SCOPING DOCUMENT
West Tensleep Corridor Master Recreation Project
Powder River Ranger District
Bighorn National Forest
Public involvement is an important part of the Forest Service environmental planning process.
We ask for your input to determine the issues and the scope of the environmental analysis.
Please take the time to read the following information, and let us know your concerns about the
proposed actions and decisions to be made. The information you share with us will result in a
better decision. We appreciate your time and effort.
HOW TO GET INVOLVED
Your comments or questions will be most useful if received by February 28, 2011. Include your
name, address, phone number, and the title of the document on which you are submitting
comments. Please include specific facts and supporting reasons you believe the deciding officer
should consider in reaching a decision. Information that would be particularly helpful includes
resource issues and concerns about this proposal and any information on past or current activities
and resources in the area.
Please submit comments to Craig Cope, Project Coordinator, 1415 Fort St., Buffalo, WY 82834.
Comments may also be emailed to comments_bighorn@fs.fed.us with “West Tensleep Corridor
Master Recreation Project” in the subject line. The telephone number is 307-684-7806.
The deciding officer is the Powder River district ranger. The environmental analysis is scheduled
for decision by December 2011. Additional information can be obtained from Craig Cope at the
address and phone number listed previously.
INTRODUCTION
The West Tensleep corridor provides both developed and dispersed recreation. It has the most
popular access point to the Cloud Peak Wilderness and the most heavily traveled forest road,
Forest Service Road (FSR) 27. Recreational use in this corridor is high, and resource impacts
from this use are increasing.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Location
The project area is located along Forest Service Road (FSR) 27, starting at the Tyrrell Work
Center northward to the head of the West and Middle Tensleep drainages of the Bighorn
National Forest in Big Horn County. The total project area is about 25,000 acres including a
portion of the Cloud Peak Wilderness. FSR 27 is located approximately 45 miles west of
Buffalo, WY and 20 miles east of Tensleep, WY and intersects with U.S. Highway 16 near Deer
Haven in Big Horn County.
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Forest Service Road (FSR) 27
FSR 27, West Tensleep Road, is one of the most traveled roads on the Bighorn National Forest.
As many as 250 cars per day traverse this seven-mile stretch which dead ends at the West
Tensleep Trailhead. This is nearly twice the average daily traffic count for the next busiest road
on the forest. The number of vehicles and the speed with which they travel is creating safety
concerns along the 7-mile stretch of road.
Wilderness
The West Tensleep Trailhead is the most heavily visited trailhead providing access to the Cloud
Peak Wilderness. Wilderness registration data collected since 1994 indicates that approximately
40% of the visits to the Cloud Peak Wilderness occur through the West Tensleep Trailhead. This
translates to 6,000 to 7,000 visitors each summer, with most of the visits in July and August.
Developed Campgrounds
There are three developed campgrounds with a total of 27 sites. Two campgrounds are located in
the water influence zone 1 along West Tensleep Creek. These two campgrounds have also been
identified for rebuilding because of their age and the deterioration of the equipment. Upgrading
the equipment will reduce annual operation and maintenance expenses.
Dispersed Camping
A 2009 survey of dispersed campsites found nearly 100 sites, approximately 60% of which were
either within 100 feet of water or within ¼-mile of developed campgrounds. The current
campground locations and lack of trailhead parking also limit the access to the existing trails
outside the Cloud Peak Wilderness for visitors seeking hiking, horseback riding and bicycling
opportunities. The additions of some trailhead parking and tying the existing trails together in the
West Tensleep corridor would improve the non-wilderness visitors’ experience.
Human Health and Safety
Visitors and staff have reported improper human waste disposal in the West Tensleep Creek
drainage portion of the Cloud Peak Wilderness and in the dispersed campsites along FSR 27.
Numerous pathogens are present in solid human waste and they can be passed from human to
human through contact with exposed human waste.
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The water influence zone is the aquatic ecosystem, the riparian ecosystem, characterized by distinct vegetation and
associated valley bottom (Winters et al. 2004), wetlands, and ecosystems that remain within approximately 100 feet
horizontally from both edges of all perennial and intermittent streams and from the shores of lakes and other still
water bodies. It includes adjacent, unstable and highly erodible soil.
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THE PROPOSED ACTION
To address the human health and safety concerns, resource concerns, and the concern of older
campground equiment, the Powder River district ranger is proposing the following actions:
1. Relocate West Tensleep Campground approximately one-half mile south of its current
location, and construct a new handicapped accessible trail to West Tensleep Lake.
Maximum capacity would be 20 sites. Ten sites would be drive-in; ten sites would be
walk-in. Campsites would be for tent camping only; no trailers or generators would be
permitted. The handicapped accessible trail to West Tensleep Lake would tie back to the
existing West Tensleep trailhead.
2. Relocate campsites from the Deer Park Campground to a newly constructed Warner
Draw Campground just north of the Tyrrell Work Center. Maximum capacity would be
30 sites. This campground would accommodate recreation vehicles up to 65 feet in
length.
3. Decommission (remove) the old West Tensleep and Deer Park campgrounds. In the 2008
recreation facilities analysis, these two campgrounds were identified for replacement due
to their age and the deterioration of the equipment.
4. Require all dispersed camping from Tyrell Work Center north and within the West and
Middle Tensleep drainage (including the portion in the Cloud Peak Wilderness) to be
self-contained for solid human waste.
5. Allow dispersed camping only in designated dispersed camp sites with campfires
permitted only in steel fire rings at the designated camp site. Maximum capacity is 40
sites; including some proposed sites less than ¼-mile distance from existing or proposed
developed campgrounds. Designated dispersed sites would be at least 100 feet from
water. The proposed locations are shown on the attached map.
6. Change the road width to a single-lane road with turnouts for the last one and a half miles
of FSR 27 (where FSR 27 crosses West Tensleep Creek northward to the end of the road
at West Tensleep Trailhead). Allow the existing road surface to return to native surface
over time, with rock protrusions of no more than 2 inches which still allows for passenger
car use.
7. Establish a safe speed on the rest of FSR 27 south to the Tyrrell Work Center by
implementing traffic calming actions (e.g., speed humps in the road, narrowing the road
to a 22 feet wide). Do not apply any surface treatments (such as magnesium chloride) to
improve the road surface or eliminate wash boards.
8. Just north of the current Deer Park Campground location, construct a turn-around at the
conversion from two-lane gravel road to a single-lane road, to allow larger recreation
vehicles and vehicles with trailers to return south on FSR 27. This would eliminate
difficulties with large RVs trying to turn around further north towards the trailhead.
Provide parking at this location for access to Trail #67.
9. Limit parking in the West Tensleep Trailhead parking area to 45 cars and four doublelength trailer spots – the number and type of vehicles for which the area was designed.
No parking would be permitted within ¼ mile of the trailhead.
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10. Construct a horse/foot trail from the bridge at Warner Draw north to the bridge at Deer
Park along the east side of Middle Tensleep Creek. Another option is to construct a
bridge at the Island Park campground as part of this proposed new trail.
11. Create a loop trail from west of Warner Draw campground to trail 69.
DECISION TO BE MADE
The District Ranger will decide whether to implement the proposed action and what, if any,
design criteria are needed.
/s/ Mark Booth
Mark Booth
District Ranger
Date
January 24, 2011
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Comments received in response to this solicitation, including names and addresses of those
who comment, will be considered part of the public record on this proposed action and will
be available for public inspection. Comments submitted anonymously will be accepted and
considered; however, those who submit anonymous comments will not have standing to
appeal the subsequent decision under 36 CFR Parts 215 or 217. Additionally, pursuant to 7
CFR 1.27(d), any person may request the agency to withhold a submission from the public
record by showing how the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) permits such
confidentiality. Persons requesting such confidentiality should be aware that, under the
FOIA, confidentiality may be granted in only very limited circumstances, such as to protect
trade secrets. The Forest Service will inform the requester of the agency's decision regarding
the request for confidentiality, and where the request is denied, the agency will return the
submission and notify the requester that the comments may be resubmitted with or without
name and address within 30 days.
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