 16,000 letters were written for the protection of Rock Creek during the 2005 Forest Plan revision process, including hundreds from citizens of Sheridan and Johnson Counties, plus four generations of HF Bar’s guests.

The Wyoming Wilderness Association has taken the lead on increasing public awareness of the area through organizing tours, educational programs and media stories.

WILDERNESS VALUES

Rock Creek is extremely valuable to hunters as one of the best primitive hunting areas in the BNF. It has the largest area of quality elk security coverage in the Bighorns.

Rock Creek also serves as a corridor from the high country to the Bud Love Habitat Management Unit, providing a year-round elk range, important calving area, and ensuring a healthy elk population.

The South Fork of Rock Creek was 1 of 3 rivers on the east side of the Bighorns identified as eligible for potential designation as a Wild & Scenic River during the 2005 Forest Plan revision process.

Rock Creek would add much-needed lower elevation forestlands to the Cloud Peak Wilderness, creating a complete ecosystem from prairies to high peaks and protecting key watersheds and wildlife habitat.

Other Values and Issues:

The Rock Creek roadless area has never been opened to motorized use. It is simply too rugged for roads and receives too little snow for snow machines.

The Wilderness Act allows for motorized uses when necessary to ensure the health and safety of people.

The National Wilderness Act states, “such measure may be taken as may be necessary in the control of fire, insects and diseases” (Section 4(d)(1), ensuring manageability of the area if necessary.

The trees in the Rock Creek area are predominately small and dense lodgepole pine with a scattering of ponderosa on the edges. Timber in Rock Creek is harder to access and less cost-efficient to harvest than in other government and private forestlands which can be easily reached using the current road system.

There are 7 access points to Rock Creek: from Penrose Trail via Willow Park, from the HF Bar to South Fork of Rock Creek, Sayles Creek through the Bud Love during the summer, and Triangle Park, Keno Creek, and the South Fork using 4-wheel drive on road 396 and 388.

A special provision in the National 1964 Wilderness Act allows livestock grazing to occur in wilderness areas. The permitted grazing leases in Rock Creek will continue after wilderness designation.

The “multiple uses” of wilderness include cross-country skiing, livestock grazing, horseback riding, rock climbing, bird watching, snowshoeing, orienteering, hunting, fishing, watershed protection, scientific research, mountaineering, wildlife habitat, rockhounding, dog sledding, backpacking and hiking. Both ecological and recreation uses contribute to the natural capital that helps communities diversify economies by attracting and retaining new businesses, residents and a local workforce.

Designating Rock Creek as Wilderness will ensure that Wyoming’s communities will continue to enjoy scenic backdrops, exceptional hunting and fishing opportunities and economic sustainability that makes Wyoming a quality place to live and an attractive place to visit.