Browns Park National Wildlife Refuge

Browns Park was the scene for a rich cultural history. The Fremont Indian culture used the valley from about 600-1300 AD. Here they hunted and gathered, grew corn and squash, built rock and masonry storage structures for their produce, and carved petroglyphs into the rock of animals and bizarre humans. The Snake or Shoshone tribe spent winters in the valley for many years. Fur trappers and traders established a thriving winter rendezvous site with the Shoshone in the 1830's. During the California gold rush cattle men discovered the park and other ranchers soon followed. Not long after, an outlaw community was established due to the remoteness, the rough terrain and the proximity to other law jurisdictions. Browns Park was one of the three primary hideouts on the Outlaw trail. Butch Cassidy and his gang the Wild Bunch made the Park their home in between train robberies and bank hold ups.

The refuge was established for four primary reasons: 1) highly productive wetlands along the Green River, 2) valuable riparian habitat, 3) critical winter habitat for mule deer, prong horn antelope, elk and other wildlife, and 4) nationally significant human history. Besides its values to wildlife, the refuge also provides significant values for people. The refuge provides a unique combination of: wildlife, solitude, scenery, and western history that is unmatched in the Refuge System. Such values make the refuge a national treasure.

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