Myrtle Silvies

The Myrtle Silvies Inventoried Roadless Area encompasses 11,679 acres in the Malheur National Forest, spanning montane terrain in Grant and Harney counties, Oregon. The area rises across the Blue Mountains from lower sagebrush flats to the subalpine elevations of Burnt Mountain and Burnt Mountain Meadows, with Red Hill, WogonagaT potso-na Flat, and Little Sage Hen Flat marking distinct terrain features across the landscape. Water originates high on these slopes and moves through a dense drainage network: Crane Creek, Cooley Creek, West Myrtle Creek, and Myrtle Creek drain toward the Silvies River, while Little Sage Hen Creek and a series of named springs — Myrtle Spring, Bob Bennett Spring, R D Spring, and FL Spring — sustain perennial flow across terrain of major hydrological significance. The springs and stream corridors feed wet meadows and riparian woodlands that support ecological communities disproportionate to their surface area.

Northern Rockies Ponderosa Pine Woodland dominates lower and mid-elevation slopes, where ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forms an open canopy over antelope bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata), pinemat manzanita (Arctostaphylos nevadensis), and arrowleaf balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata). On moister aspects and higher terrain, Southern Rockies Mixed Conifer Forest replaces the pine, with Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and grand fir–white fir hybrids (Abies grandis × concolor) over heartleaf arnica (Arnica cordifolia) and western sweet-cicely (Osmorhiza occidentalis). Rocky Mountain Lodgepole Pine Forest and Rocky Mountain Subalpine Meadow communities characterize the upper slopes of Burnt Mountain, where prairie smoke (Geum triflorum), glacier lily (Erythronium grandiflorum), and silvery lupine (Lupinus argenteus) bloom with snowmelt. Northern Rockies Foothill Streamside Woodland lines the spring-fed margins of Myrtle Creek and its tributaries, where white bog orchid (Platanthera dilatata) — listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List — occupies saturated soil. Drier exposures hold Intermountain Mountain Sagebrush Steppe, Great Basin Big Sagebrush Steppe, and Intermountain Mountain Mahogany Woodland on rocky, south-facing slopes.

The structural diversity of these forest types supports a range of confirmed wildlife. White-headed woodpecker (Leuconotopicus albolarvatus) and pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) excavate cavities in old-growth ponderosa pine and mixed-conifer stands; red-breasted nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) and northern house wren (Troglodytes aedon) nest in the cavities these larger woodpeckers create. Prairie falcon (Falco mexicanus) hunts across open sagebrush terrain. Calliope hummingbird (Selasphorus calliope) forages among scarlet skyrocket (Ipomopsis aggregata) and western columbine (Aquilegia formosa) in meadow edges and forest clearings. Columbia spotted frog (Rana luteiventris) and Pacific chorus frog (Pseudacris regilla) occupy the spring-fed streams and wetland margins, while northern pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus oregonensis) inhabits the creek systems. American black bear (Ursus americanus) and long-tailed weasel (Neogale frenata) move through the forested matrix. Portions of this area fall within the potential range of several federally listed species; see the Conservation section for details.

A visitor entering from the Myrtle Creek trailhead moves through open ponderosa woodland — widely spaced canopy over bitterbrush and balsamroot — into denser mixed-conifer shade, then into wet meadow margins where springs surface near Burnt Mountain Meadows. From the FL Spring trailhead, the approach crosses lower sagebrush and juniper terrain before climbing into pine and then conifer forest. In both approaches, the transitions between fire-adapted open woodland, cold spring-fed streamside, and subalpine meadow define the ecological character of this landscape.

The Myrtle Silvies Inventoried Roadless Area occupies the Blue Mountains of Grant and Harney counties in eastern Oregon, lands the Wadatika Band of Northern Paiutes and related groups had used for thousands of years. Their traditional homeland encompassed approximately 5,250 square miles of central-southeastern Oregon, extending into Nevada, Idaho, and California [1]. The Northern Paiute, Cayuse, and Bannock peoples all inhabited the broader region long before Euro-American contact [5].

Conflict with American settlers began in the 1840s, forcing the Wadatika to acquire horses and guns for defense [2]. The U.S. Army established Camp Alvord in 1864, followed by Fort Harney in 1867, as military posts for its campaign against Northern Paiute bands in eastern Oregon [2]. The federal government issued an executive order in 1869 setting aside 1.8 million acres as the Malheur Reservation, which was formally established in 1871 [1, 3]. That arrangement proved short-lived. When the Bannock War erupted in 1878–79, Wadatika people fled the reservation; the government closed it in 1880 and dismantled the tribe's land base [3]. Survivors were forcibly marched more than 300 miles through deep snow to Fort Simcoe and Fort Vancouver in Washington State [1]. Those who returned found the reservation had reverted to the public domain [1]. Federal recognition of the Burns Paiute Tribe was not restored until 1972 [3].

Euro-American settlement reached the region through the fur trade. French Canadian trapper Peter Ogden explored the area in the 1820s, naming the Malheur River — "bad hour" or misfortune — after a cache of supplies was stolen from its banks [5]. Cattle grazing and ranching followed later settlement. Concerns over unregulated grazing, logging, and water supply in the Blue Mountains prompted local action: in 1902, residents of Malheur and Harney counties petitioned the federal government to withdraw the Strawberry Mountains and the headwaters of the Malheur, Silvies, and South Fork of the John Day rivers from the public domain [4]. After years of negotiations complicated by a major land fraud scandal involving Oregon's congressional delegation, President Theodore Roosevelt authorized the permanent establishment of the Blue Mountain Forest Reserve in March 1906, encompassing 2,627,270 acres [4]. In 1908, the reserve was reorganized into several administrative units that became the Malheur, Wallowa-Whitman, Ochoco, and Umatilla national forests [4].

Commercial timber production remained minor on the Malheur until 1928, when the Bear Valley Timber Sale — by some accounts the largest volume timber sale in the continental United States — was awarded to the Hines Lumber Company [5]. A logging railroad from Burns into Bear Valley was built in 1930, enabling large-scale extraction that continued until 1968 [5]. The Myrtle Silvies area, within the Emigrant Creek Ranger District, is today protected under the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule.

Vital Resources Protected

Cold Headwater Stream Integrity The roadless condition preserves the full drainage network feeding Myrtle Creek, Crane Creek, Cooley Creek, West Myrtle Creek, and the Silvies River without the sedimentation load that road construction on steep montane terrain introduces. Northern Rockies Foothill Streamside Woodland buffers these channels, maintaining stable banks, low sediment turbidity, and the water temperatures required by Columbia spotted frog (Rana luteiventris) and other aquatic species. Perennial springs — Myrtle Spring, Bob Bennett Spring, R D Spring, and FL Spring — sustain late-summer baseflow that roads and associated drainage infrastructure would disrupt through altered subsurface hydrology.

Interior Forest Habitat The 11,679-acre roadless block sustains contiguous Northern Rockies Ponderosa Pine Woodland across lower slopes and Southern Rockies Mixed Conifer Forest on cooler aspects — habitats that depend on large interior forest conditions to function as breeding territory for cavity-dependent species. White-headed woodpecker (Leuconotopicus albolarvatus) and pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) require old-growth structural elements — large-diameter snags, downed logs, intact duff — that road construction and the timber access it enables systematically remove. The roadless condition keeps these structural features intact and the interior canopy matrix continuous across the area's full acreage.

Elevational Gradient Connectivity Myrtle Silvies spans from Great Basin Big Sagebrush Steppe and Intermountain Mountain Mahogany Woodland at lower elevations to Rocky Mountain Subalpine Meadow and Northern Rockies Subalpine Shrubland near the upper reaches of Burnt Mountain — an intact elevational gradient that allows species to shift ranges in response to seasonal and climate-driven change. Gray wolf (Canis lupus), listed as Endangered under the Endangered Species Act, requires connected, low-disturbance corridors across large landscapes; road construction increases human access and livestock conflict that typically results in wolf removal. The undisturbed sagebrush-to-subalpine continuum also supports movement by Suckley's cuckoo bumble bee (Bombus suckleyi), proposed for Endangered listing, which requires intact ground-nesting habitat and uninterrupted floral resources across elevation bands.

Potential Effects of Road Construction

Sedimentation and Thermal Disruption of Headwater Streams Cut slopes and stream crossings on the steep terrain of Myrtle Silvies would introduce sediment pulses into Myrtle Creek, Crane Creek, and their tributaries, clogging stream substrate and raising turbidity in channels that currently run clear. Culverts installed at road-stream crossings act as barriers to upstream movement during high-flow events, fragmenting aquatic habitat for frogs and fish; canopy removal along road corridors elevates water temperature, reducing the cold-water refugia that aquatic species require during summer low flows.

Fragmentation and Edge Effects in Ponderosa Pine and Mixed Conifer Forest Road construction through Northern Rockies Ponderosa Pine Woodland and Southern Rockies Mixed Conifer Forest creates linear edges that increase wind penetration, light, and desiccation stress deep into adjacent stands, shrinking effective interior forest area. Fragmentation reduces the contiguous habitat blocks that large mammals — gray wolf, American black bear (Ursus americanus) — require for movement and territory maintenance, and increases nest predation and brood parasitism rates for interior-dependent forest birds. These edge effects are cumulative and persist long after a road corridor is abandoned.

Invasive Species Establishment Soil disturbance from road grading creates bare mineral surfaces that invasive annual grasses — particularly cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) — exploit to establish in the Intermountain Mountain Sagebrush Steppe and Great Basin Big Sagebrush communities at the area's lower margins. Cheatgrass increases fine-fuel loads and shortens fire-return intervals, driving conversion of perennial sagebrush communities into annual grassland — a transition that is extremely difficult and costly to reverse. Road corridors function as both seed transport vectors and primary disturbance patches where invasion begins, extending the ecological impact of construction far beyond the road's physical footprint.

The Myrtle Silvies roadless area covers 11,679 acres of montane terrain in the Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon, within the Malheur National Forest's Emigrant Creek Ranger District. Two documented trailheads provide access: FL Spring and Myrtle Creek, both reached via the forest road network in Grant and Harney counties. No maintained campgrounds are located within the area boundaries. Dispersed camping is available on Malheur National Forest lands in accordance with forest regulations, with flat ground near creek drainages and in open meadow margins suitable for overnight stays. Visitors should confirm access road conditions with the Emigrant Creek Ranger District before traveling.

Hiking and Cross-Country Travel

The FL Spring and Myrtle Creek trailheads serve as entry points for dispersed hiking and cross-country travel across an 11,679-acre landscape with no maintained trail system. The terrain moves from sagebrush flats and open ponderosa pine woodland at lower elevations through denser mixed-conifer forest and into the Rocky Mountain Subalpine Meadow and Northern Rockies Subalpine Shrubland environments near Burnt Mountain and Burnt Mountain Meadows. Navigation requires map-and-compass or GPS skills in the absence of marked routes. Route-finding along creek drainages — Myrtle Creek, Crane Creek, Cooley Creek — provides natural corridors through the forested interior, with spring-fed wetlands and meadows appearing where named springs surface near WogonagaT potso-na Flat and Little Sage Hen Flat.

Birding

The area sits in a productive birding landscape: eight eBird hotspots within 24 kilometers record more than 140 species collectively, led by Malheur NF–Idlewild Campground (140 species, 1,325 checklists) and Yellowjacket Lake (120 species, 69 checklists). Within the roadless area, forest types support distinct bird communities tied to habitat structure. White-headed woodpecker (Leuconotopicus albolarvatus) and pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) inhabit old-growth ponderosa pine and mixed-conifer stands. Calliope hummingbird (Selasphorus calliope) forages in meadow edges and forest openings from late spring through midsummer. Canada jay (Perisoreus canadensis) is recorded in the subalpine conifer zone near Burnt Mountain. Lincoln's sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii) occupies moist streamside shrub habitat along the creek drainages. Prairie falcon (Falco mexicanus) hunts across open sagebrush terrain at lower elevations. Early morning travel from the trailheads during May and June offers the most productive birding conditions.

Wildlife Watching

American black bear (Ursus americanus) ranges through the forested matrix and is most active in berry-producing habitats during late summer and fall. Long-tailed weasel (Neogale frenata) hunts along riparian edges and rocky debris slopes. Columbia spotted frog (Rana luteiventris) and Pacific chorus frog (Pseudacris regilla) are present in the spring-fed streams and wet meadows accessible from both trailheads. Spring wildflower displays across Burnt Mountain Meadows include glacier lily (Erythronium grandiflorum), prairie smoke (Geum triflorum), western columbine (Aquilegia formosa), and scarlet skyrocket (Ipomopsis aggregata); peak bloom tracks snowmelt in late May through June, varying by elevation.

Hunting

The Malheur National Forest is an established big game destination in eastern Oregon. The area's mosaic of forested cover, meadow edge, and sagebrush provides habitat for Rocky Mountain elk and mule deer, which use roadless terrain for security cover. Hunting within the area follows Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife unit regulations; visitors should confirm current season dates and tag requirements through ODFW. The FL Spring and Myrtle Creek trailheads provide access points for backcountry big game hunting in terrain that receives low human pressure relative to roaded portions of the surrounding forest.

The Roadless Condition and Recreation

The dispersed backcountry character of Myrtle Silvies depends on the absence of roads. The birding, wildlife watching, and big game hunting quality of this area are all functions of the low human traffic density, undisturbed water sources, and intact forest structure that road-free terrain sustains. Road construction would introduce motorized access into terrain currently available only to non-motorized users, degrade the streamside and meadow habitats that make this area biologically productive, and reduce the undeveloped character that distinguishes it from the roaded portions of the surrounding Malheur National Forest.