Many native Americans and early 19th century beaver trappers left their moccasin tracks at this very site, while crossing between the Bighorn Mountains to the east and the Absaroka Mountains to the west. The view of wildlife and wildland landscapes has changed dramatically since that time, and so has our understanding of all life's connection to the land, water, and air.
Wildland spaces and contrasting landscapes make Wyoming a special place for people and wildlife. Wide-open spaces provide a special need for free-ranging herds of elk, deer, bighorn sheep and and pronghorn antelope. From this agricultural island on the north edge of the Bighorn Basin you are surrounded by wildland expanses and a contrast of mountains, rivers and prairie. The Pryor Mountains to the north, the Owl Creek Mountains to the south, and the Bighorns and Absarokas all contribute to the basin's wildlife diversity.
Pioneers began farming and raising livestock in this area in the late 1800's because of its temperate climate, wide open spaces and landscape diversity. Both wildlife and people have benefited and share the wide open spaces and contrasting landscapes. Abundant wildlife, natural wonders and western culture have always allured and enchanted the human spirit. We hope your spirit will be strengthened by your visit to this special piece of Wyoming's Wildlands.
Credit / Author:
NPS and WY Fish & Game
Date created:
10/14/2020
Pond Trail Sign 2: The City
While moving through this small wooded area try comparing it to a small city. Can you see how trees become houses, bushes become hiding places, and branches become rest areas? Try to imagine the different cultures that would live in this small city.
The juniper brushes, Russian olive trees, and cottonwood tress around you can all be compared to apartment complexes. If you looked into a juniper bush you might see an abandoned bird nest that a mouse family has taken over. Living next door to them in the Russian olive tree may be some of their relatives and a robin family. It is even possible to have a visiting raccoon spend a couple nights a week in a neighboring cottonwood.
The pond becomes a grocery store in this city-like forest. Birds are supplied with insects to snack on and if their diets call for something meatier, the moist ground offers a good selection of worms. The wetlands also supplies mice and rabbits to its predatory customers.
The footprints left behind are as varied as those you might find in a city. Do the different cultures where you live get along as well as the animals in this small forest?
Credit / Author:
NPS and WY Fish & Wildlife
Date created:
10/14/2020
Pond Trail Sign 3: Metamorphosis
Many living things go through life stages. People change from helpless babies to mature adults in about twenty years. Some amphibians such as a frog can go from an egg to an adult in about ten weeks. Bullfrogs can take up to three years, but most frogs make that metamorphosis in one summer's time. Imagine learning how to walk, to read, to drive a car, and go to college all in one short summer.
In the early summer, the mother boreal chorus frog lays her eggs in the shallow water in front of you. When the tadpoles hatch out of their egg they will have a tail to help them swim and gills to help them breath in the water. As the tadpoles grows, the back legs start to appear. Soon front legs start to grow and the gills disappear leaving the frog to breathe with lungs. Finally the tail disappears and the frog is ready to go onto the land.
Frogs can be used to measure the health of a pond. In Minnesota they have found some frogs with extra legs, no back legs, or one totally straight leg and it is thought that the problem may be caused by pollution.
Our pond seems to be healthy even though its purpose and surrounding habitat have changed. The water in the pond is filtered by the cattails and we have had no cases of malformed frogs.
Credit / Author:
NPS and WY Game & Fish
Date created:
10/14/2020
Pond Trail Sign 4: Tracks
As you move around the pond you might see many different footprints and paths. Paths connect the pond to safe hiding places or food sources and could have been made by a racoon on its way to a moonlight dinner of frogs, crayfish, or worms. Maybe, they were made by a red fox hunting the ringed-neck pheasant that kept ducking under the bushes for cover. The trails could have even been made by a muskrat running back and forth from the pond to the irrigation canal. Take a close look in the mud. Can you see some of the tracks or trails?
The open area in the cattails is used heavily. Ducks, dogs, cats, raccoons, foxes, and muskrats use this opening to access the water. Look around. Can you see tunnels that run through the cattails like secret passages to the pond? People also use this location as a place to launch a canoe or get on the ice for ice skating.
Credit / Author:
NPS and WY Fish & Game
Date created:
10/14/2020
Pond Trail Sign 5: Migration
With the return of spring, comes the chattering of the red-winged blackbird. The male is black and has a red patch with a yellow boarder on its shoulder. The female is identified by heavily streaked brown plumage that has a reddish tint on the shoulder. These birds return to the pond in mid-March to breed, enjoy the summer and raise their young.
The pond created an oasis in an otherwise dry land. This wetland plays an important role as a resting place in the migratory path of many birds including the occasional yellow-headed blackbird.
The cattails become a safe hiding place for migrating birds. Listen! Cattails often make a rustling sound while swaying against each other. This can be a peaceful sound or it can be the sound of danger. A predator moving through the cattails is like an alarm going off. Sneaking up on the nesting birds becomes more difficult.
Before the snow flies in late September or early October, the red-winged blackbirds head for the warmth of Central and South America. They leave behind only a footprint in the mud to be covered by winter snows and an abandoned nest ripped away by the wind. One thing we can count on is that as long as this pond is healthy, spring will bring with it the kong-ka-ree song of the red-winged blackbird.
Credit / Author:
NPS and WY Game & Fish
Date created:
10/14/2020
Pond Trail Sign 6: The Power of Nature
Have you ever thought about the different kinds of footprints that living things can leave behind?
Not all footprints are made by a human foot. Some footprints are made by human action. Humans left behind the footprint of the pond. Now it is bustling with a variety of different animals. The original purpose of the pond was to reflect light onto the solar panels of the visitor center's sloping roof. The solar energy was used to heat the interior of the building.
It was a good plan, but things have a way of changing. The role of the pond expanded from climatic control for a human environment to a natural environment that many different plants and animals depend on every day. Red-winged blackbirds use the cattails as a summer retreat. Frogs use the pond for their growth from an egg through the tadpole stage to an adult. Foxes may use the pond to supplement their diet with mice or rabbits helping to keep these populations small. Pheasants use the brush around the pond for protection.
A human footprint, though sometimes destructive, has left behind a valuable habitat for the inhabitants that live in and use this area year round.
Credit / Author:
NPS and WY Fish & Game
Date created:
10/14/2020
Last updated: August 22, 2017
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Contact Info
Mailing Address:
Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area South District Visitor Center
20 US Hwy 14A
Lovell,
WY
82431
Phone:
307 548-5406
(307) 548-5406 is the South District in Lovell, WY.
(406) 666-9961 is the North District in Fort Smith, MT.