Tash Peak

The Tash Peak Inventoried Roadless Area covers 61,312 acres in the southwestern Montana mountain country, in the Dillon Ranger District of Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. The terrain is mountainous and montane: Tash Peak, Bloody Dick Peak, Painter Peak, Browns Peak, and Harrison Peak anchor the high country, with the Big Hole Divide forming the area's main hydrographic spine. Browns Canyon, Harrison Canyon, and Brays Canyon cut down through the slopes. The area sits at the headwaters of Andrus Creek and supplies cold streams to the upper Big Hole River system — Andrus Creek and its forks, Buffalo Creek and its multiple forks, Watson Creek, Fox Creek, Selway Creek, Painter Creek, and many others. Harrison Lake, Selway Lake, and Peterson Lake fill the high basins.

Vegetation reflects the meeting of the Northern Rockies forest zone with the high-desert sagebrush steppe of the upper Big Hole basin. Central Rockies Douglas-fir Forest (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and Rocky Mountain Lodgepole Pine Forest (Pinus contorta) dominate the middle elevations, transitioning upslope into Rocky Mountain Dry Subalpine Spruce-Fir Forest and Northern Rockies Subalpine Woodland and Parkland with subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa) and whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) at timberline. Aspen groves (Populus tremuloides) follow seeps and disturbance breaks. Below the conifer zone, Intermountain Mountain Sagebrush Steppe and Great Basin Big Sagebrush Steppe spread across broad foothills, carrying bluebunch wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata), Idaho fescue (Festuca idahoensis), and the unusual Simpson's hedgehog cactus (Pediocactus simpsonii). Open meadows hold Lewis's monkeyflower (Erythranthe lewisii) and scarlet skyrocket (Ipomopsis aggregata); common camas (Camassia quamash) — historically a staple Salish food — occurs in the wet meadows.

Wildlife reflects this combined forest-steppe character. Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) work the open sagebrush bottoms; mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), wapiti (Cervus canadensis), and moose (Alces alces) move between timber and parks. Pacific marten (Martes caurina, IUCN apparently secure) hunts in dense conifer. The sagebrush communities support the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus, IUCN near-threatened), sage thrasher (Oreoscoptes montanus), sagebrush sparrow (Artemisiospiza nevadensis), and gray flycatcher (Empidonax wrightii). Long-billed curlew (Numenius americanus) nests in the open foothill grasslands. The forest canopy supports Cassin's finch (Haemorhous cassinii), Canada jay (Perisoreus canadensis), and dusky grouse (Dendragapus obscurus). Cold streams support native westslope cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus lewisi), Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus), and introduced brook and brown trout; Columbia spotted frog (Rana luteiventris) occupies wetland margins. Portions of this area fall within the potential range of several federally listed species; see the Conservation section for details.

Moving through the Tash Peak country is an exercise in alternating high-desert openness and timbered shade. A walker climbing from the sagebrush flats below Bloody Dick Peak breaks into Douglas-fir forest, then into the subalpine parkland near Tash Peak itself. From the Big Hole Divide, the view drops north into the broad sweep of the Big Hole Valley and south toward the Beaverhead country.

The lands of the Tash Peak Roadless Area were once home to multiple Tribes who lived, hunted, and traded in the southwestern Montana mountains [1]. The Shoshone-speaking peoples of the upper Missouri country were directly tied to this region: when the Lewis and Clark Expedition reached the Beaverhead Valley in August 1805 looking for a route across the Continental Divide, Sacagawea — a Lemhi Shoshone — and her brother Cameahwait helped the expedition cross into what is now Idaho via Lemhi Pass [1][4]. At the pass the explorers realized that the dream of a Northwest Passage would not be realized [4]. Part of the Nee-Me-Poo National Historic Trail, commemorating the 1877 Nez Perce flight, also crosses through the Beaverhead-Deerlodge forest [1].

The mid-nineteenth century gold rush opened southwestern Montana to Euro-American settlement. Placer gold was discovered at Grasshopper Creek in what would become the Bannack District in 1862 [2], a strike on a Beaverhead tributary about thirty miles south of the Tash Peak area. Bannack, the mining camp that grew up around the strike, became the first Territorial Capitol of Montana [1][3], and the first gold dredging in Montana was conducted there [3]. Lode deposits of gold, silver, lead, zinc, and copper were soon found in the surrounding country [2]. At Argenta, twelve miles west of Dillon, argentiferous galena veins were mined in the 1860s and 1870s [2][3]. Much of the base and precious metal mineralization in Beaverhead County is derived from the granitic Late Cretaceous Pioneer Batholith [2], and the historic mining districts — Bannack (placer gold), Argenta (silver), and Hecla/Bryant (silver-lead-zinc) — all draw on that geology [2]. To the northwest of Tash Peak, the silver camp of Coolidge developed in the late 1870s and 1880s around the Elkhorn Mine in the East Pioneer Mountains [3]. Dillon was established as a Utah and Northern Railway terminus in 1880 [3] and became the supply hub for these mining districts.

Federal protection of the surrounding forest lands came when President Theodore Roosevelt signed legislation creating both the Beaverhead National Forest and the Deerlodge National Forest in 1908 [4]; the Deerlodge unit was originally named the Big Hole Forest Reserve, and Roosevelt pushed for its protection because Anaconda Copper Mining Company had clear-cut the upper Big Hole River watershed [4]. In 1996, the two forests were administratively merged into the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, today the largest national forest in Montana at over 3.36 million acres [4]. The 61,312-acre Tash Peak Inventoried Roadless Area is administered by the Dillon Ranger District within USFS Region One and is protected under the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule.

Vital Resources Protected

• Sagebrush-Steppe Integrity and Sage-Grouse Habitat: The Tash Peak Roadless Area preserves an unusual combination of intact sagebrush steppe — Intermountain Mountain Sagebrush Steppe, Great Basin Big Sagebrush Steppe, and Columbia Plateau Low Sagebrush Steppe — along its lower flanks, providing breeding and brood-rearing habitat for the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus, IUCN near-threatened), sage thrasher (Oreoscoptes montanus), sagebrush sparrow (Artemisiospiza nevadensis), and pronghorn (Antilocapra americana). Sagebrush obligate species have declined across the Intermountain West with the conversion of sagebrush to agriculture and the spread of cheatgrass-driven wildfire; the unfragmented sagebrush mosaic at Tash Peak retains the cover-and-forb structure these species require.

• Westslope Cutthroat and Arctic Grayling Headwater Streams: The roadless area sits at the headwaters of Andrus Creek and supplies a dense network of cold tributaries — Buffalo Creek and its forks, Watson Creek, Fox Creek, Selway Creek, and Painter Creek — to the upper Big Hole River. The upper Big Hole holds the last fluvial population of Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus) in the lower 48 states, and native westslope cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus lewisi) occupy several of the tributaries within this area. Both species require cold water, clean gravel substrate, and intact riparian buffers; the roadless condition preserves these qualities in the contributing headwaters.

• Wide-Ranging Carnivore Connectivity: The 61,312-acre block of unfragmented forest, parkland, and sagebrush provides secure interior habitat for Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis), North American wolverine (Gulo gulo luscus), and grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis), all federally threatened species with large home-range requirements and documented sensitivity to road density. The area's position along the Big Hole Divide makes it a connectivity link between the Pioneer and Beaverhead ranges and other secure habitat blocks across the broader Greater Yellowstone–Central Idaho ecoregion.

Potential Effects of Road Construction

• Sage-Grouse Habitat Loss and Fragmentation: Road construction across the Tash Peak sagebrush flats would directly remove leks and nesting habitat, and the cumulative road density would reduce the effective lek attendance of greater sage-grouse, which avoid tall vertical structures and elevated vehicle traffic within several kilometers of breeding sites. Road corridors also accelerate the spread of cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) and other invasive annual grasses that fundamentally alter sagebrush fire cycles, converting sagebrush to annual-grass monocultures that no longer support sage-grouse.

• Sedimentation into Native Trout and Grayling Habitat: Road construction across the steep gulches and canyons of the Tash Peak area would generate chronic erosion of cut-and-fill faces, with sediment mobilized into Andrus Creek, Buffalo Creek, and the other tributaries that feed the upper Big Hole. Excess sediment fills the gravel substrate that westslope cutthroat trout and Arctic grayling require for spawning and egg incubation, and culverts at stream crossings frequently become physical barriers that fragment populations. For the last fluvial Arctic grayling population in the lower 48 states, even modest additional sediment loading is consequential.

• Carnivore Displacement and Reduced Effective Habitat: New road corridors increase human access and reduce the effective size of secure habitat for grizzly bear, Canada lynx, and wolverine, all of which avoid areas of elevated road density. Road-related human use also elevates direct mortality risk: lynx are sensitive to recreational disturbance, wolverines abandon snowfields with even moderate winter use, and grizzly bear-human conflict rises along road corridors. Behavioral avoidance of the surrounding habitat persists for decades even after a road is closed.

The Tash Peak Inventoried Roadless Area covers 61,312 acres in the Dillon Ranger District of Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, in the mountain country between the Big Hole and Beaverhead valleys. The area is reached from the surrounding ranchland by forest service roads on its perimeter, and its trail network and adjacent attractions support hiking, horseback travel, hunting, fishing, and winter snowmobile travel.

Trails and Backcountry Travel. The area's defining route is the Nee-Me-Poo Trail #1505 (11.1 miles), the Nez Perce National Historic Trail, which commemorates the 1877 flight of the Nez Perce and traverses the country near Lemhi Pass. Drainage trails reach into the area from the perimeter: CL Creek Painter Creek Trail #1049 (6.6 miles), Brays Canyon Fox Creek Trail #1427 (6.8 miles), Harrison Lake Trail #1194 (3.5 miles), Thayer Creek Trail #1190 (3.3 miles), Bailey Buffalo Trail #1191 (1.9 miles), and Selway Lake Trail #1777 (1.1 miles). Two long-distance routes are designated for winter snowmobile use: Grasshopper Inn-Reservoir Lake #SNO-1919A (38.5 miles) and Bloody Dick Snowmobile Trail #SNO-1919 (22.7 miles), with summer non-motorized use also permitted. No developed trailheads or campgrounds operate within the roadless area; summer overnight use is dispersed, and staging is typically from forest service roads along Andrus Creek and Bannack Bench Road.

Fishing. Andrus Creek and its tributaries — Buffalo Creek, Watson Creek, Fox Creek, Selway Creek — support native westslope cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus lewisi) and introduced brown trout (Salmo trutta) and brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis). The upper Big Hole River below the area holds the last fluvial population of Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus) in the lower 48 states; some grayling occur in tributary reaches as well. Harrison Lake, Selway Lake, and Peterson Lake provide stillwater fishing accessible by trail. Anglers must follow Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks regulations, including special protections for westslope cutthroat and Arctic grayling in their occupied waters.

Hunting. The Tash Peak country is managed by Montana FWP for big-game and upland-bird hunting. The mix of sagebrush flats, open foothill grasslands, and timbered drainages supports pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) on the sagebrush bottoms, mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) across the elevation gradient, wapiti (Cervus canadensis) in the timbered drainages and high parks, and moose (Alces alces) in the willow riparian zones. Upland bird hunting includes dusky grouse (Dendragapus obscurus) in the conifer understory and wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) in the lower aspen/conifer mosaic. Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) hunting follows Montana FWP's restricted-season framework. Hunters must follow Montana FWP season dates, license requirements, and pronghorn and sage-grouse permit rules.

Birding. Three eBird hotspots lie within 24 km of the area, anchored by Bannack State Park to the south, which records 152 species across 218 checklists. Within the roadless area itself, the sagebrush bottoms support sage thrasher (Oreoscoptes montanus), sagebrush sparrow (Artemisiospiza nevadensis), gray flycatcher (Empidonax wrightii), and vesper sparrow (Pooecetes gramineus). Long-billed curlew (Numenius americanus) nests in the open foothill grasslands; northern harrier (Circus hudsonius) hunts the open ground. The forest canopy holds Canada jay (Perisoreus canadensis), Cassin's finch (Haemorhous cassinii), and Western tanager (Piranga ludoviciana).

Photography and Backcountry Character. Tash Peak, Bloody Dick Peak, and the Big Hole Divide open long views across the upper Big Hole Valley and into the Beaverhead country. The sagebrush bottoms flush with bitterroot (Lewisia rediviva), scarlet skyrocket (Ipomopsis aggregata), and prairie smoke (Geum triflorum) in early summer, and aspen stands turn gold in fall.

Why Roadlessness Matters Here. Recreation in Tash Peak depends on conditions that road construction would change. The Nee-Me-Poo Trail and the dense web of drainage trails reach across the range only because there are no parallel road corridors. The native westslope cutthroat and last-fluvial Arctic grayling fishery downstream depends on undisturbed cold tributaries. The pronghorn, sage-grouse, and sagebrush-songbird habitat that supports the area's distinctive birding and hunting reputation depends on the unfragmented sagebrush-steppe mosaic that the roadless boundary preserves.