Mountain Lakes Wilderness Study Area
The Mountain Lakes Wilderness Study Area (WSA) is located 15 miles northwest of Keno, Oregon, in Klamath County. Oregon State Highway 140 is located approximately 3 miles northeast of the WSA and Oregon State Highway 66 is approximately 13 miles south of the WSA. The 23,071 acre Mountain Lake Wilderness, administered by the U.S. Forest Service, forms the western boundary of this rectangular shaped WSA. Private lands surround the WSA on the north, east and south. The entire 334 acres is public land managed by the BLM.
The WSA is characterized by several streams with drainages flowing east to Aspen Lake located outside the WSA, and sparse conifer stands and dense brushfields. The WSA lies on the steep, east slope of Aspen Butte.
The WSA was studied under Section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and was included in the Oregon Wilderness Environmental Impact Statement filed in February of 1990.