News

Agreements pave the way for historic New Fork River Crossing Park
A significant historical site on the Lander Wagon Road (commonly known as the Lander Trail) in the Pinedale Anticline area has been preserved thanks to agreements by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), SWEPI LP (Shell), Ultra Resources (Ultra), and PacifiCorp (Rocky Mountain Power). As a result of the agreements, the three companies are funding the purchase of the property, to make it available to the public as the New Fork River Crossing Historical Park. Shell and Ultra are participating to mitigate natural gas field development impacts to the setting of the Lander Trail on the Pinedale Anticline. PacifiCorp is participating to mitigate transmission line impacts to the setting of the Lander Trail.

The Sublette County Historical Society (SCHS) will own, develop and operate the historical park in consultation with the BLM and other interested parties. Creation of the park provides a unique and permanent trail river setting experience for the public.

Other interested parties involved in the negotiations included the Advisory Council for Historic Preservation (ACHP), Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), Oregon-California Trails Association (OCTA), National Park Service – Long Distance Trail Office (NPS), Alliance for Historic Wyoming (AHW), Sublette County Historic Preservation Board (SCHPB), and the Lander Trail Foundation (LTF).

Once the park is developed, the Wyoming Land Trust will hold a permanent conservation easement on the property. Each of the three companies (Shell, Ultra and PacifiCorp) donated one-third of the cost of the property to SCHS, which affected the purchase of the property on August 20, 2010. SCHS will raise additional funds to develop the property.

Historical significance of the Lander Trail and New Fork River Crossing Historical Park site:
The Lander Trail is part of the federally-designated National Historic Trails. Unlike other emigrant trails that evolved from repeated use, the Lander Trail was actually a constructed road, the first federally funded road west of the Mississippi River. The 256-mile wagon road, built in 1858, started at Burnt Ranch near South Pass, in Wyoming, and ended at Fort Hall in Idaho. It was an alternative to the original Oregon Trail through Fort Bridger, saving up to seven days of travel, avoiding larger desert sections and avoiding expensive ferry crossings over the Green River.

The road was engineered and built by its namesake, Frederick Lander. Lander had an extensive background in railroad construction in the east and had been part of the Pacific Railroad Survey in 1853. He worked on improving emigrant trails from 1857 until entering the Civil War in 1861. Lander died from a battle wound in 1862. He estimated that 13,000 emigrants used the new road in its first full year 1859. The road was used extensively until the transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869. The road continued to see some emigrant traffic into the 20th century and played an important role in the settlement of the area.

Major river crossings like the New Fork were significant markers for the emigrants because of the peril in crossing, but were also common camp spots. The New Fork River crossing was one of the most difficult on the Lander Trail, and because it followed an 18-mile waterless desert, the crossing was also a camp site for most emigrants. River corridors were later prized homestead sites, so almost all river crossings are now on private land.

The Lander Trail Today:
The Lander Trail has been marked and can be followed on public land for much of its length including the 18-mile desert section through the Green River Valley which is bisected by the Pinedale Anticline. The BLM and companies carefully manage the road through the Anticline with a no surface occupancy (NSO) for Ľ mile on each side of the trail. Additionally a 3-mile viewshed buffer limits drilling activities, and best management practices minimize impacts to the road setting.

Realistically, it is not possible to eliminate all impacts to the road setting. Instead of mitigating each separate impact to the road (i.e. a new well pad) as natural gas development progresses, these agreements recognize the overall effects over the life of the development and define an appropriate collective mitigation.

Plans for the New Fork River Crossing Park:
The New Fork River Crossing Historical Park sits about 5 miles west of the crest of the Anticline and just on the edge of the Pinedale Anticline Project Area (PAPA). The park is 82 acres in size with more than half a mile of river frontage. The setting at the park is very similar to what emigrants experienced 150 years ago. The goal is to leave the area as untouched as possible, so development of park facilities will be minimal. A parking lot will be developed at the entrance and the rest of the property will be accessible only by walking trails with interpretive signs. The park will be open in the summer for day use with no overnight camping. SCHS plans to open the park sometime during the summer of 2011.

Quotes:

Aimee Davison, Natural Resources Advisor for Shell in Pinedale: "Responsible development of natural gas on the Pinedale Anticline means respecting areas that are culturally and historically significant. Shell and Ultra’s contribution for the historical park will help preserve the setting and significance of the Lander Road, allowing future generations of residents and visitors to enjoy the history of Southwest Wyoming."

Larry Elcock, Rocky Mountain Power, Customer and Community Manager: "We’re pleased to be part of this collaborative process to make the Lander Trail New Fork River Crossing Park a reality, and available to the public. Rocky Mountain Power has provided safe and reliable electric service to Wyoming customers for nearly 100 years, and we think it’s important to be a good corporate citizen and community partner in the areas we serve."

John Fowler, Executive Director of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. "This was a good outcome for all parties, demonstrating how the Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act enables projects while protecting our heritage when creatively applied. The BLM mitigated adverse effects to the historic Lander Trail from both a new transmission line and additional gas and oil development. It permitted both efforts to proceed while protecting the historic river crossing by placing it in the hands of the Sublette County Historic Society."

Clint Gilchrist, Sublette County Historical Society: "The New Fork River was an oasis after the desert to emigrants 150 years ago, half way along their 6-month journey to Oregon or California. During the peak summer months hundreds of people each day camped here before or after braving the dangerous crossing. After the emigrant era, the crossing was never cultivated, so remains today much like what the emigrants experienced. The gas development through the Pinedale Anticline could last a generation or two, but the New Fork Crossing Historical Park will now last forever. This is a tremendous legacy Shell, Ultra, PacifiCorp and the BLM have made possible."

David Welch, Oregon-California Trails Association, National Preservation Office: "The New Fork River Crossing land purchase marks a milestone in the achievement of adequate mitigation for impacts to cultural resources like the Lander Road due to the development of natural resources in the area. While acknowledging the need for these resources, we must protect historical sites to the same degree that we work to protect our wildlife and the environment. The participation of the developers (Shell, Ultra Petroleum and PacifiCorp) indicates their acknowledgement of this responsibility. The combined efforts of the Sublette County Historical Society, the Alliance for Historic Wyoming and the Oregon-California Trails Association demonstrates how a partnership can help achieve our mutual objectives."

Rocky Mountain Fur Trade Journal & Forum
The Museum of the Mountain Man is introducing a new annual, peer reviewed, academic journal in 2007. All authors and submissions are welcome. Deadline for papers will be the first of each year.

Each year's Journal will be celebrated with a Forum held during Green River Rendezvous Days in July. Authors accepted for publication will be invited to present their papers and participate in panel discussions.

For more in formation see Rocky Mountain Fur Trade Journal.

Memories of Kendall Valley by Richard Hecox.

Memories of Kendall Valley
In October, 2005, the Sublette County Historical Society and Museum of the Mountain Man announced the presentation of their second publication, "Memories of Kendall Valley" by Richard Hecox. The updated revision was made possible by a grant from the Gayle McMurry Kinnison Donor Advised Endowment of the Wyoming Community Foundation.

Richard Hecox was born in Mountain View, Wyoming in 1912 and moved to the Kendall Valley and Upper Green with his parents and brother when he was a small infant.

His parents filed on a piece of land west of the Green River and built a cabin. Winters were long and hard. Neighbors lived as far away as five miles, and there was no communication or mail from November to June.

Richard, his two brothers and three sisters lived a pioneer existence, full of stories and adventures of the early settlers in that valley. The book is a recollection of Mr. Hecox's life and family, which he originally had published in 1982.

Mr. Hecox's granddaughter, Disney Krause Brunette, wrote this preface in the updated version, "Having grown up in Kendall Valley, and being named after my Grandpa Richard, it has always been my hope and dream to republish his book."

In 2004, this became a reality when the Sublette County Historical Society obtained a grant to do so. "Grandpa's hope was that it would be enjoyed by generations of family and those who have lived in the valley. I dedicate this book to him, in loving memory," said Brunette.

The layout and design for the book reprinting was done by Sue Sommers of WRWS Design in Office Outlet in Pinedale.

The book is available for sale at the Trading Post on this Museum's website. Price is $24.95, plus shipping and handling.

New Publication
The Fur Trade and Rendezvous of the Green River Valley
editted by Fred Gowans and Brenda Francis
The Museum of the Mountain Man has teamed with historian Fred Gowans to publish a new book focusing on the rocky mountain fur trade, but specifically on the Fur Trade and Rendezvous of the Green River Valley. The softcover book sells for $15.95, is 8 x 11 inches, and 138 pages.

The book is targeted at a general audience, but with a focus on historical detail. Ten authors and ten artists contributed to the project. The presentation is full color with beautifull paintings by artists like Alfred Jacob, Miller, John Clymer, David Wright, and Tucker Smith.

The book is published by the Sublette County Historical Society (Museum of the Mountain Man) and funded by Sublette County BOCES. A hardback version of the book will be given to each 4th grade student in Sublette County over the next ten years. But anyone can purchase the softcover version at the Museum of the Mountain Man and the online trading post.

Museum Presents 'The Ol' Trading Post'
Trading Post, Book Emporium, Online Gift Shop
The Sublette County Historical Board of Trustees is pleased to present to the public our renovation of the old gift shop that was completed this winter. The Ol' Trading Post and Book Emporium is a new and exciting entryway that makes quite a difference in the tone and ambiance for the whole building! Selected items from the Trading Post will also be placed on the new shopping cart on the Museum's web site at www.museumofthemountainman.com.

Click here for a printable PDF version of our latest newsletter! THE BEAVER PLEW