Although heavily forested, no portion of the Garnet Range is part of the National Forest system. The BLM owns much of the range, including the 11,580-acre Wales Creek Wilderness Study Area. The Wales Creek WSA is the last major drainage area without a road in the western Garnets, and features dense forests of lodgepole pine, spruce, Douglas fir, larch, aspen, and subalpine fir. Wales Creek WSA also hosts a thriving moose herd, goshawk nesting sites, a native cutthroat trout fishery, and four hot springs used in the past by miners and now by skiers and hunters.