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The '''Cedar Mountain Wilderness''' is located in northwestern [[Utah]], [[United States|USA]], just south of [[Interstate 80]]. The vegetation on the upper elevations of the Cedar Mountains is dominated by [[juniper|junipers]] (referred to as "cedars" by early pioneers). The foothill and valley regions include mixed desert shrubs. [[Drooping Brome|Cheatgrass]] is prevalent over large areas burned by range fires.
The Cedar Mountain Wilderness lies almost entirely within the 180,000 acre (728 km²) Cedar Mountain Herd Management Area, where wild horses have grazed since they were introduced in the late 1800s. A survey conducted in December 1991 counted 444 horses, many of which can be seen on the wilderness during cooler months. The [[Bureau of Land Management]] fills watering troughs for the horses when springs dry up in the summer. This artificial water supply benefits other wildlife species such as [[Pronghorn|pronghorn]] antelope.
The [[Congress of the United States|U.S. Congress]] designated the Cedar Mountain Wilderness primarily in response to an effort by members of the Utah congressional delegation to block rail access to a proposed high-level [[Radioactive waste|nuclear waste]] storage facility on the nearby [[Skull Valley]] [[Goshute]] Reservation. The project is sponsored by a consortium of nuclear power companies known as Private Fuel Storage, which received a license from the [[Nuclear Regulatory Commission]] in February 2006. The facility has not yet been built.
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