Report highlights
The Wyoming Range is an isolated string of peaks rising from sloping foothills and vast sagebrush plains of western Wyoming. These mountains are a surprise, a shadowy silhouette on the horizon tucked away from major highways. Those who venture into its reaches discover one of Wyoming's finest collections of natural treasures—creeks plunging over spectacular falls, pristine alpine lakes, open meadows and rust-colored peaks rising to 11,363 feet in elevation. Despite the range’s recreational and natural values, the U.S. Forest Service is proposing to open these public lands to oil and gas development.
Our report, The Wyoming Range: Wyoming's Hidden Gem, tells the story of these mountains from the perspectives of those who know them well, people such as legendary outfitter Sam Young, mountaineer Thomas Turiano, Pinedale angler Sam Sharp and former Sublette County Commissioner Gordon Johnston. In addition to alpine scenery and exceptional recreational opportunities, the Wyoming Range, part of Bridger-Teton National Forest, provides important wildlife habitat in the southern reaches of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Prized herds of big game, populations of native cutthroat trout, threatened predators, and rare bird species rely on the Wyoming Range’s forested highlands, sage-covered foothills and pure water for survival.
Today, residents of nearby communities such as Big Piney and Bondurant make a living from outfitting, guiding or grazing in the range. But the mountains are also where locals and visitors engage in a wide variety of recreational activities. When crowds flock to the nearby Wind River Range or Jackson's various hot spots, the Wyoming Range remains a place of escape, where you can experience the silence and solitude of wild country. Here the scenery rivals any national park. And even though it's remote, a network of roads and trails make the range accessible.
The Wyoming Range at a Glance:
- Rugged chain of mountains running north to south for 100 miles in western Wyoming, encompassing nearly 700,000 acres.
- Largest roadless area in Bridger-Teton National Forest and part of the largest roadless complex in Wyoming.
- Only area in Wyoming harboring four subspecies of native cutthroat trout and one of the few remaining strongholds for Colorado River cutthroat.
- World-class hunting for mule deer, elk and moose. Contains half of Wyoming's moose population, as well as key habitat for the state’s largest mule deer population.
- Popular recreation area for camping, hiking, ORV, snowmobiling and mountain biking.
- Provides habitat for grizzly, wolf, wolverine and lynx.
- Travel spending in surrounding communities reached over $20 million in 2004.
An Uncertain Future
The Bridger-Teton National Forest is revising its land-use plan, which will guide management of the Wyoming Range and nearby mountain ranges. Now is the time to speak up to demand protection for this special landscape. In the works are plans for additional oil and gas leasing across the range, new exploratory wildcat wells in the upper Hoback River drainage and a proposed coalbed methane project in the southern foothills. While there is a role for new, responsible energy development on our public lands, the Wyoming Range is not the place. Given the natural gas boom happening in the adjacent Upper Green River Valley, a different course is needed here. This report indicates the extent to which Wyoming residents cherish the state’s namesake mountains for their natural and cultural values, which provide lasting economic benefits.
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