Forest Special Order 2021-01 Cloud Peak Wilderness Regulations

Associated Documents

Forest Order

FOREST ORDER

USDA-FOREST SERVICE

Bighorn National Forest

Cloud Peak Wilderness

Wilderness Occupancy and Use Restrictions

Pursuant to 16 United States Code (U.S.C.) § 551 and 36 Code of Federal Register (CFR) § 261.50(a) and (b), the following acts are prohibited in the Cloud Peak Wilderness on the Bighorn National Forest in Big Horn, Johnson, and Sheridan counties in Wyoming (the Restricted Area) and all National Forest System trails in the Restricted Area (the Restricted Trails). 

The purpose of this Order is to continue to provide recreational opportunities while protecting water and wilderness resources. 

Prohibitions

1. Entering or being in the Cloud Peak Wilderness without a current, self-issued, and signed registration for that visit in possession of the person or group. 36 CFR § 261.57(a)
2. Building, maintaining, attending, or using a wood burning stove, a campfire, or a fire of any type other than a self-contained chemical stove above 9,200 feet in elevation. 36 CFR § 261.52(a)
3. Building, maintaining, attending, or using a fire or campfire below 9,200 feet in elevation without confining same in a fire blanket or within a fire pan or enclosed stove so as not to be directly on the ground. 36 CFR § 261.52(a)
4. Building, maintaining, attending, or using a campfire, a fire, or a wood-burning stove within 300 feet of any lake, stream, pond, river, or similar body of water or any National Forest System trail. 36 CFR § 261.52(a)
5. Possessing, storing, or transporting any part of a tree including branches, limbs, or trunk above 9,200 feet in elevation. 36 CFR § 261.58(t)
6. Camping within 100 feet of any lake, stream, pond, river, or similar body of water. 36 CFR 261.58(e)
7. Hitching, tethering, restraining, or hobbling a horse or other saddle or pack animal to a live tree, except while loading or unloading. 36 CFR § 261.58(aa)
8. Hitching, tethering, restraining, or hobbling a horse or other pack animal within 100 feet of any lake, streams, pond, river, or similar body of water, except when loading or unloading. 36 CFR § 261.58(aa)
9. Failure to dispose of debris, garbage, or other waste including camp structures such as hitching racks, tent frames, and pegs after the use period. 36 CFR § 261.57(g)
10. Entering or being in the Restricted Area with a group larger than 10 people per group or with more than 15 head of pack or saddle animals per group. Groups may have an additional two people in their group over the 10-person maximum party size if a member of the group is trained in Leave No Trace outdoor skills and ethics and a copy of the certification of training is in their possession. (NOTE: Larger groups than permitted must have separate self-issued registrations for each group and be split into separate groups that meet the group size limits and must remain a minimum of ½ mile apart whether travelling or at campsites.) 36 CFR § 261.58(f)
11. Short cutting a switchback in a trail. 36 CFR § 261.55(e)
12. Disposing of any sewage (human solid waste) in that part of the Restricted Area consisting of the West and Middle Tensleep drainages as shown on Exhibit A except into a leak-proof portable toilet or other self-contained receptacle and removing the sewage from the Restricted Area and disposing of the sewage in an approved facility off National Forest System land. 36 CFR § 261.57(g)
13. Possessing or using a wagon, cart, wheelbarrow, bicycle, or other motorized/nom-motorized vehicle (including “game carts”). 36 CFR § 261.57(h)
14. Camping in violation of posted instructions. 36 CFR § 261.58(e)

Exemptions

Pursuant to 36 CFR § 261.50(e), the following persons are exempt from this order:

1. Persons with a Forest Service permit specifically authorizing the otherwise prohibited act or omission.
2. Any Federal, State, or local officer, or member of an organized rescue or firefighting force when involved in the performance of an official duty. 

These prohibitions are in addition to the general prohibitions in 36 CFR Part 261, Subpart A.

This order is in effect until rescinded or until December 31, 2025, whichever occurs first. 

Executed in Sheridan, Wyoming, this 9th day of June 2021.

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