Bear Rocks

The Bear Rocks Inventoried Roadless Area covers 25,023 acres on the Bighorn National Forest in north-central Wyoming, along the high western slope of the Bighorn Range near the Medicine Wheel/Medicine Mountain National Historic Landmark. The named feature of Bear Rocks gives the area its identity. The country generates the Upper North Tongue River, with the North Tongue itself running through the area joined by Bone Creek, Little Willow Creek, Big Willow Creek, Trail Creek, Marcum Creek, Finger Creek, Bull Creek, Hideout Creek, Hidden Tepee Creek, Spring Creek, Sheeley Creek, Wallrock Creek, and Whedon Spring. These cold-water streams gather in the high subalpine country and descend toward the Tongue River drainage.

Forest communities sort themselves along the elevation gradient. Rocky Mountain Dry Subalpine Spruce-Fir Forest, with Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii) and subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa), dominates the upper slopes. Rocky Mountain Lodgepole Pine Forest (Pinus contorta) covers extensive mid-elevation stands, with Central Rockies Douglas-fir Forest (Pseudotsuga menziesii) on the cooler exposures and Rocky Mountain Aspen Forest with quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) patching the slopes. Above the conifer band, Rocky Mountain Subalpine Meadow and Northern Rockies Subalpine Grassland open to wildflower communities of American bistort (Bistorta bistortoides), white globe-flower (Trollius albiflorus), and the high-elevation cushion plant communities supporting Jones' columbine (Aquilegia jonesii), moss campion (Silene acaulis), and pale alpine forget-me-not (Eritrichium argenteum). Limber pine (Pinus flexilis) holds the rocky rims, and Intermountain Mountain Sagebrush Steppe with big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) occupies the lower transitions. Rocky Mountain Subalpine Streamside Woodland and Streamside Shrubland follow the creeks, with mountain bluebells (Mertensia ciliata) and bull elephant's-head (Pedicularis groenlandica) flowering in the wet meadows.

Wildlife sorts along these gradients. Wapiti (Cervus canadensis), moose (Alces alces), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) use the cover transitions between the conifer belt, meadow openings, and willow-lined drainages. American pika (Ochotona princeps) and yellow-bellied marmot (Marmota flaviventris) work the rocky outcrops of Bear Rocks itself. Snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus), red fox (Vulpes vulpes), and least chipmunk (Neotamias minimus) move through the forest understory. Rocky Mountain cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus virginalis) hold in the cold-water reaches of the North Tongue and its tributaries, with American dipper (Cinclus mexicanus) hunting invertebrates along the riffle reaches. Above, golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) and red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) hunt the open meadows. Williamson's sapsucker (Sphyrapicus thyroideus), olive-sided flycatcher (Contopus cooperi), Canada jay (Perisoreus canadensis), and dusky grouse (Dendragapus obscurus) thread the conifer canopy and edges, while broad-tailed hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus) and rufous hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus) feed at the wildflower meadows. Portions of this area fall within the potential range of several federally listed species; see the Conservation section for details.

A walker climbing through Bear Rocks crosses from spruce-fir forest into the open subalpine meadows where cushion plants flower close to the ground. The North Tongue drainage runs cold through willow-lined banks, and the watermelon snow (Chlamydomonas nivalis) tints late-season snowfields pink at the highest exposures.

The Bear Rocks Inventoried Roadless Area lies in the high country of the Bighorn Mountains, on the Medicine Wheel Ranger District of the Bighorn National Forest. The neighboring Medicine Wheel/Medicine Mountain National Historic Landmark anchors the deep human history of this country. "Artifacts and other archaeological evidence clearly indicate that the Medicine Wheel / Medicine Mountain NHL has been visited by Native Americans for nearly 7,000 years" [1]. The Medicine Wheel itself, sitting at 9,640 feet on the limestone surface of the prominent northwestern ridge of Medicine Mountain, "is a roughly circular pattern of stones about 82 feet in diameter surrounding a central stone cairn about 12 feet in diameter" with 28 radial lines extending to a peripheral circle [1].

Ethnographic and archaeological work has documented Native American traditional use by many tribes. "Traditional practitioners from the Arapaho, Bannock, Blackfeet, Cheyenne, Crow, Kootenai-Salish, Plains Cree, Shoshone and Sioux tribes generally venerate this landscape" [2]. The Crow had an extensive presence on the western slopes of the Bighorn Mountains beginning in the latter part of the 16th century [2]. Notable Indigenous leaders associated with the site include Plenty Coups, last hereditary chief of the Mountain Crow, who according to Crow oral tradition "fasted at the Bighorn Medicine Wheel — once with Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce," and Chief Washakie of the Eastern Shoshone, who "reportedly acquired much of his power at the Medicine Wheel" [2]. "The first documentary reference to the Wheel occurred in 1895, when Paul Francke described his hunting exploits in an article published in Forest and Stream" [2].

European-era land use followed quickly on the heels of documentation. "At the turn of the 20th century, miners and loggers harvested resources near the Medicine Wheel, and the resident bighorn sheep were soon hunted to extinction" [2]. "Later, the area served as an important summer range for domestic sheep and cattle" [2]. Across the broader Bighorns, tie hacks supplied the transcontinental railroad through the late 19th century, and the eastern slope became one of four major Wyoming tie-hacking districts [3].

Federal protection arrived in the 1890s. "On February 22, 1897, President Grover Cleveland signed legislation creating the Big Horn Forest Reserve, in recognition of the value these mountains hold for the American people and their livelihood" [3]. In 1907, a Congressional Act changed the Reserve to the Big Horn National Forest, and in 1908 President Theodore Roosevelt's executive order changed the name to Bighorn National Forest [3]. Between 1938 and 1940, the Civilian Conservation Corps "built roads, bridges, ranger stations, fire lookouts, reservoirs, telephone lines, campgrounds, and trails in the Bighorn National Forest" [3]. The Medicine Wheel itself was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970 [2], and the Landmark boundaries were enlarged from 110 to 4,080 acres in 2011 to reflect the broader Medicine Mountain cultural landscape [2]. A 1996 Historic Preservation Plan established a 23,000-acre "area of consultation" surrounding the Wheel and protocols for tribal ceremonial use [2]. The 25,023-acre Bear Rocks Inventoried Roadless Area sits within this broader cultural and ecological landscape, in Big Horn and Sheridan Counties, and is protected under the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule.

Vital Resources Protected

• Upper North Tongue River Headwater Integrity: The 25,023-acre roadless area generates the Upper North Tongue River and its tributaries — Bone Creek, Little Willow Creek, Big Willow Creek, Trail Creek, Hidden Tepee Creek, Wallrock Creek, and Whedon Spring. Without road density across the high subalpine country, the streams keep low sediment loads and cool temperatures under intact riparian cover of Rocky Mountain Subalpine Streamside Woodland and Subalpine Streamside Shrubland. Rocky Mountain cutthroat trout depend on this cold-water integrity, and the downstream North Tongue receives sediment-free water across the year.

• Subalpine Meadow and Cushion-Plant Communities: Rocky Mountain Subalpine Meadow and Northern Rockies Subalpine Grassland communities open between the conifer stands of the high country, supporting fragile cushion-plant species including Jones' columbine, moss campion, pale alpine forget-me-not, and white globe-flower. These plant communities recover extremely slowly after disturbance because of the short growing season and thin soils at this elevation; the unroaded condition preserves the matrix in which they persist.

• Limber Pine and Wildlife Connectivity: Rocky Mountain Limber and Bristlecone Pine Woodland holds the rocky rims of Bear Rocks itself, while spruce-fir and lodgepole forests provide continuous cover for wapiti, moose, mule deer, white-tailed deer, snowshoe hare, and red fox. American pika depend on the talus of Bear Rocks under increasing climate pressure. The intact forest-meadow-talus mosaic supports the seasonal movement these species require, and the unroaded condition keeps the network connected across the high country to the adjacent Medicine Mountain landscape.

Potential Effects of Road Construction

• Sedimentation and Cold-Water Stream Degradation: Road construction across the high subalpine slopes would expose erodible substrate through cut-and-fill grading, delivering chronic sediment into the Upper North Tongue River and its tributaries. NatureServe ecosystem assessments for Rocky Mountain Lodgepole Pine Forest and Central Rockies Douglas-fir Forest specifically identify road-related soil loss and water-quality impacts. Embedded sediment displaces the cobble substrate that Rocky Mountain cutthroat trout require for spawning, and recovery of streambed character after a road network is in place is exceptionally slow at these elevations.

• Habitat Fragmentation Through Roads and Service Corridors: NatureServe documents roads and railroads (threat category 4.1) as a documented stressor on species in this area's pool including American pika, moose, wapiti, white-tailed deer, and the limestone-cliff endemic Boechera stricta. Road construction would convert continuous spruce-fir and lodgepole forest into edge habitat, disrupting the seasonal movement patterns that wapiti, moose, and mule deer depend on between summer meadows and lower-elevation cover. Edge effects propagate well beyond the road prism itself.

• Cushion-Plant and Subalpine Community Disturbance: The fragile cushion-plant communities at the highest exposures of Bear Rocks, including Jones' columbine, moss campion, and pale alpine forget-me-not, occur on thin soils with short growing seasons. Road construction directly removes these communities along the road prism, and continued vehicle traffic compacts the surrounding ground and introduces invasive species. Recovery time at this elevation is measured in decades to centuries, and once the matrix is fragmented, recolonization from intact areas is extremely slow.

The 25,023-acre Bear Rocks Inventoried Roadless Area on the Bighorn National Forest sits in the high subalpine country of the western Bighorn Range, on the Medicine Wheel Ranger District. The area supports backcountry recreation across spruce-fir forest, lodgepole stands, subalpine meadows, and the talus formations of Bear Rocks itself. The country lies near the Medicine Wheel/Medicine Mountain National Historic Landmark, and the Upper North Tongue River and its tributaries thread through the area.

Trail-based recreation in this section of the Bighorns is limited compared to the heavily-trailed east slope. The No Spring Trail (#808) covers 2.0 miles on native-surface tread, providing direct entry into the heart of the unit. The remainder of the area is reached by cross-country travel from peripheral access points and the corridor along U.S. Highway 14A to the south, which serves as the principal driving access to this section of the forest. No developed trailheads or campgrounds lie within the unit; dispersed camping under Bighorn National Forest regulations is the primary overnight use.

Hunting is a major draw. Wapiti and mule deer move between the high subalpine meadows and surrounding lodgepole and spruce-fir cover. Moose use the willow-lined streamside corridors along the North Tongue and its tributaries. White-tailed deer occupy lower forest edges. Dusky grouse hold the spruce-fir understory and aspen edges. Wyoming Game and Fish Department regulations and area-specific tags apply throughout, and hunters should consult the Medicine Wheel Ranger District for access conditions and motorized closures.

Fishing is exceptional for high-mountain trout water. Rocky Mountain cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus virginalis) hold in the cold-water reaches of the North Tongue River and its tributaries, including Bone Creek, Big Willow Creek, Hidden Tepee Creek, and the named drainages of the unit. Wyoming fishing regulations and licensing apply; the cold-water character of these streams depends on the unroaded condition that limits sediment delivery. Access to most water requires hiking from peripheral roads or cross-country travel.

Birding is excellent across the elevational gradient. Three eBird hotspots lie within 24 km of the area — Bighorn NF--Sibley Lake (126 species), Bighorn NF--Burgess Junction (92 species), and Bighorn NF--Shell Falls Interpretive Site (84 species). Inside the unit, broad-tailed hummingbird and rufous hummingbird feed at the wildflower meadows, while olive-sided flycatcher, Williamson's sapsucker, and Cassin's finch work the conifer canopy. Canada jay holds the spruce-fir, and dusky grouse drum from cover at the meadow edges. Golden eagle and red-tailed hawk hunt the open meadows. American dipper works the cold-water streams. Mountain bluebird, lazuli bunting, and green-tailed towhee occupy the lower-elevation shrub habitats.

Photography subjects include the namesake outcrops of Bear Rocks, subalpine meadow wildflower communities with Jones' columbine, moss campion, white globe-flower, and bull elephant's-head, the high-elevation watermelon-snow phenomenon, and the cold-water streams of the North Tongue drainage.

The recreation here depends on the roadless condition. Roads constructed for any purpose would convert the unit's cross-country backcountry character into front-country motorized access, deliver chronic sediment into the cold-water streams that support cutthroat trout and American dipper, and fragment the seasonal movement of wapiti, moose, mule deer, and white-tailed deer. The current single trail (No Spring #808) and the absence of motorized roads support the quiet, ceremony-respectful character appropriate to country adjacent to the Medicine Wheel landscape.