Council for the Bighorn Range in 2019
The Council for the Bighorn Range (CBR) is an environmental organization and not afraid to say it. CBR believe the public lands in the Bighorn Mountains region have been a sacrifice area without a strong voice for the land from the high alpine to the sagebrush steppe for nearly a generation. CBR will work tirelessly to encourage the public to be involved with us at every step of the way.
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The Buffalo Municipal project will start contracts this year. CBR will be on the ground and hold the Bighorn National Forest to our objections. CBR will also monitor and interject in the Sheridan Municipal Wildfire Mitigation plan as it develops and going to the Bighorn National Forest for scoping. CBR concerned about the models being shown to the public are timber first, and hydrology and the health of our watersheds way to the back.
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Dispersed Camping. This summer four counties of the Bighorn NF will develop recommendations to BNF on dispersed camping through a citizen panel. CBR supports a broad spectrum of recreation opportunities across our public lands.Through public education, collecting and analyzing good data on actual conditions and enforcement, CBR that there are solutions to the crisis conditions that exist today on the BNF. CBR want folks up out of the riparian areas, no new roads that there are resources to maintain, and enforcement of the existing Special Order that stands today.
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Unmanaged recreation is the greatest threat to our public lands. The recreation budget on the Bighorn NF is has been singled out for greater cuts are being borne at the national or regional level. Not enough boots and shields on the ground declining public trust, damage to our public resources and interests that seek undermine our public lands. CBR seeks to keep recreation funding generated by this forest on the Bighorn NF. Recreation facilities need to be managed by the Bighorn NF.
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There are 11 Wilderness Study areas managed by the BLM in the CBR interest area. One of the Nation’s significant intact wilderness with the Cloud Peak Wilderness. One half a million acres of inventoried roadless areas in the Bighorn National Forest. Those areas need advocates. CBR will be aiding friends groups around those BLM WSA’s throughout the area. They have not had a voice in a long time.
Red Grade Trail
The Bighorn National Forest (BNF) after more than a year in analysis and has produced an Environmental Assessment (EA) on the Sheridan County- Sheridan Land Trust Red Grade Trade Proposal.
The map offered to the public in the scoping and now we have seen in the Environmental Assessment was inadequate, vague and misleading on the terrain and trail density. The public can't comment or participate with woefully inadequate data.
The Council for the Bighorn Range requested a better map, with better coding and topographical features from the Bighorn National Forest. Our thanks to BNF and Sara Kirol Evans (FS) for providing a usable map for the public. The BLM trails in their final EA show up on the new map as approved. They are also in appeal with no current decision in sight. The new BLM trails, 2.3 miles in the BNF RGTP EA are north and west of the trails before the Board of Appeals.
Thanks to all who commented.