Forest Special Order 02-02-26-01 Cloud Peak Wilderness Regulations

                                                                                                                                                                   Order Number: 02-02-26-01

U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service 
Bighorn National Forest

Wilderness Occupancy and Use Restrictions

 

PROHIBITIONS

Pursuant to 16 U.S.C. § 551 and 36 C.F.R. § 261.50 (a) and (b), the following are prohibited on the National Forest System (NFS) lands and trails in the Bighorn National Forest, described below and shown on the attached maps incorporated into this Order as Exhibit A and B (the “Described Area”):

1. Entering or being in Cloud Peak Wilderness. 36 CFR § 261.72(a) 
   (See Exemption 1, excluding registered persons or groups)
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. Failing 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 Described 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 Described Area consisting of the West and Middle Tensleep drainages as shown on Exhibit B except into a leak-proof portable toilet or other self-contained receptacle and removing the sewage from the Described 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 C.F.R. § 261.50(e), the following persons are exempt from this Order:

1. Persons or groups in possession of a free self-issued registration, signed and dated by the person or groups for that visit are exempt from prohibition 1. 36 CFR § 261.57(a)
2. Persons with Forest Service Permit No. FS-7700-48 (Permit for Use of Roads, Trails, or Areas Restricted by Regulation or Order), specifically exempting them from this Order or a written determination by a Forest Service authorized officer that a permit is not required under 36 C.F.R. § 251.50(e)(1) or (2).
3. Any Federal, State, or Local Officer, or member of an organized rescue or firefighting resource in the performance of an official duty.

DESCRIBED AREA AND TRAILS

The Cloud Peak Wilderness including all trails within the wilderness boundary as shown in Exhibits A and B.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this Order is to protect the wilderness resource and human health.

IMPLEMENTATION

1. This Order shall be in effect from March 31, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. through December 31, 2030 at 12:00 a.m., unless rescinded.
2. Maps identifying the Described Area and Trails is attached and made part of this Order as Exhibit A and B. For a digital version of this Order and Exhibit A, go to https://www.fs.usda.gov/r02/bighorn/alerts.
3. Unless otherwise expressly defined in this Order, the terms used in this Order are defined by the regulations of the Secretary of Agriculture, 36 C.F.R. Chapter II, Parts 200-299. If there are terms in this Order that are not expressly defined in the Order or 36 C.F.R. Chapter II, Parts 200-299, their meaning shall be determined by their plain language definitions. 
4. A violation of the above prohibitions is punishable as a Class B misdemeanor by a fine of not more than $5,000 for individuals and $10,000 for organizations, or by imprisonment for not more than six months, or both. 16 U.S.C. § 551; 18 U.S.C. §§ 3559, 3571, and 3581.
5. Contact the Bighorn National Forest Supervisor’s Office in Sheridan, WY, (307) 674-2600, for more information about this Order. 
6. This Order supersedes Order BHF 2021-01 prohibiting the same or similar acts in the same Described Area and Trails.

Signed and issued on March 30, 2026.

/s/ Amy Ormseth

Amy Ormseth, Acting Forest Supervisor
Bighorn National Forest