Management Overview
The public land in the Pryor Mountains is managed by three different federal agencies: Custer Gallatin National Forest (CGNF), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area (BCNRA) managed by the National Park Service. (To the north of the public land is a significant additional area of the Pryors within the Crow Reservation.) This fragmented management complicates the management of the Pryors as a single unified landscape. The boundaries between the lands managed by the three federal agencies have no correlation with ecological, geological or geographical boundaries. The various plant and animal species and their ecological communities are oblivious to the arbitrary agency boundaries. Similarly public recreational uses in the Pryors are not correlated with the areas managed by different agencies.
The Pryor Mountain landscape is an integral whole and needs to be managed as such. The three managing agencies (in collaboration with the Crow Tribe) need to have a common holistic vision of the desired future conditions in the Pryors. Goals and management policies need to be unified, consistent and coordinated.
Unfortunately CGNF and BLM plans have too often largely reinforced status quo, past management. The status quo management is outdated - not based on current understanding of the importance of the vulnerable Pryor Mountain landscape - and established before greatly increased public interest in the area. Planners need to imagine what the Pryors might be in 2050 and beyond – and how their Plans will affect that future. See a summary of the Pryors Coalition Vision for the Pryors.
An important, but long overdue, step toward management of the Pryor Mountains is Congressional designation of several Wilderness Areas. This would help preserve unique Pryors landscapes for the future. The Pryors Wilderness page provides information on opportunities for designated Wilderness Areas in the Pryors.
CGNF: green. BLM: yellow. BCNRA: purple. Crow: tan. State: blue. Private: white (except in Wyoming).
For the purpose of this discussion we consider the Pryor Mountains to be the area bounded by the Crow Reservation on the north; Rail Bed Road on the west; Helt, Gyp Springs and Gypsum Creek Roads on the south; Highway 37 in BCNRA on the east; and then north to the Crow Reservation boundary. (Click map to enlarge.) There are several Montana state sections, and pockets of private land within these boundaries. A strip south of Gyp Springs Road might be added to include Petroglyph Canyon and the Pryor Foothills ACEC/RNA. Here we are not including the important part of BCNRA east of Highway 37 including Bighorn Canyon itself.
Within these boundaries CGNF manages just over 75,000 acres, BLM manages maybe a little less than 70,000 acres, and BCNRA manages approximately 16,000 acres for a total of approximately 160,000 acres.
The managing agencies, especially CGNF and BLM, occasionally propose new plans, policies and actions for management of the Pryors. Most of these planing processes require opportunities for public input before they are finalized. The final plans and many draft documents are available on BLM and CGNF websites.
Travel Plans designate the roads and trails that are open to public use, and what kinds of vehicles are permitted on, or excluded from each route (e.g. 4WD, ATV, mountain bikes, horses and/or hiking boots). This should include routes open only to foot-travel, but unfortunately neither BLM nor CGNF have taken this option seriously in the Pryors. Travel Plans may also designate seasonal closures for some routes. Of course travel plans should also consider and limit the impact of all types of recreation on the ecological and cultural values of the landscape.
Management Plans are higher level documents that identify the overarching management goals and objectives for the area and/or parts of the area. Subordinate plans and site-specific management actions, such as Travel Plans, must be consistent with the Management Plan. Management Plans may designate specific areas as Recommended Wilderness Areas (RWAs), or Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs) etc. Management Plans may be in effect for twenty or even thirty years, but can be amended.
The Pryors Coalition, its supporters, and various allied organizations participate in the public process leading to these management decisions. Below are links to pages summarizing several recent management decision processes including links to comment letters that the Pryors Coalition, with allied organizations, have submitted to BLM and CGNF. Although some of these letters are long, and necessarily wonky in places, readers may find them quite interesting, and informative. Sometimes they may cause dismay with BLM and/or CGNF management decisions and rationale.
The information in each of the pages below is organized in reverse chronological order so the most recent information is at the top. To follow process chronologically, read from the bottom up.
BLM 2021 Travel Management Plan
BLM 2020 Gypsum Mine Environmental Assessment
Federal managing agencies (BLM and CGNF) occasionally release draft planning documents for public comment. When they do, we send out emails notifying Friends of the Pryors of the opportunity to comment, provide explanation for the issues, and make suggestions for comments. Your comments to CGNF and BLM are important and can make a difference. Sign up for our email list. Our emails are not frequent - just when there is important new information, or when your input is needed.