Dunoir Valley, Wyoming

This remote valley at the southern end of the Absaroka Range in Wyoming has been called "Shangri-la" by locals working to protect it. It lies on the Shoshone National Forest in Wyoming, and is an integral part of the Washakie-Teton Wilderness Complex. The Dunoir Valley, which drains into the upper Wind River, is blanketed by lush forest of old growth spruce, Douglas fir and whitebark pine, and is ringed by banded cliffs of volcanic rock. Deep in the valley are the beautiful Kissinger Lakes, and just above the Dunoir is the Continental Divide and spectacular spires of the Pinnacle Buttes.

The main Dunoir Valley is tentatively protected as the Dunoir Special Management Unit, but on the southeast side of the valley, below Ramshorn Peak, is unprotected wilderness contiguous with the Washakie Wilderness. The Dunoir Valley is critical habitat for elk, antelope, moose, bighorn, deer, northern goshawk, wolverine, lynx, and grizzly bear. From 1988-96, 8 female and 10 male grizzlies were confirmed using the area.

The proposed Brent Creek timber sale will mean 2 miles of new road and logging on 1000 acres in the roadless upper Five Mile and Six Mile Creek area. The Shoshone National Forest recently approved an exploratory oil well in the Brent Creek area, north of Dubois, Wyoming. If this well hits oil, thousands of forested acres could turn into an industrial oil field.

Contact

• Lloyd Dorsey
  Community Organizer for the Northern Rockies Campaign in Dubois
  307-733-1707
  
  
• Caroline Byrd
  Staff Attorney
  Wyoming