For more than 150 years, the location of the Battle of Red Buttes, a significant battle in the Plains Wars of the northern Great Plains, remained shrouded in mystery. Only recently, using advanced archaeological techniques, were scientists able to find this last major unidentified Native American battlefield in Wyoming. The site, adjacent to the city of Casper and sitting immediately in the path of encroaching high-density development just a few hundred yards away, was unprotected and in danger of being forever lost.

Our Role

The Conservation Fund worked closely with the people who owned the land where the battle occurred, known as Rim Rock Ranch, to purchase the property and protect the battlefield. In doing so, we identified a larger opportunity to create extraordinary additional benefits for the citizens of Casper and the local economy. Utilizing our legal, real estate and conservation expertise, we preserved the battlefield site and purchased two adjacent properties, including more than 1.5 miles of the North Platte River. The purchase of these properties, one of which had been previously owned by the Shriner’s Hospital for Children, was completed in May 2017. The resulting 646-acre protected area preserves the battlefield site, conserves open space and wildlife habitat, greatly expands community recreational benefits, supports the area’s robust outdoor recreation economy and boosts Casper’s tourist economy in conjunction with the highly regarded National Historic Trails Interpretive Center.

Funding from the Land and Water Conservation Fund — a federal program that uses a percentage of proceeds from offshore oil and gas royalties, not taxpayer dollars — enabled the permanent protection of the entire site and allowed TCF to transfer the land to the Bureau of Land Management in 2018. Now part of the North Platte River Special Recreation Management Area, the newly conserved site provides an extraordinary opportunity for increased public recreational access in a quiet outdoor setting immediately adjacent to Casper.

Why This Project Matters

The Rim Rock Historic and Recreation Area will serve as a centerpiece for outdoor education about Wyoming’s role in the history of the nation’s western expansion and the related Plains Wars. In addition, the Rim Rock Historic and Recreation Area will be used by the community as a recreational space for a variety of activities — which may may include biking, hiking, trail running, accessible boating, fishing and wildlife viewing — with the potential for future trails connecting directly to Casper.

Rim Rock holds tremendous historical significance as the site of the Battle of Red Buttes which — along with the nearby Battle at Platte Bridge Station — occurred on July 26, 1865, and was a direct consequence of the disgraceful Sand Creek Massacre that had taken place in Colorado six months earlier. The city of Casper was named after Lieutenant Caspar Collins, who was killed in battle at Platte Bridge while leading cavalry to help protect supply wagons later attacked at Red Buttes. The protection of the Rim Rock property will enable the creation of a historical interpretive and educational experience, which will allow visitors and residents to learn more about these battles and the Plains Wars of the mid- to late 19th century.

The 1.5-mile section of the North Platte River that courses through the property is within the North Platte River Special Recreation Management Area. The area is an angler’s paradise, boasting superior trout fishing and the most trout by weight per mile of any stream in Wyoming. In fact, the area was named the top spot in the Lower 48 states to catch trophy rainbow and brown trout by American Angler. Protection of this site provides an extraordinary opportunity for both Casper residents and visitors to the region to take advantage of the river’s bounty and beauty. The land surrounding the river is also important ecologically. Because just 1% of the land in Wyoming is riparian or wetland habitat, protecting land along rivers is crucial for ensuring this habitat does not disappear in the state.

Rim Rock is a special place and, now that it is safeguarded, will continue to help bolster Casper’s strong recreation and tourism economy. In 2017, Natrona County, where Casper is located, welcomed 885,000 overnight visitors and generated a total of $293 million in travel-related spending.