Little Goose

The Little Goose Inventoried Roadless Area covers 25,558 acres on the Bighorn National Forest in north-central Wyoming, set along the eastern flank of the Bighorn Range. The area includes Little Goose Peak, Finger Rock, the granite-rimmed openings of Granite Park and Square Park, and the meadow basins of Triangle Park, Kinney Wood Park, Penrose Park, and Hazel Park, with Black Canyon and Long Draw cutting through. The terrain drains into the North Piney Creek watershed, with North Piney Creek joined by Vale Creek, Hilman Creek, Loch Creek, and Stockwell Creek; Willits Reservoir captures water in the lower system. These cold-water streams originate among the high parks and conifer slopes, then descend through aspen and willow-fringed corridors toward the foothills.

Forest communities sort themselves along the elevation and moisture gradients. Rocky Mountain Lodgepole Pine Forest and Rocky Mountain Dry Subalpine Spruce-Fir Forest dominate the upper slopes, where Engelmann spruce mixes with lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta). Central Rockies Douglas-fir Forest (Pseudotsuga menziesii) holds the middle elevations on cooler exposures. Rocky Mountain Aspen Forest patches the slopes with quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), while Intermountain Mountain Sagebrush Steppe, Great Basin Big Sagebrush Steppe, and Northern Rockies Foothill and Valley Grassland occupy the drier transitions. Rocky Mountain Subalpine Meadow opens between the conifer groves at the named "parks" — Triangle, Square, Granite, Hazel, and Penrose — and Rocky Mountain Subalpine Streamside Woodland and Streamside Shrubland follow the creeks. Limber pine (Pinus flexilis) holds the exposed rocky ridges, and mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus) covers the foothill rims. Notable understory species include arrowleaf balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata), prairie smoke (Geum triflorum), and Wyoming Indian paintbrush (Castilleja linariifolia).

Wildlife sorts along these gradients. Wapiti (Cervus canadensis), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), and moose (Alces alces) use cover transitions between conifer forest, meadow parks, and willow-lined drainages. American black bear (Ursus americanus) and bobcat (Lynx rufus) move through forested slopes. Dusky grouse (Dendragapus obscurus) range through the spruce-fir and aspen understory, and wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) work the lower forest edges. Yellow-bellied marmot (Marmota flaviventris) and American pika (Ochotona princeps) occupy the granite rim of Finger Rock and similar talus. Golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) and bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) hunt the open parks and ridgelines, while Lewis's woodpecker (Melanerpes lewis) works the ponderosa and aspen snags. Cassin's finch (Haemorhous cassinii), evening grosbeak (Coccothraustes vespertinus), broad-tailed hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus), and rufous hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus) thread the canopy and wildflower meadows. The mountain lady's-slipper (Cypripedium montanum, IUCN vulnerable) occurs in shaded forest pockets, and the black rosy-finch (Leucosticte atrata) appears at the highest elevations. Portions of this area fall within the potential range of several federally listed species; see the Conservation section for details.

A walker entering the area from the foothills climbs through sagebrush-grassland and limber pine-juniper woodland into a Douglas-fir belt, then up into lodgepole and mixed conifer surrounding the open meadow parks. The granite of Finger Rock catches the morning sun, the creeks run cold through aspen groves, and the named parks open like green rooms in the forest. Wood frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus) call from wet seeps in the spring, and dusky grouse drum from cover near the meadow edges.

The Little Goose Inventoried Roadless Area lies on the east face of the Bighorn Mountains in north-central Wyoming, in country with deep Indigenous and frontier history. Long before European contact, the Bighorn range supported multiple tribes. "In the 18th century, the Powder River Basin was home to the Crow Indians, and towards the turn of the 19th century, Oglala and Brulé Lakota tribes arrived from Minnesota" [1]. As the tribes competed for the rich hunting grounds, "the two tribes skirmished over the Powder River country, with the Crow mostly occupying the Bighorn Mountains, while the Lakota controlled the plains" [1]. The Medicine Wheel atop Medicine Mountain in the northern Bighorns remained "a major Native American sacred complex and archaeological property used by many different tribes from times before Euro-American contact to the present day" [2].

The mid-nineteenth century brought conflict to the east slope. The 1868 Fort Laramie treaty granted the northeast corner of present Wyoming to the tribes, and federal forts along the Bozeman Trail were burned as the army withdrew [1]. After Custer's 1876 defeat on the Little Bighorn, a peace commission gathered signatures on a new agreement that opened the Powder River country to settlers [1]. By 1878, the army post on Clear Creek had been renamed Fort McKinney, and Buffalo grew up nearby [1]. Cattle outfits drove longhorns from Texas to fatten on Powder River grass through the 1880s, and the brutal winter of 1886-1887 broke the open-range cattle empire [1].

Timber and mining followed. The east slope of the Bighorns became one of four major Wyoming "tie hacking" districts during construction of the transcontinental railroad in the 1860s and after [2]. Federal protection arrived in the 1890s. "Much more recently, 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" [2]. The Forest Reserve covered 1,151,680 acres [3]. Timber sales were authorized immediately for lodgepole pine and Engelmann spruce, the most common commercial species [3]. A 1905 sale of 50 million board feet brought a bid of $12.60 per thousand feet, with the timber "used largely for railroad ties and mine props" [3]. Grazing was permitted on a large scale: by 1909, applications had been received for 35,000 cattle and horses, and 150,000 sheep [3].

"In 1907, a Congressional Act changed the Reserve to the Big Horn National Forest. Later in 1908, an Executive Order signed by President Theodore Roosevelt changed the name to Bighorn National Forest" [2]. Headquarters moved from Big Horn to Sheridan in 1909, and the Civilian Conservation Corps "built roads, bridges, ranger stations, fire lookouts, reservoirs, telephone lines, campgrounds, and trails in the Bighorn National Forest" between 1938 and 1940 [2]. The 25,558-acre Little Goose Inventoried Roadless Area sits within the Tongue Ranger District of this forest, in Johnson and Sheridan Counties, and is protected under the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule.

Vital Resources Protected

• Cold Headwater Stream Integrity: The 25,558-acre roadless area generates water for North Piney Creek, Vale Creek, Hilman Creek, Loch Creek, and Stockwell Creek, all cold-water tributaries that descend the east face of the Bighorn Range. Without road density, the granite-floored drainages keep sediment delivery low, water temperatures cool under intact riparian cover of Rocky Mountain Subalpine Streamside Woodland and Streamside Shrubland, and the lower system through Willits Reservoir receives clear water that supports downstream aquatic communities.

• Subalpine Meadow Park Integrity: Triangle Park, Square Park, Granite Park, Kinney Wood Park, Penrose Park, and Hazel Park are subalpine and montane meadows embedded in Rocky Mountain Lodgepole Pine Forest and Rocky Mountain Dry Subalpine Spruce-Fir Forest. These openings are core summer habitat for wapiti, mule deer, and moose, and they support broad pollinator communities including Suckley's cuckoo bumble bee and monarch butterfly. The unroaded condition keeps these open communities intact, protected from the disturbance-pioneer plant succession that follows soil disruption.

• Limber Pine and Old Forest Habitat: Stands of Rocky Mountain Limber and Bristlecone Pine Woodland and the surrounding mature lodgepole and spruce-fir matrix support American pika in the talus, mountain lady's-slipper (IUCN vulnerable) in shaded duff, Lewis's woodpecker in older standing wood, and dusky grouse in the shrub understory. Limber pine (Pinus flexilis) populations are already under serious pressure from white pine blister rust and mountain pine beetle; the unroaded condition limits additional stand fragmentation and direct mortality from access infrastructure.

Potential Effects of Road Construction

• Habitat Fragmentation Through Road Corridors: Road construction would directly affect wapiti, mule deer, moose, American black bear, bobcat, Lewis's woodpecker, and mountain lady's-slipper, all of which respond negatively to roads in NatureServe threat assessments (4.1 - Roads & railroads, pervasive-large scope, moderate severity in this area's species pool). Cut-and-fill grading converts continuous forest into edge habitat, disrupting the seasonal movement that wapiti and mule deer require between the meadow parks and surrounding cover. Edge effects extend well beyond the road prism, and recolonization of interior forest conditions takes many decades.

• Sedimentation and Stream Degradation: Road construction on the granitic east-slope of the Bighorns would deliver chronic sediment into North Piney Creek and its tributaries through exposed cut banks, drainage culverts, and surface runoff from the road prism itself. Documented ecosystem-level threats to Rocky Mountain Lodgepole Pine Forest and Central Rockies Douglas-fir Forest explicitly identify road-related soil loss and water-quality impacts on adjacent watersheds. The cold-water character of these creeks does not return after substrate becomes embedded with fine sediment.

• Invasive Species Establishment: Road corridors provide colonization pathways for cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), bull thistle, common tansy, and Tatarian honeysuckle, species already documented in the surrounding region and known to invade sagebrush steppe and grassland communities adjacent to disturbed ground. Limber pine in the rocky high country is independently threatened by white pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola); a new road network would not introduce the rust but would increase access points that compound disturbance with continued vehicle traffic.

The 25,558-acre Little Goose Inventoried Roadless Area sits on the east face of the Bighorn Range, providing access to the named meadow parks — Triangle, Square, Granite, Kinney Wood, Penrose, and Hazel — and the granite landmark of Finger Rock. Seventeen mapped trails run through and around the area, including a developed campground at Little Goose. Recreation is non-motorized on most routes, with a small number of designated ATV trails on the periphery; the area's character is primarily backcountry hiking, stock travel, hunting, and birding.

The Solitude Loop (#038) is the longest trail at 9.4 miles, designated for horse use and providing the principal multi-day backcountry circuit. The Story-Penrose Trail (#033) covers 12.2 miles connecting the eastern foothill town of Story up into the Penrose Park country, and the Penrose Park Trail (#028) covers 8.5 miles through that section. The Stockwell Trail (#086) follows the Stockwell Creek drainage for 6.2 miles, and the Kenny Wood Trail (#628) covers 5.5 miles. Shorter routes include the Little Goose Trail (#027) at 3.3 miles (horse use designated), the North Piney Trail (#112) at 3.8 miles, the Bishop Mine Trail (#624) at 3.3 miles, the Loch Creek Trail (#627) at 2.4 miles, the South Piney Trail (#080) at 1.6 miles, and the very short Little Goose Peak Trail (#600) at 0.8 miles up to the summit area. The Little Goose Falls Hiking Trail (#012) is a 0.2-mile foot-only spur to a waterfall. Designated ATV trails include the Little Goose Falls ATV (#622) at 0.4 miles, Square Park ATV (#623) at 1.8 miles, and South Piney ATV (#621) at 0.8 miles.

Hunting is a major activity across the elevational gradient. Wapiti and mule deer move between the high subalpine meadow parks and the surrounding lodgepole and spruce-fir forest. Moose use the willow-lined streamside woodland along North Piney Creek and its tributaries. American black bear and bobcat occupy the forest cover, and wild turkey range through forest-edge habitats. 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 Tongue Ranger District for current closures.

Fishing is available on the cold-water creeks descending the east slope under Wyoming Game and Fish regulations. Anglers reach water at Bighorn Reservoir via the short Bighorn Reservoir Trail (#625, 0.5 miles), and the named creeks of the North Piney drainage hold cold-water reaches accessible from the trail network. Most stream access requires a hike from the trail down to water.

Birding is exceptional. Nine eBird hotspots are documented within 24 km of the area, with the Bradford Brinton Memorial and Museum and Powder Horn Golf Club each reporting 151 species. The Penrose Trailhead area shows 74 species. Inside the unit, broad-tailed hummingbird, calliope hummingbird, and rufous hummingbird feed at high-elevation wildflower meadows, while Lewis's woodpecker and Cassin's finch work the conifer and aspen edges. Golden eagle and northern shrike hunt the open parks and ridgelines.

Photography subjects include the granite spire of Finger Rock, the open meadows of the named parks, dense lodgepole stands, the steep walls of Black Canyon, and seasonal wildflowers including arrowleaf balsamroot, sticky geranium, Wyoming Indian paintbrush, and the regionally distinctive mountain lady's-slipper in shaded forest pockets.

The recreation here depends on the roadless condition. Roads constructed for any purpose would convert most of the 17 mapped trails into motorized corridors, fragment the seasonal movement of wapiti, mule deer, moose, and black bear, and degrade the cold-water character of the North Piney drainage. The current network, anchored by Little Goose Campground, supports the quiet backcountry use the area's unroaded condition makes possible.