Eagle Cap Wilderness

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Eagle Cap Wilderness

Eagle Cap Wilderness is a wilderness area located in the Wallowa Mountains of northeastern Oregon (United States), within the Wallowa–Whitman National Forest. The wilderness was established in 1940. In 1964, it was included in the National Wilderness Preservation System. A boundary revision in 1972 added and the Wilderness Act of 1964 added resulting in its current size of , making Eagle Cap by far Oregon's largest wilderness area.

Eagle Cap Wilderness is named after a peak in the Wallowa Mountains, which were once called the Eagle Mountains. At Eagle Cap was incorrectly thought to be the highest peak in the range.

Topography

The Eagle Cap Wilderness is characterized by high alpine lakes and meadows, bare granite peaks and ridges, and U-shaped glacial valleys. Thick timber is found in the lower valleys and scattered alpine timber on the upper slopes. Elevations in the wilderness range from approximately in lower valleys to at the summit of Sacajawea Peak with 30 other summits exceeding . The wilderness is home to Legore Lake, the highest true lake in Oregon at , as well as more than 60 named alpine lakes and tarns (12 of which are above 8,000 feet), and more than of streams.

History

The Eagle Cap Wilderness and surrounding country in the Wallowa–Whitman National Forest was first occupied by the ancestors of the Nez Perce Indian tribe around 1400 AD, and later by the Cayuse, the Shoshone, and Bannocks. The wilderness was used as hunting grounds for bighorn sheep and deer and to gather huckleberries. It was the summer home to the Joseph Band of the Nez Perce tribe. 1860 marked the year the first settlers moved into the Wallowa Valley. In 1930, the Eagle Cap was established as a primitive area and in 1940 earned wilderness designation.

Wildlife

Eagle Cap Wilderness is home to a variety of wildlife, including black bears, cougars, Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, and mountain goats. In the summer white-tailed deer, mule deer, and Rocky Mountain elk roam the wilderness. Smaller mammals that inhabit the area year-round include the pika, pine martens, wolverines, badgers, squirrels, and marmots. Birds include peregrine falcons, bald eagles, golden eagles, ferruginous hawks, and gray-crowned rosy finch. Trout can be found in many of the lakes and streams in the wilderness. The Oregon State record golden trout was caught in the wilderness in 1987, by Douglas White. The lake where it was caught was not named.

Sheep and cattle graze throughout Eagle Cap Wilderness, especially the surroundings of Mount Nebo. Shortly after World War II with the impact of the wool industry, the number of sheep nearly disappeared in the Eagle Cap Wilderness, while at the beginning of the 1900, their numbers exceeded the carrying capacity of the wilderness.

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A lactating female wolf in the Eagle Cap Wilderness. Image captured by remote camera on June 4, 2012.

Wolves

Wolves have returned to Eagle Cap Wilderness with no reported encounters with humans, although some losses of sheep and cattle have been attributed to wolves in the area. In 2012, a trail-cam recorded a female black wolf. Tracking of the wolf revealed at least three total wolves in an area east of Minam River. Further surveys by the end of 2012 showed a count of at least seven wolves in a pack within the Upper Minam River area. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife reported in 2013 a total of six known packs with 46 total wolves. All animals belonged to the same pack and are designated Minam Pack.

The first grey wolf trapped and radio-collared tagged by the ODFW was an female individual and marks the twentieth radio-collared wolf in Oregon. Another female was radio-collared which dispersed from the Miniam Pack and found traveling with another male wolf within the Miniam Area and into the Keating Unit. Through 2019 the Minam Pack produced litters annually within the Eagle Cap Wilderness. One of the females from the Minam Pack formed a pair bond in 2014 with a male member of the Snake River Pack forming a new pack within the Eagle Cap Wilderness, designated the Catherine Pack. The adult female was found deceased in 2019 although the pack remained classified as a breeding pack through 2019.

Vegetation

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Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii)

Plant communities in the Eagle Cap Wilderness range from low elevation grasslands and ponderosa pine forest to alpine meadows. Engelmann spruce, larch, mountain hemlock, sub-alpine fir, and whitebark pine can be found in the higher elevations. Varieties of Indian paintbrush, sego lilies, elephanthead, larkspur, shooting star, and bluebells are abundant in the meadows. The wilderness does contain some small groves of old growth forest.

Recreation

As Oregon's largest wilderness area, Eagle Cap offers many recreational activities, including hiking, backpacking, horseback riding, hunting, fishing, camping, and wildlife watching. Winter brings backcountry skiing and snowshoeing opportunities. Several Alpine Huts and campsites are located throughout the McCully Basin, which are used as a base camp in the winter for telemark skiing. There are 47 trailheads and approximately of trails in Eagle Cap, accessible from Wallowa, Union, and Baker Counties, and leading to all areas of the wilderness.

a wooden sign bolted to a tree trunk reads "Eagle Cap Wilderness; Wallowa–Whitman National Forest"

Sign marking the wilderness boundary on the Hurricane Creek Trail

Wild and Scenic Rivers

Four designated Wild and Scenic Rivers originate in Eagle Cap Wilderness—the Lostine, Eagle Creek, Minam, and Imnaha.

Lostine River

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Lostine River valley in Eagle Cap Wilderness

of the Lostine from its headwaters in the wilderness to the Wallowa–Whitman National Forest boundary are designated Wild and Scenic. Established in 1988, of the river are designated "wild" and are designated "recreational." A small portion of the river is on private property.

Eagle Creek

of Eagle Creek from its output at Eagle Lake in the wilderness to the Wallowa–Whitman National Forest boundary at Skull Creek are designated Wild and Scenic. In 1988, of the river were designated "wild," are designated "scenic," and are designated "recreational."

Minam

of the Minam River from its headwaters at the south end of Minam Lake to the wilderness boundary, one-half mile downstream from Cougar Creek, are designated Wild and Scenic. In 1988, all were designated "wild."

Imnaha

of the Imnaha River from its headwaters are designated Wild and Scenic. The designation comprises the main stem from the confluence of the North and South Forks of the Imnaha River to its mouth, and the South Fork from its headwaters to the confluence with the main stem. In 1988, were designated "wild," were designated "scenic," and were designated "recreational," though only a portion of the Wild and Scenic Imnaha is located within Eagle Cap Wilderness.

Lakes

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Aneroid Lake

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Dollar Lake

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Maxwell Lake

Name	Elevation
Aneroid Lake
Bear Lake
Billy Jones Lake
Blue Lake
Bonny Lakes
Caught Two Lake
Cheval Lake
Chimney Lake
Crescent Lake
Deadman Lake	8,641 ft (2,634 m)
Dollar Lake
Douglas Lake
Echo Lake
Echo Lake
Frances Lake
Frazier lake
Glacier Lake
Green Lake
Hobo Lake	8,369 ft (2,551 m)
Horseshoe Lake
Ice Lake
Jewett Lake
John Henry Lake
Laverty Lake
Lee Lake
Legore Lake
Little Storm Lake
Maxwell Lake
Minam Lake
Mirror Lake
Moccasin Lake
Prospect Lake
Pocket Lake
Razz Lake
Roger Lake
Steamboat Lake
Swamp Lake
Tombstone Lake
Traverse Lake
Unit Lake
Upper Glacier Lake	8,206 ft (2,501 m)
Wood Lake

See also

• List of U.S. Wilderness Areas
• List of old growth forests

External links

• Eagle Cap Wilderness - Wallowa–Whitman National Forest
• Eagle Cap Wilderness - Wilderness.net
• EagleCapWilderness.com
• Eagle Cap Wilderness - JosephOregon.com