Wilderness Study Areas
The Federal Land Management and Policy Act of 1976 directed BLM to inventory its lands for wilderness characteristics and report its findings to the President by October 21, 1991. BLM Wyoming identified wilderness study areas (WSA) that met certain wilderness characteristics and submitted its report to the President, who then forwaded BLM's findings to Congress in 1992.
These WSAs are managed to preserve their wilderness values until Congress makes a decision to either designate the areas as wilderness or to release the areas for non-wilderness management. The Rawlins Field Office manages five WSAs.
Adobe Town
The Adobe Town WSA is 85,710 acres - the largest in Wyoming. Within the WSA you'll find places named Skull Creek Rim and Monument Valley - conjuring up images of colorful badlands, buttes and spires created by thousands of years of erosion. In addition, there are numerous surface fossils of extinct mammals and reptiles and a high density of prehistoric human occupation sites. Located 80 miles southwest of Rawlins, outstanding opportunities for solitude exist in the WSA, as long as you don't mind wild horses and wildlife as company. Almost 11,000 acres of this WSA were recommended as suitable for wilderness status in the 1992 report to Congress.
Encampment River Canyon
From their lofty perches, bighorn sheep warily eye the hikers on the Encampment River Trail below. The trail, which traverses the WSA and enters Colorado to the south, follows the scenic Encampment River. Located two miles south of Encampment and easily accessible from BLM's Encampment River Campground, this 4,547-acre WSA contains grasslands, riparian areas and forested slopes. All 4,547 acres of this WSA were recommended for wilderness status in the 1992 report to Congress.
Ferris Mountains
Deep canyons and steep slopes predominate in the 22,245-acre Ferris Mountain WSA located 45 miles north of Rawlins. Known locally for the zigzag "racing" stripe of white limestone on its southern face, the mountains offer unusual and spectacular scenary. Elk, bighorn sheep and mule deer call the WSA home, and golden eagles and prairie falcons nest on its cliffs. The entire WSA was recommended for wilderness designation in the 1992 report to Congress.
Prospect Mountain
Those wanting to get away from it all should find ample solitude in this essentially-roadless WSA. Located about 15 miles southeast of Encampment, Wyoming, the WSA adjoins the U.S. Forest Service's Platte River Wilderness. The elevation ranges from 7,400 to 8,430 feet and the topography is mountainous with areas of sagebrush/grassland interspersed with timber. All of this WSA was recommended for wilderness designation in the 1992 report to Congress.
Bennett Mountains
The 6,003-acre Bennett Mountains WSA is located near Seminoe Reservoir, about 32 miles northeast of Rawlins, Wyoming. Consisting of steep rock ledges and walls and several drainages, the WSA provides opportunities for primitive, unconfined recreation. This WSA was not recommended for wilderness status in the 1992 report to Congress.
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