Management Program 



res 



possibility will be pursued. Management measures 

 will not be developed for this site unless such an 

 exchange or purchase was completed. 



Management of Trail Segments: 



The trail will be managed under the Oregon/ 

 Mormon Trail General Management Policy. No 

 other specific actions are identified at this time. 

 An example of the application of the General 

 Management Policy is the use of the National 

 Register of Historic Places as a management tool. 

 Along this trail segment, as well as others in the 

 network of trails in this plan, there may be sites 

 or sections of trail ruts that, from time to time, 

 are nominated or found eligible for nomination 

 to the National Register of Historic Places. Oregon 

 Trail ruts in the vicinity of the Carter Cedars is 

 an example that may be evaluated for possible 

 inclusion on the National Register. Vehicle use 

 of this segment will be authorized, although 

 specific management measures to encourage 

 such use will not be implemented. 



Management Policy 



No specific policy for this trail segment is 

 needed. 



Bear River Divide Segment - BD (Rock 

 Springs District) 



The Bear River Divide segment of the Oregon 

 Trail is one of the more difficult segments to 

 describe in that there appears to have been several 

 segments, routes, and variants allowing wagon 

 passage over this divide. At present, the main route 

 of the Oregon Trail is recognized as abandoning 

 the Little Muddy and ascending first Chicken 

 Creek, then present day Road Hollow Creek. After 

 cresting the Bear River Divide, the trail goes west 

 past Sand Knoll and drops down to North Bridger 

 Creek. Two miles later, North Bridger Creek unites 

 with Bridger Creek and the trail follows the north 

 and east side of this creek as it courses northwest 

 towards the Bear River Valley. 



Other Oregon Trail variants east of the Bear 

 River Divide include: 



1. A variant that follows the headwaters of 

 Chicken Creek directly to Bridger Creek; 



2. An alternate route that follows the Little 

 Muddy Creek to the Bear River Divide; and 



3. A possible variant that leaves the Little Muddy 

 Creek variant and runs along Fossil Ridge - 



really a three-mile long switchback - that 

 unites with the main trail .5 mile north of 

 Cercocapia Reservoir. 



Several variants are found on the western side 

 of the Bear River Divide: 



1 . A poorly understood trail segment associated 

 with the headwaters of Spring Creek; 



2. Two trail segments located near the head of 

 Bridger Creek. These routes are the western 

 extension of the Chicken Creek Trail and 

 contain well-preserved trail ruts; 



3. Three short (1 to 1 .5 miles in length) alternates 

 descending the Divide near Cercocapia 

 Reservoir that lead to the North Bridger Creek 

 Main Trail; 



4. A variant branching off the Main Trail north 

 of Sand Knoll that follows an unnamed creek 

 for five miles north of, and then uniting with 

 the Bridger Creek Main Route near where the 

 creek enters the Bear River Valley; and 



5. Finally, a possible variant, largely deviating 

 from those routes described above, merits 

 discussion. Reference to this variant is found 

 in the Oregon Trail Cultural Resource Study 

 prepared by the Idaho State Historical Society 

 (1981, p. 277, 280). The route leaves the main 

 trail about two miles east of Sand Knoll and 

 runs north for about seven miles along the 

 eastern uplands of Collette Creek. This route 

 then crosses Twin Creek and appears 

 somewhat obliterated for about 1 .5 miles, until 

 1 mile south of Gooseberry Spring. Here, the 

 route divides and runs east and west of a large 

 hill and reunites again near the headwaters 

 of Antelope Creek. The trail then follows the 

 north side of Antelope Creek for four miles 

 and connects with the main Oregon Trail 

 northeast of the present-day community of 

 Beckwith. 



In the Bear River Valley proper, roughly from 

 west of Eli Hill northwards for about 25 miles 

 to Cokeville, the Oregon Trail parallels 

 present-day US Highway 89/30 along the east 

 side of the Bear River. North of Cokeville, the 

 trail continues its northward passage through 

 The Narrows. Beyond this point, one Oregon 

 Trail variant continues along US Highway 30/ 

 89 to Border Junction, where it turns west 

 and leaves the state in the south end of the 

 Thomas Fork Valley. Another variant is 

 identified as crossing the Bear River just east 

 of Anderson Hill where the trail picks up the 

 Union Pacific Railroad R/W and exits the state 

 south of the Bear River. 



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