Wild places > Central Sierra: Regional Map

Eagle Potential Addition to the Emigrant Wilderness

Size: Approximately 14,485 acres

Managing agency: Stanislaus National Forest

Location:Along the northern
edge of the Emigrant Wilderness in
Tuolumne County.

Description:

• The Eagle Peak wilderness is just minutes from the highway, offering visitors easy access into pristine forests, while remaining buffered by a large granite ridge.
• The Eagle Peak area contains ancient forests of white fir and junipers over 1,000 years old.
• The Eagle Peak area contains habitat for bald eagles, bears, lions, and bobcats.

The Eagle Peak area is a wonderful mix of volcanic formations, rock outcrops, scattered forest, and small subalpine meadows. For visitors seeking quick access to wilderness, this area is the ideal destination. Just minutes off the busy highway, the lower elevations of the Eagle Peak area are buffered from the noise and traffic of the road by a large granite ridge. Behind the ridge to the south, scenic Mill Creek meanders down through a biologically rich canyon of old-growth white firs, aspen, alders, and scattered Jeffrey pines. Most of the upper slopes are covered with patches of red firs or are open rock slabs, with wildflowers seasonally covering all but the most barren sites.

The Eagle addition is a wildlife paradise for a broad range of species. Bald eagles can occasionally be spotted in their namesake area. Large predators such as bears, lions, and bobcats are common, while deer utilize the meadows and brush fields as important fawning habitat in late spring and early summer. Pileated woodpeckers, goshawks, spotted owls, other old-growth dependent species thrive here.

For additional information, please contact:
John Buckley
Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center
Box 396
Twain Harte, CA 95383
Phone: (209) 586-7440
Email: cserc@sonnet.com
www.cserc.org