Platte River Wilderness

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Platte River Wilderness
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Location Carbon / Albany counties, Wyoming / Jackson County, Colorado, USA
Nearest city Rawlins, WY
Coordinates 41°05′N106°21′W / 41.083°N 106.350°W / 41.083; -106.350 Coordinates: 41°05′N106°21′W / 41.083°N 106.350°W / 41.083; -106.350 [1]
Area23,492 acres (95.07 km2)
Established1984
Governing body U.S. Forest Service

The Platte River Wilderness is primarily located in south central Wyoming, with a small section extending into Colorado in the United States. Located entirely within Medicine Bow - Routt National Forest, the wilderness was created in 1984 to protect the forestlands adjacent to the North Platte River. These forestlands were almost entirely consumed by the Mullen Fire in 2020. [2]

The Wyoming section lies within the original Medicine Bow National Forest, whereas the Colorado section is in the original Routt National Forest; since 1995 these have been administratively combined. [3] [4] [5] [6]

U.S. Wilderness Areas do not allow motorized or mechanized vehicles, including bicycles. Although camping and fishing are allowed with proper permit, no roads or buildings are constructed and there is also no logging or mining, in compliance with the 1964 Wilderness Act. Wilderness areas within National Forests and Bureau of Land Management areas also allow hunting in season. [7]

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Jackson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,379, and it was the fourth least populated in the state. The county is named after the United States President Andrew Jackson. The county seat and only municipality in the county is Walden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Platte River</span> River in the Western United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laramie Mountains</span> Mountain range in Wyoming and Colorado, United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laramie River</span> River in Wyoming, United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medicine Bow Mountains</span> Mountain range in the Western United States

The Medicine Bow Mountains are a mountain range in the Rocky Mountains that extend 100 miles (160 km) from northern Colorado into southern Wyoming. The northern extent of this range is the sub-range the Snowy Range. From the northern end of Colorado's Never Summer Mountains, the Medicine Bow mountains extend north from Cameron Pass along the border between Larimer and Jackson counties in Colorado and northward into south central Wyoming. In Wyoming, the range sits west of Laramie, in Albany and Carbon counties to the route of the Union Pacific Railroad and U.S. Interstate 80. The mountains often serve as a symbol for the city of Laramie. The range is home to Snowy Range Ski Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Park Range (Colorado)</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arapaho National Forest</span> National Forest in the United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roosevelt National Forest</span> National forest located in north central Colorado

The Roosevelt National Forest is a National Forest located in north central Colorado. It is contiguous with the Colorado State Forest as well as the Arapaho National Forest and the Routt National Forest. The forest is administered jointly with the Arapaho National Forest and the Pawnee National Grassland from offices in Fort Collins, and is denoted by the United States Forest Service as ARP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lost Creek Wilderness</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Zirkel Wilderness</span> U.S. Wilderness Area in northwest Colorado

The Mount Zirkel Wilderness is a U.S. Wilderness Area located in Routt National Forest in northwest Colorado. The closest city is Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The wilderness is named after Mount Zirkel, the highest peak in the range at 12,182 feet (3,713 m), which itself is named after German geologist Ferdinand Zirkel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flat Tops Wilderness Area</span>

Flat Tops Wilderness Area is the second largest U.S. Wilderness Area in Colorado. It is 235,214 acres (951.88 km2), with 38,870 acres (157.3 km2) in Routt National Forest and 196,344 acres (794.58 km2) in White River National Forest. It was designated a wilderness area in 1975. Trappers Lake, located in the north of the area, was the lake that inspired Arthur Carhart, a United States Forest Service official, to plead for wilderness preservation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medicine Bow–Routt National Forest</span> U.S. Forest Service managed area

Medicine Bow–Routt National Forest is the official title to a U.S. Forest Service managed area extending over 2,222,313 acres (8,993.38 km2) in the states of Wyoming and Colorado, United States. What were once three separate areas, Medicine Bow National Forest, Routt National Forest, and Thunder Basin National Grassland were administratively combined in 1995 due to similarity of the resources, proximity to each other and for administrative purposes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Popo Agie Wilderness</span>

Popo Agie Wilderness is located within Shoshone National Forest, Wyoming, United States. The wilderness consists of 101,870 acres on the east side of the continental divide in the Wind River Range. Originally set aside as a primitive area in 1932, in 1984 the Wyoming Wilderness Act was passed securing a more permanent protection status for the wilderness. The wilderness is a part of the 20,000,000 acres Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

The Encampment River Wilderness is a designated wilderness area located in south central Wyoming in the United States. Entirely within Medicine Bow National Forest, the wilderness was designated to increase protection of the Encampment River and the canyon through which it flows.

The Huston Park Wilderness is located in south central Wyoming in the United States. Entirely within Medicine Bow National Forest, the wilderness was designated in 1984 to preserve the northernmost section of the central Rocky Mountains, an area of high mountain peaks and coniferous forest.

The Savage Run Wilderness is located in south central Wyoming in the United States. Entirely within Medicine Bow National Forest, the wilderness was designated in 1978 in an effort to protect vital rangeland for a large elk population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rawah Wilderness</span>

The Rawah Wilderness is administered by the USDA Forest Service. It is located on the Canyon Lakes Ranger District of the Roosevelt National Forest in Colorado, near the Wyoming border, and also in the Routt National Forest to its south. It encompasses 76,394 acres (309.16 km2) and includes 25 named lakes ranging in size from five to 39 acres. There are 85 miles (137 km) of trails in the area and elevation ranges from 8,400 feet (2,600 m) to 13,000 feet (4,000 m). Much of the area is traversed by the Medicine Bow Mountains and the Rawah Range for which it is named. The temperature in the Rawah Wilderness ranges from a low of 5 °F (−15 °C) during the winter and a high of 77 °F (25 °C) during the summer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clark Peak (Medicine Bow Mountains)</span>

Clark Peak is the highest summit of the Medicine Bow Mountains range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The prominent 12,960-foot (3,950 m) peak is located in the Rawah Wilderness of Routt National Forest, 6.3 miles (10.1 km) north-northwest of Cameron Pass, Colorado, United States, on the drainage divide between Jackson and Larimer counties. Clark Peak is the highest point of Jackson County and the entire drainage basin of the North Platte River.

The Ptarmigan Peak Wilderness is a U.S. Wilderness Area located north of Dillion, Colorado in the Williams Fork Mountains. The 12,760-acre (51.6 km2) wilderness was established in 1993 in the White River and Routt National Forests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sierra Madre Range (Wyoming)</span>

The Sierra Madre Range is a mountain range in the western United States, located in south-central Wyoming and north-central Colorado. Geologically, it may be considered an extension of the Park Range of Colorado. South of the Great Divide Basin, the US Continental Divide runs along the Sierre Madre high points. Its western basins drain into the Colorado River and its eastern into the North Platte River. Buck Mountain is the highest peak in the range and lies within Colorado. Bridger Peak is its highest elevation on the Wyoming side of the range.

References

  1. "Platte River Wilderness". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior . Retrieved August 12, 2012.
  2. "Mullen Fire Information - InciWeb the Incident Information System". inciweb.nwcg.gov. Retrieved 2020-10-09.
  3. "Platte River Wilderness". Wilderness.net. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
  4. "Platte River Wilderness". Public Lands Information Center. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
  5. "Platte River Wilderness Area". Colorado Wilderness. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
  6. "USGS Horatio Rock (WY,CO) Topo Map Quad" (map). TopoQuest. Retrieved June 30, 2008.
  7. "Wilderness Legislation: The Wilderness Act of 1964". The National Wilderness Preservation System. Wilderness.net. Retrieved August 16, 2008.