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A 133-year-old tree in Wyoming’s Washakie Wilderness has sparked a dispute over how historic sites should be preserved in protected wilderness. The tree bears names carved by a survey crew that became stranded in a snowstorm while marking the Yellowstone Forest Reserve 133 years ago. On August 4, the organisation asked the Forest Service to pause the work and give the public a meaningful chance to respond. The request was denied by a Forest Service supervisor on August 13, who said public involvement was not required.
Wilderness Watch said the project had not been publicly announced and was not listed on the agency’s website when the group searched for it in July.
The group says the Forest Service has already cut other trees and cleared a user-created trail to reach the site. The US Forest Service approved a plan to cut down the tree and remove it by helicopter for museum display. Wilderness Watch opposes the plan, arguing that removing the tree would harm the wilderness it represents. It also raised concerns about limited public notice and engagement, and has urged the agency to pause the project and consider alternatives. The dispute also involves concerns over how the Forest Service handled public involvement. He argued that preserving the story of public lands could help people understand why such places should be valued. Wilderness Watch rejected this reasoning and continued to call for the project to be reconsidered.
A survey crew became stranded there in a snowstorm 133 years ago and carved their names into the tree, according to Wilderness Watch. The Washakie Wilderness was established under the 1964 Wilderness Act and expanded by Congress in 1972 and 1984.
Wilderness Watch said the Forest Service had already cut other trees and cleared a user-created trail leading to the site. The planned project involves more than simply removing the marked tree. Flooding later damaged a nearby trail, which delayed the work. Under the plan, a state-contracted crew would use the cleared route to bring equipment to the tree and create images that could preserve its history. The next step would be to cut down the tree and remove it by helicopter once one became available after the fire season. The survey tree stands more than two dozen miles from the nearest trailhead in Wyoming’s Washakie Wilderness. At the time, the crew was marking the boundaries of the Yellowstone Forest Reserve as part of an effort to protect forests from commercial tree cutting. The reserve later became the Shoshone National Forest. The Forest Service has since approved a plan to cut down the historic tree, remove it by helicopter, and place it on display in a museum.
