Units 7 & 9 – The Central Plateau Wilderness

In all of the lower forty-eight United States there is perhaps no single roadless area of less than 200,000 acres quite as wild as Yellowstone’s Central Plateau. Surrounded by the Park’s lower loop road system, the Central Plateau Wilderness consists of a vast lodgepole pine forest devoid of high peaks but abounding in meadows, creeks, wildlife, thermal features and solitude. Except for a few backcountry campsites on Mallard Lake and Creek, near Old Faithful, the Central Plateau remains off-limits to overnight hikers as part of Yellowstone’s Bear Management Plan. Rather than being an unnecessary regulation, this limitation on camping serves to help keep the area wild and remote since hikers must get back to their vehicles before dark, leaving the midnight forest to the buffalo, wolf and bear.

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And plenty of buffalo, wolf and bear exist in this area of which the National Park Service recommends over 182,000 acres be designated Federal Wilderness. Buffalo, in particular, are numerous in Hayden Valley. Here the great beasts carry on exactly as they have for centuries and watching them provides thrills, wonder and insight. In fact, the scene of raw nature here is so dramatic and primitive the area can feel like a microcosm for our entire world. Here is a complete ecosystem with its own ebb and flow, and the buffalo, being the most visible of the large creatures, show us many things about Yellowstone’s cycle of life.

To see an old bull bison living out his last weeks in Hayden Valley is to see the story of life itself. As the old bull lies to the edge of the herd, it’s hard not to pity him. He seems to merely want to blend in, using the herd more for protection now than anything, careful not to get too close to the core, lest the young bulls get the wrong idea and want to challenge him. He never strays too far off either, for fear of falling prey to the bears and wolves patrolling the area.

So he follows the herd through the valley, the wind blowing his matted, tattered hair the same way it blows the grass he now barely eats. He has done his part. He has played his role perfectly. Yet, he must die alone now, for nothing, not even the power of nature itself, can make him young again. And he seems to know this as he drifts off to sleep.

Here in Yellowstone’s Central Plateau we have been given a gift which, if lost, can never be replaced. Let it be wilderness forever.