Use extra caution when viewing Bighorn wildflowers

Known for its vast meadows of lush grasses and wildflowers, the Bighorn National Forest is alive and blooming in June. This year, when you’re out looking for that perfect scene, take a moment to consider safety. If entering the Bighorn National Forest through U.S. Highway 14 you will immediately notice the burned area from the Elk Fire that occurred last September through December. You will also notice that life is returning, even to this seemingly lifeless place.

Although there are always hazards in natural places, burned areas are higher risk due to the new instability throughout the system.  Soils can be changed, causing them to be more susceptible to movement and erosion thus loosening rock and other debris from slopes. The structural integrity of trees can be compromised, causing them to fall easier. In more extreme cases, and if the conditions are right, debris flows can occur.  Often referred to as mud slides, debris flows are fast moving landslides made up of a powerful slurry of mud, boulders, or entire trees that can be dangerous to anyone in their path.  Landslides, in general, are not uncommon in the Bighorn Mountains but due to impacts from the Elk Fire it is very likely that debris flows will occur after or during significant precipitation events.  If you plan to go within the Elk Fire burned area, please use caution and check out the Know Before You Go page on our website. 

It is best to keep driving through the burn area but as you do, keep an eye out for bright pink flowers among the ashes of the Elk Fire.  Fireweed is a beautiful native plant that is often one of the first to regrow in burned areas.  False Solomon seal and death camas have already been identified in the burned area.

Along with nature healing itself, Bighorn National Forest trail workers have been removing hazard trees and repairing the trail in Tongue River Canyon and on other trails. Road and fence work has also begun to replace or repair damaged infrastructure throughout the burned area. 

As you continue your journey west, you will encounter arrowleaf balsamroot off U.S. Highway 14 near Steamboat Point.  They feature bright yellow sunflower-like blooms with large arrow-shaped leaves. Balsamroot are in the sunflower family and add a lot of cheer to the landscape.

Higher up the mountain, large meadows full of purple blooms known as silvery lupine can be seen.  In some places the lupine creates a sea of color. While these native plants are great for pollinators, the seed pods are poisonous to people. They are very common across the Forest and tend to last from June to late summer.  Meadows around Burgess Junction are great places to find silvery lupine.

If you have the chance to take a closer look at the mountain meadows, you may notice dramatic pink flashes among the purple.  The small, delicate shooting star flower is amazing to behold.  The shape of the flowers resembles a comet or shooting star streaking across the sky. They are bright fuchsia and have a small yellow and black tip. 

There are many more species of wildflowers in the forest meadow.  But, if you get the chance to explore remote areas of the forest, you may be rewarded with the glimpse of a fairy slipper.  These hard-to-find orchids are low in number but provide lovely splashes of color among the cool shadows of fir and spruce trees. Their delicate oval shaped blossoms resemble tiny, ornate shoes. 

Be sure to stop in at the Burgess Junction Visitor Center to learn about great places to check out during your visit. The visitor center is operated by agreement with Sheridan County Travel and Tourism. 

If you want to learn more about wildflowers, there are several books and online resources. Our partners with the University of Wyoming’s Natural Diversity Database have a field guide available on their website. Remember to leave wildflowers as you find them and taking photographs, drawing, or painting a picture of them is always better than picking. Once picked, the flower can no longer spread seeds for the next season, and there will be that many less for you and others to enjoy in the future. 

To learn more about the Bighorn National Forest and the Forest Service, visit our website at https://www.fs.usda.gov/r02/bighorn, follow us on X at https://x.com/BighornUSFS, or Facebook at  https://www.facebook.com/bighornnf.