Clark Resource Council: Issues

Bald Ridge Seasonal Closure Area and Critical Big Game Winter/Parturition Range

Bald Ridge

The Bald Ridge Seasonal Closure Area
(SCA) consists of some eight roadless sections of BLM land along Bald Ridge bordered on the west by the Shoshone National Forest and on the north by the Clarks Fork River. Wyoming state lands are also on the northern and southern boundaries of this Special Management Area. The Bald Ridge (SCA) is accessed by the Hogan trailhead at the Hogan and Luce Reservoirs and campground. Seasonal closure to all human presence for this critical big game winter and parturition (calving) range extends from December 15 to April 30 each year.

The Bald Ridge (SCA) ranges in elevation from some 4,300 to 7,600 feet. Habitat varies from riparian to fragile high mountain desert to upland meadows and sheltered pine forested, spring fed canyons. The topography is varied with the front of Bald Peak marked by ragged flatirons and deeply incised canyons while Bald Ridge's smooth and rounded surface is covered with rich grasses. Newmeyer Creek, with its headwaters in the Shoshone National Forest, acts as a wildlife corridor.

If stunning vistas and crucial wildlife habitat like this doesn't deserve protection, what does?

Big game herds from Sunlight Basin utilize the lower elevations during winter and spring along with large resident herds of elk, mule deer and white tail deer. It is not uncommon to see herds of 800 to 1000 animals grazing together. Bighorn sheep, mountain goats, moose and antelope are also present as are grizzly bear, black bear, bobcat, mountain lions and wolves. The bird population is generously represented by mountain plover, sage grouse, golden and bald eagles, osprey, long billed curlew, peregrine falcon along with pelicans, swans, sandhill cranes, partridge, pheasant and a myriad of song birds. The area also contains two sensitive plant species, which occur in cushion plant communities--Shoshonea pulvinata and sweet flowered rock jasmine.

The Bald Ridge SCA contains many Native American sites worthy of National Historic Register status and significant paleontologic sites. It is an area that is rugged, wild, pristine, and worthy of preservation for the continued use of wildlife, hunters, anglers and recreationists.