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Adoption Status: NOT ADOPTED
35,284 acres (55.0 square miles)
How to get there
The Big Ridge/South Fork A roadless area is located just east of Buford, about 18 miles east of Meeker. One mile east of Meeker, take Rio Blanco County Road 8 (Flat Tops Trail Scenic Byway) along the White River to Buford.
- Stay on CR 8 to access the northern portion of this unit. Several miles from Buford, FS 238 leads to the Papoose Creek (2248) and Ute Creek (1824) trailheads. These trails blaze south across the roadless area and meet after many miles at Oyster Lake in the Flat Tops Wilderness.
- Just a bit further on CR 8 from the previous turnoff, the Marvine Road (CR 12) enters the northern portion of this area. At the forest boundary is the trailhead for the Big Ridge Trail (1820), which travels the along Big Ridge eastward to the Mirror Lake Trail (1821) and its trailhead near the beginning of the Trappers Lake Road (FS 205). The Marvine Road ends near the Wilderness boundary at two campgrounds and and a popular trailhead. From here the West Marvine Trail (1868) travels through the roadless area to meet the Ute Creek Trail (1824). The Marvine Creek (1823) and East Marvine Trails (1822) also enter the Flat Tops Wilderness Area from here.
- From Buford, the South Fork Road (CR 10) provides access to the South Fork A area, primarily via the Hill Creek trailhead. From here Hill Creek (2256) and Fowler Creek (2255) trails climb steeply into the Flat Tops. The Peltier Lake Trail (1826) also begins near here on its route northward through the roadless area to Bailey Lake.
- The USGS 7 1⁄2’ quads for the Big Ridge/South Fork roadless area are Ripple Creek, Lost Park, Fawn Creek, Buford, and Oyster Lake.
Setting
This large roadless area occupies many drainages that spill off the north and west sides of the massive Flat Tops plateau. The topography is quite varied. The Flat Tops area is an ancient uplifted volcanic plateau, and features gentle terrain covered in vast system of alpine meadows and intermittent stands of Engelmann spruce, subalpine fir, and aspen.
In the South Fork A area, the plateau drops away steeply into the Stillwater Valley of the South Fork of the White River. These hillsides are swathed in oak brush, an important habitat for songbirds, bear, deer and elk, that is largely unprotected on WRNF lands and is increasingly degraded as private lands are developed. Big Ridge is a northerly arm of the Flat Tops plateau that sits between Marvine Creek and the North Fork of the White River. Ute and Marvine Creeks are long, broad drainages that, along with Big Ridge, support large stands of lodgepole pine and aspen. The elevation in the unit ranges from 7,400 feet to 11,000.
What’s special about it?
The Big Ridge/South Fork A roadless area is a very large area and features a wide variety of plant and animal life. The presence of a wide range of habitat types makes this part of an important ecological transitional zone between the Flat Tops Wilderness Area and the lower-elevation BLM lands of the Axial Basin to the northwest. The area supports high priority wildlife habitat, particularly an abundance of big game, including a year-round herd of bighorn sheep in the Hill Creek area.
This unit provides landscape connectivity from the Flat Tops into the northern White River watershed. It also acts as a buffer to motorized incursion into the Flat Tops Wilderness from private lands in the Stillwater and North Fork valleys.
This area is incredibly scenic and is an outstanding recreational resource. It is currently free from disturbance, and feels like an extension of the Flat Tops Wilderness. While the hiking, camping, and fishing opportunities are fabulous, the area is most popular as an elk hunting destination.
Potential threats
Most of the Big Ridge RA has been identified as having known oil and gas potential and is available for oil and gas leasing, though no known leases currently exist. South Fork A has no known oil and gas potential but leasing is not prohibited. Given the current drilling boom, it is likely that these areas will come under increasing pressure to be leased and developed. Roadless advocates should request that no leasing be allowed within these roadless areas. And, in the unfortunate event that leasing is permitted, the WRNF should impose non-waivable No Surface Occupancy (NSO) stipulations through the entirety of the roadless areas.
There are high-quality stands of lodgepole pine and aspen in the Big Ridge area that may be commercially desirable.
Other info
The area contains 5 cattle allotments and their associated stock ponds and fences. Conservation groups have identified 2,460 roadless acres in addition to the amount recognized by the USFS. The Big Ridge/South Fork A is one of nine RAs adjacent to the Flat Tops Wilderness that, when the wilderness area is included, forms a massive roadless complex of over 342,000 acres (533 square miles), the largest on the White River National Forest!
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