Soldier Creek Wilderness is located in the U.S. state of Nebraska. Created by an act of Congress in 1986, the wilderness is managed by the U.S. Forest Service and covers an area of 7,794 acres (31.54 km2) within the Pine Ridge section of the Nebraska National Forest. The wilderness experienced a large wildfire in 1989, which destroyed almost 90 percent of the ponderosa pine forest, which today is slowly rebounding. The threatened Bald eagle can be found here, as can white-tailed deer, mule deer, bobcats, coyotes and numerous other mammals. The region, which was originally established as a timber reservation for nearby Fort Robinson, was utilized by the U.S. Cavalry from the late 19th century through World War II for its excellent horse pastures along Soldier Creek. A series of trails pass two windmills that are still functioning, even though they are not maintained and are over 100 years old. A popular destination for horseback riding, the wilderness is the larger of the two federally-designated wilderness areas in Nebraska.
U.S. Wilderness Areas do not allow motorized or mechanized vehicles, including bicycles. Although camping and fishing are allowed with a proper permit, no roads or buildings are constructed and there is also no logging or mining, in compliance with the 1964 Wilderness Act. Wilderness areas within National Forests and Bureau of Land Management areas also allow hunting (in season).
Famous quotes containing the words soldier, creek and/or wilderness:
“War. Fighting. Men ... every man in the whole realm is in the army.... Every man in uniform ... An economy entirely geared to war ... but there is not much war ... hardly any fighting ... yet every man a soldier from birth till death ... Men ... all men for fighting ... but no war, no wars to fight ... what is it, what does it mean?””
—Doris Lessing (b. 1919)
“It might be seen by what tenure men held the earth. The smallest stream is mediterranean sea, a smaller ocean creek within the land, where men may steer by their farm bounds and cottage lights. For my own part, but for the geographers, I should hardly have known how large a portion of our globe is water, my life has chiefly passed within so deep a cove. Yet I have sometimes ventured as far as to the mouth of my Snug Harbor.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“There were ghosts that returned to earth to hear his phrases,
As he sat there reading, aloud, the great blue tabulae.
They were those from the wilderness of stars that had expected more.
There were those that returned to hear him read from the poem of life,
Of the pans above the stove, the pots on the table, the tulips among them.
They were those that would have wept to step barefoot into reality....”
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)