Management Program 



Suspension Bridge, a structure that was built at 

 the historic ferry site in the early twentieth century 

 and that was of great importance to the local 

 ranching industry. 



Should public demand for trekking on the 

 Kinney Cutoff materialize in the future, the BLM 

 will seek public access agreements along one or 

 more of the route variants. The route can be 

 approximately retraced on the east side of the 

 Green River along the Farson Cutoff road and 

 along the west side of the Green River along State 

 Highway 372. 



Management Policy 



No specific management policy will be 

 developed for the Kinney Cutoff. This route will 

 be managed according to the guidelines in the 

 Oregon/Mormon Trail General Management 

 Policy. 



Slate Creek Cutoff 

 District) 



SL (Rock Springs 



The Slate Creek Cutoff was developed around 

 1852 in response to the need for a route that would 

 avoid the dry and dangerous Sublette Cutoff that 

 crossed the Little Colorado Desert, yet which 

 would shorten the route to Oregon by bypassing 

 the loop to Fort Bridger. The Slate Creek trail left 

 the Bridger Route of the Oregon Trail several miles 

 west of what was to become the Big Sandy Stage 

 Station. It proceeded north of the Blue Forest and 

 dropped down to the Green River at Robinson's 

 Ferry near present day Fontenelle. It then 

 meandered along Slate Creek until it joined the 

 Sublette Cutoff near Emigrant Springs. While this 

 route would have been a day or so longer than 

 the Sublette Cutoff, it would save several days 

 over the Bridger Route. Between its division with 

 the Bridger Route and its arrival at the Green River, 

 the Slate Creek is 20 miles long. 



The Slate Creek Cutoff diverges from the main 

 (Fort Bridger) route of the Oregon Trail west of 

 the Big Bend of the Big Sandy; this location is 

 about a mile west of both the Big Timber Pony 

 Express Station and the point where the Oregon 

 Trail alternate forks south to cross the Sandy. The 

 Slate Creek Cutoff heads northwest across flat, 

 brush covered plains dotted with dry lake beds. 

 Continuing in this direction, the trail crosses fields 

 of sand dunes and areas of low badlands, finally 

 turning straight west and heading between high 

 badland buttes. Still proceeding west, the final 

 miles to the Green are characterized by gently 



rolling to flat topography. The cutoff crosses the 

 Green at a point just downstream from modern 

 Fontenelle Dam. The entire route from the Big 

 Bend to the Green lacks topographic obstacles, 

 steep grades, and permanent water of any type. 



From the Green River crossing, the trail 

 proceeds west, passing just north of Slate Creek 

 Butte, and follows the south side of Slate Creek 

 proper. About 10.5 miles west of the Green, the 

 trail crosses over to the north side of Slate Creek, 

 and begins to follow the high sandstone bluffs 

 west, rather than the drainage bottom. After an 

 additional eight miles, the trail veers northwest 

 and drops down to a dry tributary of Emigrant 

 Creek to Emigrant Springs, a major emigrant camp 

 along the Slate Creek Trail. From Emigrant Spring, 

 the trail follows Emigrant Creek for 1 .5 miles, and 

 trends northwest to begin the ascent of Slate 

 Creek Ridge. From an altitude of 7,060 feet at 

 Emigrant Spring, the trail ascends to 7,832 feet 

 above sea level, with a rise of about 400 feet per 

 mile. The trail descends from the ridge, crosses 

 the North Fork of Slate Creek (at 7,400 feet) and 

 proceeds west northwest for 1.5 miles and unites 

 with the Sublette Cutoff at Rocky Gap. Rocky Gap 

 is recognized as the western terminus of the Slate 

 Creek Trail. 



Management of Sites 



Site SL-1 Parting with Main Trail. The BLM will 

 place an interpretive sign at the parting of the Slate 

 Creek Cutoff with the main route of the Oregon/ 

 Mormon Trail. It will identify the site as the parting 

 of the two routes and interpret the significance 

 of the cutoff. 



Site SL-2 Case- Davis Ferry Site. The Case-Davis 

 Ferry site is on public land administered by the 

 Bureau of Reclamation. No management actions 

 are envisioned at this time. Future actions may 

 involve BLM management through transfer of 

 management responsibility from the U.S.Bureau 

 of Reclamation to the BLM. 



Site SL-3 Emigrant Spring (Slate Creek). A portion 

 of this site lies on a 40-acre private parcel of land. 

 The landowner has expressed a desire to have 

 his portion of the emigrant inscription site in 

 federal ownership and protective status. We 

 propose to acquire the tract (SWVaNWVa Sec. 13, 

 T. 23 N., R. 115 W.) through land exchange for 

 a yet to be identified parcel of public land. 



The inscriptions at Emigrant Spring have been 

 deteriorating at an accelerated rate over the past 

 10 to 20 years. We propose to implement measures 

 to stabilize the sandstone cliff face and lessen the 



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