Protection of the Wyoming Range was one of the big achievements of 2009-
B. Henrie, who posts here under another name, provided the blog with some fine photos of these splendid mountains. He took them on a Sept. deer hunt. No doubt they are now covered with snow.
A million acres was withdrawn from oil and gas development by Congress in the Omnibus public lands bill supported by the Wyoming delegation. Believe me these steep mountains so full of deer and elk would have been all slashed up. Thanks!
Toward Mt. Coffin from Wyoming Peak. View is to the north. Copyright B. Henrie
West across the Greys River and Salt River Range from Wyoming Peak. Copyright B. Henrie
Ralph Maughan
Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University. He was a Western Watersheds Project Board Member off and on for many years, and was also its President for several years. For a long time he produced Ralph Maughan's Wolf Report. He was a founder of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. He and Jackie Johnson Maughan wrote three editions of "Hiking Idaho." He also wrote "Beyond the Tetons" and "Backpacking Wyoming's Teton and Washakie Wilderness." He created and is the administrator of The Wildlife News.
Wyoming Peak on the Forest Service maps show an altitude fo 11378 ft. My GPS showed it at 11406 ft. It is the tallest peak in the Wyoming and Salt River Ranges.
The trip in from the west side (Greys River) is just over 5 miles with an elevation rise of just over 4000 ft. Coming from the east side isj ust over 6 miles with a 4500 ft rise in elevation.
Wyoming Peak is only one of two points in the Wyoming range (that at least I know of) where on a clear day a person can see the Teton Range to the north, the Wind River Range to the east, the Salt River Range to the west, and the Uinta Range to the south. The only other place this can be observed is Commissary Ridge at the head of Labarge Creek.
So much for those lazy “Road Hunters” on this blog. 🙂
Wow! So glad reason prevailed and a million acres of this wonderful place will be protected.
Absolutely beautiful.
Thanks for sharing Ralph and B. Henrie!
Those are beautiful pictures!!
This does not belong in this thread:
http://bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2009/10/28/news/200baucus.txt
but it is an interesting development in this bill. So now the two Mt senators are backing it: does it have support in the House from Mt delegates? As we see in Utah, no chance of any new wilderness without our own senators in favor, and they refuse to get behind any bill that is not a quid pro quo adjudication such as this Mt wilderness bill.
Thanks for the beautiful pictures & a bit of good news.