Rattlesnake

Rattlesnake is a 19,672-acre Inventoried Roadless Area in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest of northeastern Nevada, occupying a montane block of mountainous country in the Independence and Bruneau headwaters region of Elko County. Major landforms include the Buck Creek Mountains, the Ichabod Range, Red Bluff, and the cleft drainages of Deep Creek Canon, Bruneau Canyon, Rattlesnake Canyon, Johns Gulch, Trail Gulch, Rocky Gulch, and Rowher Gulch. The area carries major-significance hydrology at the Jim Bob Spring-Bruneau River headwaters, with cold flows gathered from Buck Creek (East Fork and West Fork), Johns Creek, Sanovia Creek, Columbet Creek, Deep Creek, Dorsey Creek, Young American Creek, Meadow Creek, Wickiup Creek, and the Hot Springs and Jim Bob Spring discharges. These streams drain north into the Bruneau River and ultimately into the Snake River system.

Vegetation across Rattlesnake is dominated by Intermountain Mountain Sagebrush Steppe (38% of the area) and Columbia Plateau Steppe and Grassland (17.3%), with big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) and antelope bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata) over an understory of arrowleaf balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata) and parsnipflower buckwheat (Eriogonum heracleoides). North-facing draws and higher slopes hold Intermountain Aspen and Conifer Forest and Rocky Mountain Aspen Forest of quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides). At the highest elevations, Rocky Mountain Dry Subalpine Spruce-Fir Forest of subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa) and Northern Rockies Subalpine Woodland and Parkland support whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis). Rocky Mountain Subalpine Streamside Woodland traces the Bruneau and Buck Creek drainages, and Rocky Mountain Subalpine Meadow opens into wildflower expanses where corn lily (Veratrum californicum), western columbine (Aquilegia formosa), showy fleabane (Erigeron speciosus), and Lewis flax (Linum lewisii) bloom in summer.

The wildlife community follows these vegetation gradients. Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), assessed as near threatened by the IUCN, holds breeding leks in the sagebrush flats. Sage thrasher (Oreoscoptes montanus) and Lewis's woodpecker (Melanerpes lewis) work the open and aspen-edge habitats; dusky grouse (Dendragapus obscurus) holds territories in the spruce-fir forest; and northern rubber boa (Charina bottae) hunts in moist forest litter. Northern harrier (Circus hudsonius) and golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) hunt across the open country. In the cold headwater streams, bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus), assessed as vulnerable by the IUCN, persists at the southern edge of its range; the Bruneau Hot Springsnail (Pyrgulopsis bruneauensis) is endemic to thermal spring discharges in the watershed. Portions of this area fall within the potential range of several federally listed species; see the Conservation section for details.

A traveler descending Buck Creek hears wind in quaking aspen and the soft chuckle of dusky grouse, then crosses into Bruneau Canyon where the river runs clear over basalt and Rocky Mountain Subalpine Streamside Woodland lines the banks. Climbing Red Bluff, the air dries, the aspen falls away, and the open ridgeline opens onto a long view of the Bruneau drainage running north toward Idaho. In the high meadows above Wickiup Creek, monument plant (Frasera speciosa) and arrowleaf balsamroot blanket the open ground, and a watcher pausing on the rim above can catch the slow circle of a golden eagle traversing the basin below.

The Rattlesnake roadless area lies within the historic territory of the Western Shoshone Newe — "the People" — whose traditional lands covered southern Idaho, the central part of Nevada, portions of northwestern Utah, and the Death Valley region [1]. The first contact of the Newe people with whites was mainly with fur trappers during the era of 1827 to 1846, who began the exploitation of natural resources across the region [1]. The Treaty of Peace and Friendship at Ruby Valley, signed October 1, 1863, granted the Western Shoshone tribe ownership of much of eastern Nevada [1]. At the beginning of the 20th century there was but a single Western Shoshone reservation, located in Duck Valley along the Nevada-Idaho border [1]. The Elko Colony was later established by Executive Order on March 25, 1918, reserving 160 acres for Shoshone and Paiute Indians living near the town of Elko [2].

Mining drove Euro-American settlement of northern Elko County. Representatives of the Central Pacific Railroad founded the town of Elko in 1868 [2]. M.L. Henry found placer gold deposits in 1868, and Jesse Cope's discovery in April 1869 brought a rush of miners to the area [4]. On May 22, 1869, the Cope District was organized; by July the camp was renamed Mountain City, and by June 1870 its population peaked at 1,200 with multiple stamp mills, a ditch from the Owyhee River, and a Chinese placer mining suburb called Placerville [4]. The Jarbidge mountain range to the southeast was prospected from the late 1860s, and the first gold and silver deposits were found near the Bruneau River [5]. In 1908, Dave Bourne discovered a rich gold deposit near the Jarbidge River; gold miners flooded the region and the town of Jarbidge was founded, reaching 1,200 residents by 1911 [5]. Over its lifetime, the Jarbidge Mining District produced an estimated 200,000 ounces of gold [5]. After the decline of mining, Mountain City developed a large ranching presence [4].

Federal stewardship followed the 1890s conservation reforms. The National Forest System was started when the Nation's public land policy moved from the disposition to the conservation era, driven by the need to protect mountainous watershed lands from indiscriminate over-grazing and cutting of timber [7]. The Forest Service was created in 1905 when forest administration and management duties were transferred from the Department of the Interior to the USDA [3]. The Independence Forest Reserve was established by the U.S. Forest Service on November 5, 1906 with 135,019 acres [6][9]. An Executive Order signed July 2, 1908, consolidated the Ruby Mountains and Independence National Forests under the name of the Humboldt National Forest [8]. The Humboldt and Toiyabe National Forests were administratively joined as the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in 1995 [6]. Rattlesnake today is managed within the Mountain City-Ruby Mountains-Jarbidge Ranger District and is protected under the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule.

Vital Resources Protected

• Bruneau Headwater Cold-Water Integrity: Rattlesnake holds the major-significance headwaters of the Jim Bob Spring-Bruneau River system through Buck Creek (East Fork and West Fork), Johns Creek, Sanovia Creek, Columbet Creek, Deep Creek, Dorsey Creek, Young American Creek, Meadow Creek, and Wickiup Creek, plus the discrete spring discharges at Jim Bob Spring and the Hot Springs. The roadless condition preserves the cold, sediment-free flows that bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) require at the southern edge of its range, sustaining a Threatened species in spawning and rearing habitat that depends on intact upland watersheds.

• Endemic Thermal Springsnail Habitat: The Bruneau River drainage supports the Bruneau Hot Springsnail (Pyrgulopsis bruneauensis), an Endangered mollusk endemic to thermal spring discharges in the basin. The roadless condition protects the ground- and surface-water connectivity that these endemic snails require — any alteration of upstream surface flows, groundwater recharge, or sedimentation regime can extirpate the small, isolated populations.

• Sagebrush-Aspen-Subalpine Continuity: The unfragmented mosaic of Intermountain Mountain Sagebrush Steppe (38% of the area) and Columbia Plateau Steppe and Grassland (17.3%) preserves the patch sizes that greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) require for breeding leks and seasonal range, and the connected elevational gradient through quaking aspen forest to Rocky Mountain Dry Subalpine Spruce-Fir Forest and Northern Rockies Subalpine Woodland and Parkland sustains Threatened whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) on the highest ridges as a climate refuge.

Potential Effects of Road Construction

• Sedimentation and disruption of bull trout spawning streams: Road construction in mountainous montane terrain cuts across slopes that drain into Buck Creek, Johns Creek, Deep Creek, and the Bruneau River headwaters, exposing erodible soils that deliver chronic fine sediment into spawning gravels. Bull trout require unembedded, oxygen-rich gravel for spawning and rearing; once cut-and-fill surfaces sediment downstream channels, the spawning substrate is degraded and is difficult to restore on management timescales.

• Hydrologic disruption of endemic thermal springs: Road benches and culverts near the Hot Springs and the spring-fed reaches of the Bruneau River alter surface drainage and shallow groundwater flow, which can change the temperature, chemistry, and discharge of the thermal seeps that Bruneau Hot Springsnail populations depend on. Endemic populations confined to a single spring system have no refugia to recolonize from once a spring complex is disturbed.

• Sage-grouse habitat fragmentation and whitebark pine loss: Road corridors carve continuous sagebrush steppe into isolated patches and seed cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) along disturbed shoulders, eliminating the lek and nesting interior conditions sage-grouse require and triggering fire-cycle changes that sagebrush systems do not recover from on management timescales. Roads pushed into the high country also cut spruce-fir and whitebark pine stands, opening the canopy of slow-recruiting white pines that are already under pressure from white pine blister rust and mountain pine beetle.

Rattlesnake covers 19,672 acres of mountainous montane country in the Bruneau River headwaters of northeastern Nevada's Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. The area is reached through the Mountain City-Ruby Mountains-Jarbidge Ranger District. No designated trailheads or developed campgrounds lie within the area, and recreation is dispersed across a dense, unsigned trail network.

The trail network is the most extensive in the Mountain City portion of the forest. The principal long routes include the Buck Trail (#18205) at 5.8 miles, the Columbet Trail (#18213) at 4.5 miles, Buck 1 (#18214) at 2.3 miles, Buck 2 (#18215) at 1.8 miles, and Wickiup 2 (#16461) at 1.8 miles. Multiple Buck and Columbet spurs and connectors thread the Buck Creek drainage; Wickiup, Dorsey, Bruneau, Diamond, Scott, Bearpaw, Alvarea, Granite, and Telephone trails add coverage across the Bruneau, Wickiup Creek, Dorsey Creek, and Bruneau Canyon corridors. All routes are native material and uses are not formally specified; travel is by foot and horseback. Cross-country travel beyond the trails depends on map reading, water awareness, and self-reliance — there are no signs and no developed water sources beyond the named springs and creeks.

Hunting is the principal large-mammal activity. Mule deer winter range crosses the area; greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) holds leks in the sagebrush flats; dusky grouse (Dendragapus obscurus) holds territories in the spruce-fir forest. All hunting occurs under Nevada Department of Wildlife regulations and tag requirements; the Mountain City-Ruby Mountains-Jarbidge Ranger District office should be consulted for unit boundaries and current season information.

Anglers can target bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) in the Bruneau River and its named tributaries — Buck Creek, Johns Creek, Deep Creek, Wickiup Creek, and others — though the species is federally listed and Nevada Department of Wildlife regulations apply specifically to its protection. The cold flows that emerge at Jim Bob Spring and the Hot Springs sustain the wetted reaches.

Birding focuses on the sagebrush, aspen, and high-elevation species. Lewis's woodpecker (Melanerpes lewis) works the aspen-edge habitats; sage thrasher (Oreoscoptes montanus) holds territories across the sagebrush; dusky grouse occupies the spruce-fir; northern harrier (Circus hudsonius) hunts the open steppe; and golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) traverses the open country. The area lies outside any documented eBird hotspot, so birders practice their own listing along the trails.

Wildflower observation and photography are most rewarding in early summer in the high meadows and along the spring-fed channels. Arrowleaf balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata), monument plant (Frasera speciosa), western columbine (Aquilegia formosa), showy fleabane (Erigeron speciosus), and Lewis flax (Linum lewisii) bloom across the meadows and aspen edges; corn lily (Veratrum californicum) emerges in moist openings; and northern mule's-ears (Wyethia amplexicaulis) cover the open hillsides. The whitebark pine stands on the highest ridges are themselves a destination for photographers willing to climb cross-country to reach them.

Backcountry camping is dispersed and primitive — no developed sites exist, water is available only at the named springs and creeks, and pack-in/pack-out practices are essential. Stock use along the longer Buck and Columbet trails and into the upper basins is feasible for experienced parties.

The recreation here depends on the roadless condition. The dense network of native-surface trails, the cross-country travel into Bruneau Canyon and Buck Creek, the unmolested mule deer and sage-grouse habitat, the cold headwater streams that sustain bull trout, and the high-elevation whitebark pine stands all exist because no road network has been pushed through the interior. Adding roads would replace dispersed backcountry travel with motorized access, sediment the bull trout spawning gravels, fragment sage-grouse habitat, and reduce a quiet hunting and birding unit to a developed recreation footprint.