Hicks Mountain

The Hicks Mountain Inventoried Roadless Area covers 16,334 acres of mountainous terrain in northeastern Elko County, Nevada, within the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. The area takes in Hicks Mountain itself, Merritt Mountain, Yankee Bill Summit, Salmon Meadow, and a dense fold of named drainages — Log Gulch, Ross Gulch, Snowshoe Gulch, Schoolhouse Draw, Blackbird Gulch, Deadhorse Draw, and Alder Gulch. The roadless area carries the headwaters of the McDonald Creek subbasin of the Bruneau River, including Salmon, Badger, McDonald, California, Pixley, Slaterock, Cowan, Hicks, and Big Springs creeks, along with Summit Spring. Hydrology here is of major regional significance: cold, well-shaded headwater streams flowing north into the Bruneau River system.

Vegetation tracks elevation and aspect on this high northern Great Basin terrain. Lower slopes and broad sage-steppe basins are held by Great Basin Big Sagebrush Steppe and Intermountain Mountain Sagebrush Steppe, with big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), bluebunch wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata), and arrowleaf balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata) defining the cover. Cool draws and north slopes carry Rocky Mountain Aspen Forest and Intermountain Aspen and Conifer Forest, where quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) gathers in clones along the heads of the gulches. Drier ridges support Intermountain Mountain Mahogany Woodland of curl-leaf mountain-mahogany (Cercocarpus ledifolius). The highest country carries Rocky Mountain Dry Subalpine Spruce-Fir Forest, Northern Rockies Subalpine Woodland and Parkland, and small stands of Great Basin Subalpine Bristlecone Pine Woodland with whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis). Rocky Mountain Subalpine Meadow occupies wet flats. Streamside woodland of willow, alder, and cottonwood threads each named creek.

The Bruneau-drainage tributaries hold a cold-water fish assemblage that is unusual in this part of Nevada. Bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) occupy the coldest, most shaded reaches of the headwater streams; rainbow trout or steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) use middle reaches; speckled dace (Rhinichthys osculus) fill the small tributaries. American beaver (Castor canadensis) build dams along the slow stretches, creating wetland complexes that hold water through the dry months. In the sagebrush steppe and aspen edges, northern harrier (Circus hudsonius) hunts above the open ground. At the highest elevations, whitebark pine seeds feed seed-caching birds and rodents. Suckley's cuckoo bumble bee (Bombus suckleyi) and monarch (Danaus plexippus) find host plants and forage in the subalpine meadows and streamside woodland. Portions of this area fall within the potential range of several federally listed species; see the Conservation section for details.

A traveler entering from a forest road on the perimeter walks up one of the named gulches — Log, Ross, or Alder — through sagebrush flats into aspen on the cool side of the draw, then climbs onto Hicks Mountain or Merritt Mountain through mountain-mahogany ridges. Salmon Meadow, broad and grassy, opens at the head of Salmon Creek; the creek beds carry willow shade and the sound of running water well beyond the immediate channel. Yankee Bill Summit gives the long view north into the Bruneau headwaters country. Spring brings aspen leaf-out and bull trout moving up into the shaded pools; in fall the same aspens turn gold and the ridge-line winds carry the sound of harrier wing-beats over the empty steppe.

The Hicks Mountain Inventoried Roadless Area lies in northeastern Elko County, Nevada, within the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest's Mountain City–Ruby Mountains–Jarbidge Ranger District. Long before American administration, this country was part of the homeland of the Western Shoshone — today represented locally by the Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians — whose ancestors hunted, gathered, and traveled across the high country between the Owyhee and Bruneau headwaters. After Anglo settlement of the Humboldt River corridor, "many Shoshone families began camping nearby and working at mining and railroad jobs in the community" near the new town of Elko [1]. The Elko Colony was eventually "established by Executive Order on March 25, 1918 which reserved 160 acres for Shoshone and Paiute Indians living near the town of Elko" [1].

Mining transformed this region beginning in 1869. "The first discoveries were made in 1869 by Jesse Cope and others who were on their way from Silver City, Idaho, to the White Pine district, Nevada, and from this circumstance the Mountain City region is called the Cope mining district" [2]. "On May 22, 1869, the Cope District was organized and soon a number of mines were in operation. By June, 300 people lived in the camp of Cope, and in July it was officially renamed Mountain City" [3]. "By June [1870], Mountain City's population peaked at 1200" [3]. "In the seventies there was considerable activity in mining and three silver mills were in operation... It is said that over $1,000,000 in silver was recovered prior to 1881, mainly from surface and shallow workings" [2]. Mountain City was the major nineteenth-century mining camp in the upper Owyhee country, and its supply routes, sawmills, and grazing leases reached up into the surrounding ranges, including the country around Hicks Mountain.

Federal administration of the high country began as the first mining boom had collapsed and before the second began. The "Independence National Forest in Nevada was established as the Independence Forest Reserve by the U.S. Forest Service on November 5, 1906 with 135,019 acres," and "became a National Forest on March 4, 1907" [4]. "On July 1, 1908 the entire forest was combined with Humboldt National Forest, and the name was discontinued" [4]. Local Forest Service administration followed: "The Gold Creek Ranger District lasted from 1907 to 1971 and became a part of the Mountain City Ranger District in 1971" [4].

A second mining boom returned the area to industrial activity in the 1930s. Geologist "S. Frank Hunt took it upon himself to prospect the Mountain City region once again. For more than a decade Hunt sought out a new bonanza, and remarkably in 1932 he found it. He discovered a great copper lode, resulting in the development of the Rio Tinto mine and the new company town at Mountain City" [2]. The Rio Tinto mine operated until the late 1940s, drawing labor and timber from the surrounding watersheds.

The 16,334-acre Hicks Mountain roadless area is administered today within the Mountain City–Ruby Mountains–Jarbidge Ranger District of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest and is protected under the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule.

Vital Resources Protected

• Cold Headwater Stream Integrity: The roadless designation preserves the McDonald Creek subbasin headwaters — Salmon, Badger, California, Hicks, Pixley, Slaterock, Cowan, and Big Springs creeks — which flow north into the Bruneau River. These cold, well-shaded streams hold bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus), federally Threatened, in the coldest reaches, along with rainbow trout, brook trout, and speckled dace. Without roads above the headwaters, sediment delivery to spawning gravels stays low, stream temperatures stay cold, and American beaver continue to engineer the slow-water wetland complexes that hold water through summer.

• Subalpine Whitebark Pine Refugia: Small stands of Great Basin Subalpine Bristlecone Pine Woodland and Northern Rockies Subalpine Woodland and Parkland on the highest ground hold whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis), federally Threatened. The roadless condition limits the introduction of white pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola) spores on equipment and tires, and keeps the slow-growing stands intact against the mountain pine beetle outbreaks that road-edge stress can amplify.

• Unbroken Sagebrush-Aspen Mosaic: Intermountain Mountain Sagebrush Steppe occupies 52.6% of the area, with Rocky Mountain Aspen Forest and Intermountain Aspen and Conifer Forest threading the cool draws (about 14% combined). Together they form a sagebrush-aspen mosaic supporting native pollinators, including Suckley's cuckoo bumble bee (Bombus suckleyi), proposed Endangered, and the migratory monarch (Danaus plexippus), proposed Threatened. Unbroken stand structure supports breeding-bird habitat in the aspen clones and pollinator forage through the sagebrush and meadow bloom.

Potential Effects of Road Construction

• Sediment Delivery and Bull Trout Decline: Road construction across the steep headwater slopes of the McDonald Creek system would deliver chronic sediment from cut slopes into bull trout spawning gravels. Bull trout require some of the coldest, cleanest water of any North American salmonid, and sediment-filled gravels suffocate eggs and fry. Culverts at stream crossings further fragment populations into isolated reaches with no possibility of recolonization after local extinctions.

• Whitebark Pine Disease Introduction: A road network into the subalpine zone where whitebark pine grows imports the spores of white pine blister rust on tires and equipment into stands that have so far avoided heavy infection because of their isolation. Whitebark pine seeds feed a range of high-elevation seed-cachers, and the loss of mature cone-bearing trees removes that food source for decades — recovery is on a multi-century timescale because the trees are slow to mature.

• Cheatgrass Invasion and Sagebrush Loss: A road corridor through Intermountain Mountain Sagebrush Steppe is an established invasion path for cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) and other annual invaders. Cheatgrass carries fire through sagebrush stands that historically burned at long intervals and converts the system to annual grassland, breaking the sagebrush-aspen mosaic and removing pollinator forage and breeding-bird habitat. Recovery from this transition takes decades and requires active treatment.

The Hicks Mountain Inventoried Roadless Area covers 16,334 acres of mountainous country in northeastern Elko County, Nevada, on the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest's Mountain City–Ruby Mountains–Jarbidge Ranger District. Terrain includes Hicks Mountain, Merritt Mountain, Yankee Bill Summit, Salmon Meadow, and a long series of named gulches and draws — Log Gulch, Ross Gulch, Snowshoe Gulch, Schoolhouse Draw, Blackbird Gulch, and Alder Gulch among them. The roadless designation limits new road construction across the area, though existing trails remain in place.

Hiking and Backcountry Travel

The area carries a substantial network of native-surface trails. The longest is the Mt. City ATV trail (16001) at 11.0 miles, with a series of lettered connectors and spurs (16001A through 16001G); several of these are designated for hiker use as well. The Summit trail (16390) runs 4.7 miles along the ridgeline; the McDonald trail (16393) covers 3.7 miles down its namesake drainage; the Dip trail (16240) and Flat 4 trail (16391) add 2.5 and 2.3 miles respectively. The Gulch trail (16239) is hiker-designated. No formal trailhead is listed inside the area; access is from forest roads that end at the perimeter. Off-trail travel follows the named gulches up to Hicks Mountain, Merritt Mountain, or Yankee Bill Summit.

Hunting

The mountain sagebrush, aspen, and mixed conifer cover supports mule deer and pronghorn under Nevada Department of Wildlife regulations. Mountain mahogany ridges hold deer through winter; aspen draws provide summer cover. Hunters access the area on foot or horseback from the perimeter road network.

Fishing

The cold tributaries of the McDonald Creek drainage — flowing north into the Bruneau River — hold rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), along with speckled dace in the smaller channels. Anglers should check current Nevada Department of Wildlife regulations; some Bruneau-drainage waters have special restrictions because of native cold-water fish concerns. The best holding water is in the shaded pools below Big Springs Creek and along Salmon Creek and Hicks Creek, where willow and alder shade the channel and American beaver (Castor canadensis) dams create slow-water complexes upstream of each colony.

Wildlife Watching and Photography

The aspen draws color in late summer and turn gold in mid-autumn — Salmon Meadow and the heads of Log Gulch and Alder Gulch carry the largest groves. Mountain wildflowers along the meadows include western blue flag (Iris missouriensis), arrowleaf balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata), and parsnipflower buckwheat (Eriogonum heracleoides) in early summer; spotted fritillary (Fritillaria atropurpurea) appears in moist shaded ground. Beaver-dam complexes along Salmon and Big Springs Creek provide reliable wildlife-viewing as evening approaches.

Dispersed Camping

No developed campgrounds are inside the area. Camping is dispersed under standard Humboldt-Toiyabe rules — pack out human waste, stay 200 feet from creeks and springs, and observe seasonal fire restrictions.

What the Roadless Condition Preserves

The recreation here depends on the existing trail-only access. The cold McDonald Creek headwaters that hold rainbow and brook trout remain free of sedimenting cut slopes; the long ridge of Hicks Mountain remains unfragmented; the beaver-dam complexes along Salmon Creek remain undisturbed by road crossings; and the high mountain-mahogany and subalpine country remains accessible only by foot, horse, or the existing trail system. New road construction across the headwaters would convert this country to a vehicle-access landscape and would deliver sediment into the trout streams.