Range Interpretive Site

Range Interpretive Site sits along the Cloud Peak Skyway.   Stop and read the interpretive signs and view the beautiful scenery.

Managing the Range

In the summer, domestic sheep and cattle graze the rangelands of the Bighorn National Forest.   These rangelands are the vase, grassy hillsides and sagebrush-covered valleys that dominate the plateau of the Bighorn Mountains.  Without the natural control of wildfire, sagebrush will spread, killing the grasses, and reducing the rangeland for livestock and wildlife.  Today, the Forest Service is trying to restore the balance of sagebrush and grass by the use of controlled burns.

In the foreground, you can see range that is dominated by sagebrush.  Look beyond the trees to the hillsides where there is a healthy mosaic of sagebrush and grass.  Production of grass forage for cattle as well as deer and elk increased three-fold as a result of this controlled burn.