|  ontana hunters enjoy one of
the longest hunting seasons available anywhere. From the time upland bird and archery
seasons open in early September until the Gardiner late elk hunt ends in late February,
those with the proper permits can hunt for nearly a six-month period. Even those who
choose to hunt only during the general season have five weeks to hunt, more than most
states. Still, if you love hunting as I do, that doesn’t seem like enough time.
Fortunately, I enjoy off-season scouting nearly as much as hunting itself, and aside from
the fact that I am not carrying a weapon and won’t be packing out meat it is hard to
distinguish between the two activities.
I recently made a scouting trip to Gardiner, which I highly recommend to anyone who
loves wildlife. The area north of Gardiner provides winter range for the northern Yellowstone elk
herd, as well as elk and other wildlife from the surrounding mountains to the east and
west. We saw bighorn sheep, mule deer, antelope, bison, and several thousand elk, all
within easy viewing distance of the road (using binoculars and spotting scope, of course).
Another objective of this one-day trip was to do some scouting on recently acquired
public land. The US Forest Service, with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation acting as an
intermediary, has assumed ownership of several thousand acres of prime wildlife habitat
just north of Gardiner, previously owned by the Church Universal and Triumphant. A
previous opportunity to place this land in public ownership slipped by in the early
1980’s. The owner at the time, business tycoon Malcolm Forbes, placed it up for sale.
Of course, the USFS and conservation groups were interested, but the wheels of government
turn slowly and the opportunity was missed. The land was purchased by a religious sect
from southern California, the Church Universal and Triumphant. I will refrain from making
judgements on these people’s religious beliefs, but suffice to say their activities
and land use policies have been the source of considerable controversy since. Somewhat to
the dismay, no doubt, of the hundreds of adherents who moved to the area the church has
recently undergone considerable restructuring and is selling off considerable amounts of
property. This provided a rare second chance to place this land in public ownership. The
wheels of government still turn slowly, but fortunately organizations like the Rocky
Mountain Elk Foundation now exist and can provide interim financing until the government
can act. All wildlife enthusiasts owe a debt of gratitude to the RMEF, and should support
their efforts with membership or contributions.
The recently acquired lands lie west of US 89 north of the Yellowstone Park boundary.
Generally speaking, the land ownership was in a checkerboard pattern, with alternating
sections of Forest Service and private land. Much of the Forest Service land was
previously inaccessible to the public, but the purchase has blocked up the Forest Service
land and greatly increased public access. The church retained ownership of approximately
2.5 sections just south of Cinnabar Mountain, (the pink sections; 31,1, & 6 on the map
below). This parcel has been placed into a conservation easement, which prohibits
development. Unfortunately, this easement didn't include public access as things
turned out, and it is posted. The flip side of this is that section 25, just north
of Cinnibar mountain, which preliminary reports indicated would remain in CUT ownership is
now public. So, with the exception of the pink sections on the map below,
recreationists have gained the use of much of the country on the west side of US 89, from
the Yellowstone boundary to north of Yankee Jim canyon. Here is the most
recent map showing the current (2/1/00) details of the swap.
black-newly public land
pink-conservation easement
yellow-exchange still pending
white-CUT lands
greens-existing Forest Service & Wilderness land
The Forest Service is currently working on a management plan for the
yellow sections in the map above, and they will tentatively be open to the public by
spring 2000.
One area that I’m sure is going to attract a lot of attention from hunters is
Beattie Gulch just north of the Park boundary. When game is migrating out of Reese and
Stephens creeks, as well as other areas further south in Yellowstone, many of them will
undoubtedly pass through Beattie Gulch. This is a relatively gentle drainage, at least in
its lower reaches, easily accessible from the road, and I’m sure it will rapidly gain
a similar reputation to some other areas like Eagle Creek north of Gardiner. These spots
can offer a crack at a trophy bull under the right conditions, but definitely aren’t
the place for someone seeking solitude. In fact, things can get downright crazy with
bullets whizzing everywhere and people in disputes over who actually killed which critter.
I have heard Eagle Creek described as "like Vietnam with snow" and the standing
joke is that you don’t even need a rifle, just a pair of running shoes and a knife.
Personally, I don’t find that kind of hunting enjoyable and plan on getting further
off the road. Still, I’m sure that not a few lucky hunters are going to tag some
dandy bull elk in Beattie Gulch.
More attractive to me are some areas above Beattie Gulch. A relatively narrow strip of
land along the Park boundary provides access to the lower slopes of Electric Peak as well
as upper reaches of Mulherin Creek. This area was previously inaccessible to the public,
and is still going to require no small effort to reach, but that’s the kind of
hunting I like. The only misgiving I have about this area is that it is likely to be
somewhat thick with grizzlies. For that matter, a hunter and guide were mauled by a sow
grizzly in Beattie Gulch during November of 1996. This is a most uncommon occurrence,
especially that late in the year, but hikers and hunters will need to remember that they
are in prime grizzly habitat and exercise due caution.
(Update Notice: Oops!! When we went scouting as described below during
2/99, indications were that the easement on that parcel would permit public access, and we
saw no posting to indicate anything to the contrary. Now, this parcel is clearly
posted, however you can access the back side of Cinnibar Mountain through section 25 off
the Mol Heron Creek road. Perhaps not the greatest tradeoff, but certainly better
than the pre-swap situation.)
On our recent scouting trip my partner and I hiked up the Spring Creek drainage onto
the back side of Cinnabar Mountain above Aldridge Lake. Spring Creek lies between Beattie
Gulch and Cinnabar Mountain, and is on land that CUT retained with an easement for public
access (see previous disclaimer!). It was a beautiful, sunny, calm day and there was
game everywhere. A good-sized bunch of antelope were grazing next to the road, there was a
herd of mule deer on the back side of Cinnabar, and elk were everywhere. We saw numerous
groups of bull elk, most notably two groups well up on the mountainside. One consisted of
four bulls; a five-point, two nice six-points, and an absolutely awesome 7 X 7. Just
across the ridge to the east was another group of eight bulls. We didn’t get a clear
look at all of them, but there were at least three real nice six-points. We also glassed
numerous other bull elk from the road, not to mention hundreds of cows. Of course, during
the general hunting season game isn’t going to be as plentiful. During years with
sufficient snowfall to move the animals onto their winter range during hunting season, I
expect this area to provide some good opportunities, though.
This area was the site of extensive coal mining activity in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. The ruins of
extensive coke ovens are still visible at the base of the mountains, and a few scattered
old buildings and tailing piles provide scant evidence of the activity here a hundred
years ago. Little remains of the mining towns of Horr, in the valley bottom, and Aldridge,
a couple of miles higher up next to Aldridge Lake. A flume was built to carry coal from
the mines at Aldridge down to the ovens at Horr, but it has long since been dismantled. It
seems to me that the real treasure of these mountains is now the wildlife, but being
somewhat of a history buff I still find the remains of the mining days interesting.
The other lands gained in the CUT purchase lie north of Cinnabar Mountain. There was
already more public land in this area than to the south, but much of it was inaccessible
due to the intervening private tracts. That situation has been remedied now, and this area
should also provide some good hunting opportunities. Be aware that much of the valley
bottom is still private, from Cinnabar Basin road north to the vicinity of Cutler Lake. From that point north
through Yankee Jim Canyon everything west of the road is public. Public land can also now
be reached by proceeding up Cinnabar Basin road. For about the first mile this road
proceeds generally west, and everything south of the road is public until the road
re-enters CUT land in section 35. After about three quarters of a mile the land to
the north, and as the road swings south, to the west is now public. This offers
access to a tremendous amount of country, extending nearly from the Yellowstone River west
to the Tom Miner divide, and to the north end of Yankee Jim Canyon. I expect that this
area will get somewhat less hunting pressure than the areas to the south. The access
routes are less obvious and will require a little more effort, which usually translates
into fewer hunters and better hunting in my opinion. Still, I expect most of the newly
acquired lands will be somewhat overrun with hunters at first. Everyone is curious to
check out a new area, but after people decide that the new spot isn’t the fabled
promised land of elk hunting, with trophy bulls behind every tree, I expect the pressure
to drop off, more so the further you get from the road. Under the right conditions, I
expect this area to provide excellent elk hunting, and I am very glad it is in public
ownership.
One other benefit to this land purchase is that it is going to provide more public
winter range for bison leaving Yellowstone. This has been an ongoing problem with no easy
solutions, but having more public land adjacent to the park is an important step in the
right direction.
Aside from the hunting prospects, a late winter visit to the Gardiner area provides a sure cure
for cabin fever, or a nice side trip if you’re in the area on a ski or snowmobile
vacation. If you pull off the road nearly anywhere in the area and glass the surrounding
slopes, you are going to see great amounts of wildlife. Of course, there are usually elk
right in the town of Gardiner which provide a close-up view without even leaving your
vehicle. By late winter, this area has one of the highest concentrations of wildlife
anywhere, and a visit is a most satisfactory way to spend a day.
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