Billings and Pompeys Pillar National Monument

Resource Management Plan Revision

FACT SHEET: Land with Wilderness Characteristics

Program Contact: Tim Finger, Outdoor Recreation Specialist (406) 896-5248

The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 directs the Bureau of Land Management 

(BLM) to maintain an inventory of lands that possess wilderness characteristics. Also, consistent 

with FLPMA and other applicable authorities, the BLM will consider the wilderness 

characteristics of BLM land when undertaking its multiple-use land use planning. 

Wilderness characteristics are not a special designation like a Wilderness Study Area (WSA) or 

Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC), but are among the multiple resources the BLM

is responsible for managing on public lands. In order for an area to qualify as lands with 

wilderness characteristics, it must possess sufficient size, naturalness, and outstanding 

opportunities for either solitude or primitive and unconfined recreation. In addition, it may 

possess supplemental values. Generally an area must meet the following criteria:

 Size – It must be a roadless area with over 5,000 acres of contiguous BLM lands or of 

sufficient size as to make practicable its preservation and use in an unimpaired condition.

 Naturalness – The area must appear to have been affected primarily by the forces of 

nature, with the imprint of man’s work substantially unnoticeable.

 Outstanding Opportunities for Solitude or a Primitive and Unconfined Type of 

Recreation – Outstanding opportunities for solitude are provided by allowing a visitor 

the opportunity to avoid the sights, sounds, and evidence of other people in the area. 

Present visitor use of an area is not necessary in determining whether an outstanding 

opportunity is present.

 Supplemental Values – The area may also contain ecological, geological, or other 

features of scientific, educational, scenic, or historical value. 

Inventories for Lands with Wilderness Characteristics 

The existing inventory of BLM land in the planning area was updated and evaluated to determine 

whether additional lands, other than the existing WSAs, have wilderness characteristics. 

Throughout the inventory update, the criteria for analyzing and determining the presence of 

wilderness characteristics remained unchanged. Areas with wilderness characteristics must 

possess sufficient size, naturalness, and outstanding opportunities for either solitude or primitive 

and unconfined recreation. In addition, it may also possess supplemental values. 

The inventory update reviewed 113,409 acres for wilderness characteristics and identified 27,292 

acres as meeting the criteria for wilderness characteristics (Map 43) (also see Appendix K). The 
inventory forms are available on the internet at 

http://www.blm.gov/mt/st/en/prog/lands_with_wilderness/billings_field_office.html

The table below summarizes the areas to be managed for wilderness characteristics by alternative. 

Billings and Pompeys Pillar National Monument Draft RMP/EIS

Lands with Wilderness Characteristics

Alternative A

(No Action) Alternative B Alternative C Alternative D(Preferred)

Manage 1,925 acres 

outside of the Bighorn 

Tack-On and Pryor 

Mountain WSAs for their 

wilderness characteristics

(Map 42)

Manage for wilderness 

characteristics the 

following areas/acres 

(27,292 acres) (Map 43)

 Pryor Mountain Tract 

1 – 2,873 acres

 Pryor Mountain Unit 

Tract 2 – 497 acres

 Pryor Mountain Unit 

Tract 3 – 143 acres

 Pryor Mountain Unit 

Tract 5 – 512 acres

 Pryor Mountain Unit 

Tract 6 – 1,074 acres

 Pryor Mountain Unit 

Tract 7 – 327 acres

 Burnt Timber Unit 

Tract 1 – 703 acres

 Burnt Timber Unit 

Tract 2 – 5,375 acres

 Weatherman Draw 

Unit – 11,603 acres

 Meeteetse Unit Tract 

10 – 2,149 acres

 River islands – Size 

unknown

 Bad Canyon Unit –

2,036 acres

Manage for wilderness 

characteristics the 

following areas/acres 

(3,379 acres) (Map 44)

 Pryor Mountain 

Unit Tract 2 – 497 

acres

 Pryor Mountain 

Unit Tract 3 – 143 

acres

 Burnt Timber Unit 

Tract 1 – 703 acres

 Bad Canyon Unit –

2,036 acres

Do not manage for 

wilderness 

characteristics the 

following areas/acres 

(23,913 acres)

 Pryor Mountain 

Tract 1 – 2,873 

acres

 Pryor Mountain 

Unit Tract 5 – 512 

acres

 Pryor Mountain 

Unit Tract 6 – 1,074 

acres

 Pryor Mountain 

Unit Tract 7 – 327 

acres

 Burnt Timber Unit 

Tract 2 – 5,375 

acres

 Weatherman Draw 

Unit – 11,603 acres

 Meeteetse Unit 

Tract 10 – 2,149 

acres

 River islands – Size 

unknown

Manage for wilderness 

characteristics the 

following areas/acres 

(13,653 acres) (Map 45)

 Pryor Mountain Tract 

1 – 2,873 acres

 Pryor Mountain Unit 

Tract 2 – 497 acres

 Pryor Mountain Unit 

Tract 3 – 143 acres

 Pryor Mountain Unit 

Tract 5 – 512 acres

 Pryor Mountain Unit 

Tract 6 – 1,074 acres

 Pryor Mountain Unit 

Tract 7 – 327 acres

 Meeteetse Unit Tract 

10 – 2,149 acres

 Burnt Timber Unit 

Tract 1 – 703 acres

 Burnt Timber Unit 

Tract 2 – 5,375 acres

Do not manage for 

wilderness characteristics 

the following areas/acres 

(13,639 acres)

 Weatherman Draw 

Unit – 11,603 acres

 River islands – Size 

unknown 

 Bad Canyon Unit –

2,036 acres