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Ogden, Utah
WILDERNESS
INTERMOUNTAIN REGION
Wilderness and Primitive Areas within the Intermountain Region are
administered under provisions of the Wilderness Act of 1964 and
regulations of the Secretary of Agriculture. These six areas, are
large expanses of scenic mountainous land set aside for the
preservation of primitive conditions of environment, habitation, and
transportation. They include a total of 2,711,462 acres, or 7.14
percent of the 30,798,675 acres of National Forest land within the
Region.
All these areas are high- elevation watersheds where heavy snowpacks
are primary sources of streamflow. Big and small game are generally
plentiful, and some of the finest hunting and fishing are found amid
awe - inspiring scenery of the wilderness environment. Grazing
domestic livestock is authorized on parts of some areas.
WILDERNESS AREAS - INTERMOUNTAIN REGION
CALIFORNIA
HOOVER WILDERNESS - Toiyabe and Inyo
National Forests, 421800 acres,
established 1931.
IDAHO
IDAHO PRIMITIVE AREA - Boise, Challis,
Salmon, and Payette National For -
ests, 1,224,576 acres, established
1931.
SAWTOOTH PRIMITIVE AREA - Boise, Challis,
and Sawtooth National Forests,
200,942 acres, established 1937•
NEVADA
A region of rugged canyons and jagged
mountain peaks, 13 of which approach
13,000 feet. Superb scenery enhanced
by mountain lakes, cascading streams,
and meadows carpeted in the spring
with colorful wild flowers. :abundant
wildlife, fishing, and remnants of 5
glaciers add to interest.
A large wilderness, rugged, scenic,
and mountainous, with towering peaks
and deep canyons, the area embraces
the Middle Fork of Salmon River, noted
for float boating and fishing. Excep-
tionally fine hunting with large herds
of deer and elk. Big horn sheep a com-
mon sight along the river.
An exceptionally scenic area featuring
the tooth -like Sawtooth Mountains with
numerous deep gorges, glacial basins,
with over 170 Alpine lakes. Fishing
good to excellent. Area is noted for
wildlife including deer, elk, mountain
goats, bear, mountain lions, and a
variety of small game.
JARBIDGE WILDERNESS - Humboldt National Rugged mountainous terrain with 8 peaks
Forest, 64,667 acres, established over 10,000 feet. Deer plentiful,
1958. small game and birds numerous and good
fishing in streams and one lake. One
of the most scenic and remote spots in
Nevada.
UTAH
HIGH UINTAS PRIMITIVE AREA - Ashley and
Wasatch National Forests, 240,717
acres, established 1931.
The High Uinta Mountains, ranging from
8,000 to 13,449 feet, are the highest
in Utah and the only major east -west
range in the United States. A wild,
picturesque region, rich in scenic,
geological, and biological interest,
the area is noted for its small lake
fishing in over 250 lakes.
WYOMING
BRIDGER WILDERNESS - Bridger National
Forest, 383,300 acres, established
1931.
TETON WILDERNESS - Teton National
Forest, 563,460 acres, established
1934•
Located in the Wind River Range with•
elevations from 9,500 to 13,785 feet
on Gannett Peak, the highest in Wyo-
ming, the area is characterized by
massive granite outcrops. Hundreds of
lakes and picturesque streams provide
excellent fishing. Noted for mountain
climbing and live glaciers.
A region of high plateaus, large val-
leys and mountain meadows that can be
easily traversed. Of special interest
is Two Ocean Pass, where Two Ocean
Creek divides and sends one stream to
the Pacific and one to the Atlantic.
Noted for elk hunting and fishing- -
summer range for Jackson Hole elk herd.
The following regulations have been adopted to preserve and enhance the wilderness
environment:
1. Travel must be by foot or horseback - -no motorized vehicles, including trail
scooters, duffel carriers, or motor boats.
2. The landing of airplanes, including helicopters, is limited to established
landing strips within the Idaho Primitive Area.
3. The Forest Service will not authorize the building of cabins, lodges, resorts,
stores, summer homes, or organization camps; the cutting and removal of
timber; nor the construction of roads except in connection with a recognized
statutory right of ingress to private property.
Please help preserve your national forest
wilderness by being especially careful with
fire and by burning, flattening, and burying
or packing out tin cans. You are urged to
contact the local forest ranger before em-
barking on a wilderness trip.
IDAHO
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UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
I FOREST SERVICE
oo� �•I MTERHOUNTEN REM&
MEDNI 22
NATIONAL FORESTS
REGIONAL OFFICE
• SUPERVISOR'S OFFICE
WILDERNESS &
PRIMITIVE AREAS
1965
to tread where man
can be only a visitor
If you want to get away from
it all, don't go into the
wilderness unless you really
mean it.
Wilderness is truly at the end
of the world, at least the civiliz-
ed world. But for those who
seek it out, the wilderness ex-
perience can reveal a new
perspective on what they left
hehind --
Much of the forested area in
Idaho's Heartland, for all prac-
tical purposes, could be called
wilderness. There are no roads
leading into much of the forest,
and human activity is limited.
The official wilderness areas
are in much the same condition,
but the big difference is that an
act of Congress specifies that
those lands stay in their pristine
condition, forever free of the
threat of logging and the
building of roads or other struc-
tures.
The largest and most spec-
tacular wilderness in Idaho's
Heartland is the Frank Church -
River of No Return Wilderness.
At 2.3 million acres, it is the
largest designated wilderness
area in the nation outside
Alaska.
The area is named after
Frank Church, the late U.S.
Senator from Idaho who fought
for the area's designation and
battled for preservation of other
natural areas as well.
The River of No Return is the
legendary nfoo for the trig
Salmon River, which r
through the wilderness
along with its major tributar
Regulations governed by
U.S. Forest Service ensures
rights of visitors into
wilderness to have an experic
free of the infiueace of m
said Jim Arp, recreation p
ner for the Payette Natic
I- orest.
"The people we try to
courage to use the wilderr
are those people who reauh
certain amount of solitud
Arp said.
No autos can enter the a
since there are few roads,
law also prohibits ot .
motorized vehicles, such
motorcycles and all -terr
vehicles.
In fact, no engines at all
allowed, including chain sa
to preserve the ages -old qu
broken only by the rush of ...
wind or the call of a bird, Arp
said.
All of these restrictions may
give the impression there is little
that can be done in the
wilderness, but that is wrong,
Arp said.
Anyone with a backpack or
horse is free to roam the area at
will to fish, hunt, camp and
generally take in the fact that
they are out of reach and out of
touch.
For those who would rather
Horseback trips are easy on the feet.
not try to tackle the wilderness
on their own, professional out-
fitters and guides are available
to lead you into the farthest
reaches of the back country.
Those not experienced with
riding on horseback have little
to fear from trained outfitters,
said Jim Thrash, a guide for
Wildhorse Trail Rides and an
outfitter for Salmon Meadows
Lodge.
"If you can sit in a chair and
keep your balance, you can do
it," he said.
One who knows the special
lure of the wilderness is Andy
Finn, recreation and lands
branch chief for the Payette Na-
tional Forest who was raised in
Idaho's Heartland.
Finn has gone on backpack-
ing trips throughout the west,
but the Frank Church
wilderness remains his favorite.
"It's a unique experience, and
you can guarantee that it'll be
there," he said.
A wilderness adventure need
not be expensive, and the
adventurers need not be wealthy
to get full enjoyment from a
visit, Finn said.
"If you can buy a backback
and a sleeping bag, there's not
much else you need," he said.
Strap on a backpack,
leave society behind
(Note: The author is a McCall
resident and frequent visitor to
the back country.)
BY MIKE MEDBERRY
When crowds and traffic lose
their appeal, when any
neighbor, however far away,
seems too close and the city all
too tight, when a day at work
lasts like all of November, and a
double sawbuck spends like a
dime, when fresh bread tastes
stale and the very air seems to
conspire against happiness,
count it high time to retreat into
the backcountry. Strap some
supplies on your back and
hightail it for the mountains.
There is refreshing scenery in
the mountains of Central
Idaho, excellent fishing in many
lakes and streams, abundant
wildlife, and solitude to match
the needs of even the most
hardened loner. Whether you
choose to spend half a day or
half a season in the woods,
there is ample terrain to ex-
plore.
A day hike to one of many
lakes off the Lick Creek or
Brundage /Hazard Lake roads
offers the casual walker a
chance to see a wide variety of
wildflowers and birds, to pick
mushrooms or huckleberries,
and perhaps a chance to sight
otter, beaver, deer, bear or elk.
Not to mention the picnicking
and romantic possibilities of a
meadow or creek -side glade.
Taking day hikes is also a
good way to scout the coun-
tryside in preparation for later
overnight trips and to assess
your physical condition for the
longer treks. Even on short
hikes, however, be sure to pack
a hearty lunch and a set of
binoculars, as well as warm
clothes, a good map, a com-
pass, matches and water.
Weekend or longer backpack
trips allow hikers to get a better
feel for the country and a longer
lasting escape from the pave-
ment and powerboats. Natural-
ly, long trips require more
careful planning than do short
hikes. On weekdays, stop at a
forest service office in Council,
New Meadows, Riggins, McCall
or Cascade for general informa-
tion and maps of the area
you're interested in.
Backpackers also ought to pick
up more specific topographic
Mike Medberry
Sports, May Hardware, Medley
Sports, or Hometown Sports,
or in Cascade at Wilderness
Sports. These sporting goods
stores, open both weekdays and
weekends, stock backpacking
equipment and accessories and
have some rental equipment.
For the novice backpacker, it
is wise to pick up one of the
popular books on the sport,
such as Backpacking, one step
at a time by Harvy Manning, or
Robert S. Wood's Pleasure
Packing.
�'aqP "12 oy .3 Pgrs
Long trips can stir the deepest
feelings of freedom and adven -,
ture, but for the unprepared,
they may also awaken deep feel-
ings of regret. For instance,
there is a local story told about
two horsemen who went elk
hunting a few years ago in the
mountains near Council. They
ended up shooting their own
horses, gutting them, and sleep -
ing in the warm body cavities to
survive an unexpected cold
snap. The men survived alright,
being only a couple miles from
the road, but if they had used as
much horse sense as ammuni-
tion they could've saved their
animals, avoided an absurd
ordeal, and been spared the in-
evitable comments about their
choice of sleeping bags.
It is essential to have the right
equipment: warm clothes, sleep-
ing gear, a good tent, plenty of
food, map and compass, mat-
ches, mosquito repellent and a
reliable cook stove. Don't
forget that in the mountains it
can hail or snow any day of the
year. Rain storms are common,
and nighttime temperatures
may dip well below freezing.
If you're an angler or
photographer, be sure to bring
your gear. One note:, of caution:
with the threat of `the disease
giardia in recent years, it is a
goad . idea to boil all drinking
and cooking water taken from
streams. Although temperatures
over 150 degrees F. will kill giar-
dia, it is best to boil the water
for two minutes or more to be
on the safe side. Finally, be sure
to plan on packing out
everything you pack into the
wilds.
SUQ,E, I SAP ! WANTED To SEE WiLVeRNt-SS, sur
I pimIr KNOW 7Hem WOULUNLr BE ANY CAKE m)ArAlNss �
1-1, IT
U
ICL proposes wilderness
Goal of plan is to preserve land, sane jobs
BY JAMES L. KINCAID
The Star-News
The Idaho Conservation League
last week announced a proposed plan
which would designate as wilderness
about 6.5 million acres of roadless
area of national forest in Idaho, in-
cluding several hundred thousand
acres in west central Idaho.
"We wanted to make sure conser-
vationist's views are on the table,"
Mike Medberry of the ICL in
Ketchum said. "If we are going to
have debate, we ought to have ev-
erybody's opinions in the open.
Rep. Larry LaRocco, D- Idaho,
began working on proposed legisla-
tion in December to attempt to re-
solve the future of jobs and recre-
ation on 9.3 million acres of road-
less land in Idaho.
LaRocco is a member of the
House Interior and Insular Affairs
Committee. He plans to have
wilderness legislation introduced in
the House by the end of March.
"Instead of an ideological debate,
it should be focused on specific is-
sues," Medberry said. "LaRocco's
bill will be the next step, but it is
pot cast in stone."
The ICL proposal would result in
no net loss of jobs and would pro-
tect habitat for huntable and non -
game fish and wildlife, according to
ICL's plan.
The U.S. Forest Service must
protect areas that provide essential
habitat for fish, game and rare,
threatened and endangered species,
according to the proposal.
Old growth forests must be
maintained, along with long rota-
tion times for any logged areas, ac-
cording to the plan. Clear cutting
and harvest of even -age timber muse
be stopped, along with road buildin
in roadless areas and logging o
sensitive soils or on highly erosiv
slopes.
A natural fire policy and timbe
management practices must be im
plemented to maintain diversity c
the landscape, according to the plan
Here is a list of proposed wilder
ness areas in this area included i
the ICL's proposal:
• Addition to existing Hell
Canyon /Seven Devils Wildernes
Area: 9,300 acres.
• Rapid River: 53,000 acres.
• French Creek/Patrick Butte
141,000 acres.
• Salmon River Breaks: 43,300
acres.
• Snowbank Mountain: 30,000
acres.
• Secesh: 265,000 acres.
• Needles: 171,800 acres.
• Caton Lake: 102,800 acres.
The Payette National Forestal-
ready includes a large portion of the
Secesh and Needles pfoposals in the
Payette's Forest Plana
Six large timber ales are now
proposed in the French Creek area,
which Medberry ca ed "the most
threatened roadless area in the
West."
"The French Cree area would re-
quire a lot of road through lodge
pole pines to get to the valuable
trees," Medberry said That won't
make much money or much sense."
The six proposed sales in the
French Creek area would total about
40 million board feet of timber, said
Gary Eckert, forester on the Payette
National Forest. Two proposed sales
in the South Fork Salmon River
area would total about eight million
HELL'S CANYON
MWERNES5
tia
4
board feet. A third proposed
helicopter sale has been postponed
indefinitely, he said.
Of the current 9.3 million acres
of roadless area in Idaho, there are
about four million acres of protected
wilderness. The group's proposal
would increase protected wilderness
to about 10.5 million acres.
The conservationist's plan would
create jobs in forest rehabilitation
for displaced workers. Retraining
opportunities would be provided for
workers along with expanded eco-
nomic assistance for education.
"We are serious about working
with local people on the creation of
jobs," Medberry said. "We are try-
ing to recognize real change in
places like McCall. While some
jobs would be lost, others would be
gained. We have learned that con-
servation without compassion does
not work."
The plan would support loans to
small businesses in rural areas and
increased federal payments to coun-
ties in lieu of taxes.
The tax incentives for businesses
would encourage investment in m-
w dustries other than timber, such as
(tourism.
GOSPEL HUMP MWMESS
McCall
1 Hell's Canyon
Addition
4 Rapid River
3 Salmon River Breaks
4 French Creek/
Patrick Butte
S Secesh
6 Needles
7 Caton Lake
8 Snowbank Mountain
FRANK CHURCH
RNR
MWERNESS
a
uV
Star -News graphic by Tomi Grote
ICL's proposed additions shown in red
People on both sides agree:
Wilderness
legislation
needs work
BY SHARI HAMBLETON
The Star -News
New Idaho wilderness legislation
proposed by Rep. Larry LaRocco, D-
Idaho, has come under fire from both
the timber industry and conservation-
ists as not meeting their concerns.
LaRocco's newest bill is an
amended version of the bill he pro-
posed in March 1993 addressing the
wilderness debate, which has raged
throughout Idaho for almost a decade
and a half.
Although the rest of the congres-
sional delegation has been attempting
to work through the wilderness issue
and conceive legislation to address it,
LaRocco has forged on with his own
proposed solution.
"It's time to move ahead," he said
in a release outlining his newest leg-
islation. "It's time to pass a bill."
Changes from the original bill pro-
posed for Payette National Forest
include:
• Removing the proposed addition
to the Frank Church - River of No
Return Wilderness.
• Extending the Patrick Butte Wil-
derness proposal north to the Payette
National Forest boundary, adding
6,000 acres.
• Extending the French Creek Wil-
derness proposal north to include the
French Creek break lands adding about
5,000 acres.
• Removing the French Creek Spe-
cial Management Area included in
the previous bill.
• Removing the four -wheel drive
trail along the South Fork of the
Salmon River which bisects the Se-
cesh proposed wilderness.
"The impacts (of LaRocco's bill)
are reasonably the same (as his previ-
ous bill)," Payette Forest Supervisor
Dave Alexander said.
Alexandersaid forest management
activities in the forest management
plan, the forest's blueprint for overall
operations, calls for logging in the
French Creek/Patrick Butte Roadless;
area. That is an area conservationists>
are attempting to save for potential
wilderness designation.
Once roads are constructed through
a roadless area, potential wilderness
designation is lost, Idaho Conserva-
tion League spokesman David
Simmonds said.
Five of the six timber sales pro-
posed for that area are only affected
slightly by URocco's bill, Simmonds
said.
But Alexander said the forest is
not on an accelerated schedule to com-
plete the sales.
Regardless of whether players in
the wilderness debate agree the
LaRocco's bill, they echo in unison
the concern that Idaho is one of the
last states in the nation to develop
legislation to deal with it's wilderness
areas. And all want to see it material-
ize.
"If there's no bill, there's no reso-
lution and we just keep fighting it out
acre by acre," Simmonds said.
The problem lies in what the tim-
ber industry and conservationists will
support or fight against as legislative
proposals surface.
Simmonds said LaRocco's new bill
gives the "biggest piece of the pie" to
the timber industry.
"We tried to work with him the
best we could but he chose to listen
mostly to (timber) industry," he said.
Although he said the ICL hasn't
decided yet whether or not to support
the bill, LaRocco's attempt to deal
with the issue is significant.
-3 Feb 17. !991.
"At least he has the guts to stick
with it and do what he said he was
going to do in the election," he said.
"We're disappointed to see LaRocco's
bill chop in half the proposed wilder-
ness and surround it by timber sales."
"It's no problem for the timber
industry, but it's a big problem for
us," he said.
Not so, according to timber indus-
try consultant Cliff Lee of McCall,
who represents timber companies such
as Evergreen Forest Products, Boise
Cascade and Croman Company.
"I think that if you talk about wil-
derness you have to take a look at the
present situation," Lee said. "With
800,000 acres (of wilderness) on the
Payette, LaRocco's proposing to add
another 303,000 more acres more.
That's 50 percent of the Payette Na-
tional Forest."
Lee said the forest plan only calls
for 212,000 total acres of wilderness.
"He's (LaRocco) proposing an addi-
tional 100,000 more than that."
While the forest industry is not
opposed to additional wilderness, Lee
said, "we are opposed to taking good
timber producing land out of produc-
tion without some kind of guarantee
that the remaining lands can be man-
aged without the threat of appeal and
legal manipulation."
"The only `hard release' language
that would work would be a guarantee
that every timber sale you propose
won't go up for immediate appeal,"
Lee said.
That may be an unrealistic dream,
"That's a nice idea for industry,"
Simmonds said. "But I don't think
even they expect it to happen."
i
X1-2` g
Controvers y still follows
3o- year -old Wilderness Act
By Carl Weiser
Gannett News Service
WASHINGTON — It's easy to
wax poetic in the desolate beau-
ty of South Dakota's Badlands,
the swampy stillness of Florida's
Everglades, or any of America's
awesome wilderness.
But it wasn't poetry that
saved the wilderness.
It was politicians.
It was politicians who, 30
years ago, passed a law de-
scribed as "visionary" and "rev-
olutionary": the Wilderness Act
of 1964.
Signed Sept. 3 by Lyndon
Johnson, it set aside lands — for
the first time anywhere in the
world — to be true wilderness,
free of houses, roads and motors.
Free, in other words, of man.
Wilderness, reads the unusu-
ally eloquent law, is "where the
earth and the community of life
are untrammeled by man, where
man himself is a visitor who
does not remain."
In the three decades since the
law was signed, federal wilder-
ness lands have grown from 9
million to nearly 100 million
acres — 4 percent of the United
States.
But so has resentment, embod-
ied in the property rights and
"wise use" movements.
What do the next 30 years
hold? Environmentalists want to
double the size of the wilderness
system. Property rights groups
want to shrink it.
Wilderness, protected for its se-
renity, has instead become a bat-
tlefield.
The Wilderness Act was born in
the wilderness — at a campfire in
the Adirondack Mountains in
Northern New York.
Howard Zahniser, executive di-
rector of the Wilderness Society
and the undisputed father of the
Wilderness Act, loved the Adi-
rondacks.
"He got his inspiration (for the
law) from the Adirondack Park
and its wilderness areas," said Da-
vid Gibson, executive director of
the Association for the Protection
of the Adirondacks.
One night in 1946, he was camp-
ing with his friend, Paul Schaefer,
in a remote corner of the wil-
derness.
Schaefer mentioned that parts
of Adirondack Park were protect-
ed by a part of the New York state
constitution that declared them
"forever wild," free from logging,
roads and homes.
"He was fascinated by that,"
Schaefer recalled. "He said we
need something like that on a
national scale."
So he wrote a law.
Zahniser dedicated the rest of
his life to getting the law passed.
He rewrote it 66 times. The bill
was actually introduced in 1957,
but it took seven years to get it
passed. Congressmen tried the
usual ways to stop it — killer,
amendments, back -room deals
softer versions. But in the end
Congress overwhelmingly ap
proved a strong version.
One week after testifying at th
final congressional hearing on the
bill in 1964, exhausted but confi-
dent, Zahniser died.
"He actually devoted his life to
it," Schaefer said. "He gave his
life for it."
In the 30 years since Lyndon
Johnson signed the law, the
amount of wilderness protected by
the law has grown tenfold.
When Congress passes the Cali-
fornia Desert Protection Act, wil'
derness will break the 100 million
acre barrier. (The bill is now in
conference committee.)
"The Wilderness Act is truly an
American success story," said G
Jon Roush, president of the Wash
ington -based Wilderness Society,
which labeled the law "visionary.'
"For 30 years, the Wilderness
Act has sheltered the beauty
grace and solitude of this nation's
wilderness from the storm of de
velopment. We would be a far
poorer nation had we no such
protection," he said.
The Sierra Club, which called,
the law "nothing short of revolu-
tionary," said it is the most effec-
tive environmental legislation
ever passed. Naming a place a
national park brings in the recre-
ational vehicles; wildlife refuges
draw snowmobilers.
"But congressionally designated
wilderness areas are diverse and
inviolate," wrote the Sierra Club's
conservation director Bruce Ham-
ilton. "No roads, no logging, no
drill rigs, no speedboats."
And that, say property rights
advocates, is exactly the problem.
"They've strangled small com-
munities, put thousands of people
out of work and economically
harmed hundreds of rural commu-
nities across the country," said
Charles S. Cushman, executive di-
rector of the American Land l
Rights Association in Battle `I
Ground, Wash.
In Idaho
Idaho has about 4 million
acres of designated wil-
derness.
The Frank Church -River of
No Return Wilderness Area is
the largest, with 2.3 million
acres. There are five other ar-
eas: Gospel Hump, Craters of
the Moon, Selway- Bitterroot,
Sawtooth and Hells Canyon.
Rep. Larry LaRocco, D -Ida-
ho, earlier this year pushed a
bill through a congressional
subcommittee that would have
set aside another 1.36 million
acres of wilderness in the
western and northern parts of
the state. LaRocco last month
withdrew the bill, saying it
needed more work.
"Wilderness is good," he said.
"But it's like aspirin. A couple of
them are good for you. A hundred
of them are going to put you in
the hospital."
For off -road enthusiasts, federal
wilderness means one big No Tres-
passing sign.
"We would oppose any wilder-
ness designation that would cost
our members access to areas they
are presently using. And it seems
like every wilderness proposal
that I'm aware of does that," said
Clark Collins, executive director
of the Blue Ribbon Coalition, a
Pocatello group that represents
motorized recreation interests.
Collins is pushing a new, com-
promise designation, called Back
Country Recreation Areas. They
would share most of the same
rules as federally protected wilder-
ness areas — but would allow all-
terrain vehicles, off road trucks,
motorcycles and mountain bikes.
"I think there's a faction in this
country that would buy into this
proposal," he said.
No one believes the Wilderness
Act itself will be changed. The
fight is over how much land will
ultimately come under the law.
The Sierra Club talks about
"going after the next 80 million
acres." The Wilderness Society
sees another 100 million acres in
the next 30 years.
The property rights people see
red. "When is enough going to be
enough ?" asked Cushman.
The forces fighting wilderness
are making headway. Bills to set
aside thousands of acres in Idaho
and Montana for -have been lan-
guishing for years in Congress.
Unfazed, the Wilderness Society
has targeted areas in the Pacific
Northwest, Great Smoky Moun-
tains, southeastern Oregon and
the Arctic National Wildlife Ref-
uge. Environmentalists say they
won't be stopped by property
rights advocates and their claims.
Protecting the wilderness
Since the passage of the 88.8 90.7
Wilderness Act in 1964, Congress 80.4
had designated almost 100 million 80.1
acres as wilderness. Today, 4
percent of the United States is
federal wilderness – almost all of it
in the western states and Alaska. r
Millions of acres
14.8 19.3
9.1 10.3 11.4 r
1968 1972 1976 1978 '} 1993 1 s 14 1 ^ .
Wilderness Societv
2
i�
Wilderness,
Beyond the road's end,
the only noises
are birds and the wind
All of these restrictions may
give the impression there is little
that can be done in the
wilderness, but that is wrong, r
Arp said.
Anyone with a backpack or
horse is free to roam the area at
will to fish, hunt, camp and
generally take in the fact that
they are out of reach and out of
touch.
For those who would rather
not try to tackle the wilderness
on their own, professional out-
fitters and guides are available
to lead you into the farthest
reaches of the back country.
There are some exceptions to
the rules on wilderness mostly
due to uses in existance before
the wilderness was set aside. For
example, airplanes are allowed
to fly into some airstrips, and
mining is still permitted,
although no new claims may be
filed.
One who knows the special
lure of the wilderness is Andy
Finn, recreation and lands
branch chief for the Payette Na-
tional Forest who was raised in
the Idaho's Heartland area.
Finn has gone on backpack-
ing trips throughout the west,
but the Frank Church
wilderness remains his favorite.
"It's a unique experience, and
you can guarantee that it'll be
there," he said.
A wilderness adventure need
not be expensive, and the
adventurers need not be wealthy
to get full enjoyment from a
visit, Finn said.
"If you can buy a backback
and a sleenine bag. there's not
A backpack can take you places
where no car can come close
New Meadows
and McCall
Some of the most spectacular
country in the state is located
near these two communities.
The areas allow opportunities
for brief trips as well as week-
long hikes.
Two areas in the Payette Na-
tional Forest stand out. They
are the Hazard Lake -Lava
Ridge area northwest of New
Meadows and the divide bet-
ween the North Fork of the
Payette River and the South
Fork of the Salmon River east
of McCall.
The Hazard Lake area can be
reached by the road to Hazard
Lake or by roads branching off
from U.S. 95 between New
Meadows and Riggins. This
area is a country of lava rock,
contrasting with the dominant
granitic construction of the rest
of the country, and of high
lakes, most of which can leaven
freeze -dried menus with trout.
It is not a land of great
distances. Many of the lakes are
easily reached in day hikes. Like
most of the back country,
however, it can provide hard,
long work if you look for it.
The South Fork divide area
can be reached from Warren
Wagon Road out of McCall,
from Lick Creek Road that
turns northwest from McCall;
or from the South Fork road.
This area, too, offers
everything from day to week-
long loop trails. It also contains
an abundance of high lakes.
The trails are often steep and
the views are abrupt and carved
from granite.
Here, as elsewhere, there are
opportunities for cross - country
travel beyond the guidance of
maintained trails.
LaRocco wilderness proposal to be
introduced in Congress today
Legislation that would add more than 1.2 million acres
of land in Idaho's First Congressional District will be intro-
duced in Congress today.
The bill, part of what Rep. Larry LaRocco, D- Idaho,
hopes will grow into an "all -Idaho bill," will also release
nearly 2.5 million acres to the national forests in the district,
and recommend 557,970 acres be put into a Special Man-
agement Area category.
In a telephone conference call Tuesday, LaRocco said
his introduction of the bill merely starts a process that could
result in a resolution to the wilderness issue in Idaho finding
its way to President Clinton's desk early next year.
The bill is the outgrowth of a series of eight town meet-
ings he held around the state, along with hundreds of other
comments and letters he's received that would add
"I think this is a very sound proposal, very defensible,
and also a beginning of the legislative process," he said.
On the Payette National Forest, the LaRocco bill would
see an additional 294,520 acres of wilderness designated,
with 48,000 classified as Special Management Areas. On
the Boise forest, an additional 291,210 acres of wilderness
would be designated, along with 264,490 acres classified as
SMAs.
"The best advice I got was to go area -by -area on a site
specific basis," he said. In fact, he said it was only Monday
when he realized what the total acreages in-
volved were.
In the First District, there was about 4.6
million acres of inventoried roadless areas
considered.
"I don't think it'll be universally ap-
plauded or universally condemned," he said
of the proposal. And he said that tackling the
wilderness issue is not without political risk
for him.
"I decided to stick my neck out."
To achieve an all -Idaho bill will involve
other members of the Idaho delegation and
he said he's working closely with Idaho Sen.
Larry Craig on the matter. And while they
don't necessarily concur on what form that
final bill will take, they agree on the process
that's leading up to it.
LaRocco said he's also working Rep.
Mike Crapo, R- Idaho, who is working on the
Second District component of the proposal.
The freshman Congressman is putting to-
gether his staff and is working on the pro-
posal for that district, LaRocco said.
He defined the special management ar-
eas as having "congressional intent" tied to
it. If an area is recognized for having high
value resources of some sort, management
activities such as logging may be permitted,
but there will be "reasonable, verifiable con-
straints" set for the area.
The other areas not proposed for wilder-
ness or SMA designation will be released to
the management plans of the respective
forests, and their use will be determined by
those plans, he said. That doesn't necessari-
ly preclude additional wilderness proposals
being made through the forest planning pro-
cesses done every 10 years. He also said that
any time, any Congressman can introduce
bill to remove a particular area from the
ilderness system.
But one thing he heard time and again
wring his town meetings were questions
)out whether the various forests could be
usted to adhere to their respective forest
He emphasized that the introduction of
t ie legislation is just the beginning of anoth-
process.
"This is the beginning of the legislative
rocess, there'll be hearings, we'll have
t ore input," he said. "You can't have the
hearings unless you have the bill."
"This is an on- going, open process, but
for it to even get started, there has to be a
ll."
And that leaves much room for further
compromise on just what shape the bill takes
i its final form.
"We're now at a crisis point," he said.
" eople are getting to the point where they
ant government to work for them and not
against them."
In dealing with "Big `W' " wilderness,
hp said issues become very emotional, and
if will be easy for some to take political
shots at him.
"But I think I've done a good job of
making this a balanced approach," he said.
Specific areas proposed for wilderness
on the Payette Forest are:
• Patrick Butte, 42,200 acres.
• French Creek, 28,800 acres.
• Needles, 95,800 acres.
• Secesh, 116,200 acres.
• Frank Church River of No Return
Wilderness addition, 27,520.
On the Boise Forest, wilderness propos
als are:
• Red Mountain, 88,000 acres.
• Hanson Lake, 14,200 acres.
• Ten Mile/Black Warrior, 78,800 acres.
• Needles, 3,970 acres.
• Peace Rock, 106,240 acres.
Proposed SMAs on the Payette Forest
include:
• Rapid River, 37,760 acres.
• French Creek, 10,240 acres.
Proposed SMAs on the Boise Forest in
clude:
• Breadwinner, 40,829 acres.
• Lime Creek, 28,800 acres.
• Snowbank, 21,760 acres.
• Johnson Creek, 174,100 acres.
Win•- rosin. °r G��;H 9/
House panel backs LaRocco's bill
to establish more wilderness in Idaho
By Carol Bradley
Gannett News Service
WASHINGTON — A House
panel approved a bill Thurs-
day by Rep. Larry LaRocco, D-
Idaho, to designate 1.36 mil-
lion acres of roadless forests
as wilderness in western and
northern Idaho.
LaRocco said he expects his
proposal, approved by the Nat-
ural Resources subcommittee
on national parks, to go before
the full Natural Resources
Committee next Wednesday. A
full House vote is expected af-
ter the July recess.
Sens. Larry Craig and Dirk
Kempthorne, both R- Idaho,
say they weren't ready to draft
a wilderness measure, and ab-
sent their support, LaRocco's
proposal has little chance of
becoming law.
Regardless, LaRocco said
Thursday's vote marks an im-
portant milestone in the tor-
areas. As evidence, LaRocco
produced a June 13 memo from
Fprest Service Chief Jack
-Ward Thomas notifying re-
gional foresters that unless
forest plans are amended to
remove roadless areas from
the timber base, "You should
proceed in an orderly fashion
to enter more such areas and
manage them according to the
applicable forest plan."
The version of LaRocco's
bill passed by the House panel
would earmark 90,000 more
acres than he proposed earlier
this year.
LaRocco's bill encompasses
only the five national forests
in his congressional district,
which covers the half of the
state that runs west and north
of Boise.
Idaho environmentalists in
Washington to lobby for great-
er protection protested lan-
guage in LaRocco's bill that
would carve up drainage areas.
LaRocco gives up
Idaho Demo says on wilds bill
it won't go
through this
session
By Statesman staff
and wire services
There will be no wilderness
bill for Idaho this year.
Rep. Larry LaRocco, D- Idaho,
announced Monday that he was
shelving the wilderness bill for
western and northern Idaho that
he has been working on for the
past 18 months because of per-
sistent opposition and the onset
of the political campaign
season.
"It's a wise move, given the
small degree of polarization that
still exists, and I don't think can
be overcome in a short period of
time," LaRocco said.
"I don't think it's anybody's
fault in particular," he said. "I
don't think the political climate
is right now.
I think I
knew that
when I start-
ed the pro-
cess and
wanted to
complete it
by Memorial
Day. Once
you get into Larry LaRocco
the summer months and closer
to November ... the people who
like to kill things become
active."
Environmentalists accused
LaRocco of sacrificing Idaho's
wilderness areas in order to play
politics on the issue.
"I thought LaRocco was show-
ing leadership in a really tough
issue, but it appears he's duck-
ing for cover just like the rest of
the Idaho congressional delega-
tion," said John McCarthy, con-
servation director for the Idaho
Conservation League.
"It appears to me that he's
caved to pressure from the tim-
ber industry to cut more trees
rather than preserve biological
diversity, ecologlal integrity
and recreational opportunities."
LaRocco, howe er, said he
was turning his ull attention
toward getting t e administra-
tion — either by its own author-
ity or by congressional directive
to launch projects to clear
overly dense stands of timber
that are making n tional forests
in Idaho and th oughout the
West tinderboxes.
Not only would such projects
dramatically redu a the poten-
tial for wildfire, he said, but
they also would ut additional
timber on the in rket to keep
mills operating.
Idaho timber industry officials
applauded LaRocco's move, call-
ing it good news #or Idaho tim-
ber workers. fff
"Everyone who cares about
ecosystem management and
changes in forestry should wel-
come an expedited move to com-
bat the disease, insect infesta-
tion and potential wildfires that
threaten our national forests in
Idaho," said Joe Hinson, execu-
tive vice presiden� of the Inter-
mountain Forest Industry Asso-
ciation.
"Wilderness legislation al-
ways creates a highly polarized
scenario with little prospect for
win -win outcomes."
LaRocco said he believed
some progress had been made
toward a. resolution of the long -
running ver the future
of 9 million acres of Idaho back -
country still un er wilderness
review. And he promised to revi-
talize his proposal in the next
Congress.
The bill, covering areas in the
1st Congressional District,
would have added 1.36 million
acres to the 4 million acres of
wilderness in the state. In addi-
tion, 319,000 acres would have
been set aside as special man-
agement areas, and about 3 mil-
lion acres would have been re-
leased for use under national
forest long -range management
plans.
Contributing to LaRocco's de-
cision was the apparent demise
of wilderness legislation for
Montana, which passed the
House but appeared likely to re-
main bottled up in the Senate.
He acknowledged that even if
his bill cleared the House, as
predicted, Republican Sens.
Larry Craig and Dirk Kempth-
orne of Idaho had no intention
of letting it get anywhere in the
Senate.
"There was no question about
the inaction in the Senate,"
LaRocco said. "They weren't
ready to deal with it there, be-
cause we didn't have an all -
Idaho bill."
The congressman shrugged off
the suggestion that he was drop-
ping the bill because he was
feeling the heat of anti- wilder-
ness Republican Helen
Chenoweth, the natural re-
source consultant who is chal-
lenging his bid for a third term.
"Frankly, I think the people
who work in the woods and work
in the mills and work in the
industry recognize that some
compromise is inevitable," LaR-
occo said. "I've done the best job
that I could. I've kept my prom-
ise to work on this issue."
X14/9,
miner turns into an amusing Hunt for a g ride
One of the best things about
Idaho is its mountains. They're
beautiful, and you meet some
world -class characters there.
Buckskin Bill, Dugout Dick,
Wheelbarrow Annie ... the
nooks and canyons of the high
country have been home to a
fascinating array of rugged in-
dividualists. Finding them and
learning about _their lives is
one of my favorite things
about this state.
To that I can add, without
contradiction, that mountains
are one of my least favorite
things about Idaho.
Edgy
The trouble with looking for
interesting characters in the
mountains is that you have to
go to their mountain lairs to
find them.
We're talking people who
live in places that would make
a mountain goat edgy. For
someone who is, shall we say,
uncomfortable in high places,
the trip up can be the most
interesting part of all.
While working on the min-
ing story that appears on the
front page of today's paper, I
happened to hear about an in-
teresting character who lived
on a mining claim. Naturally,
it was on the top of some god-
forsaken mountain.
"How do you get there ?" I
asked.
"Ask Bob," I was told.
"You'll never get there on
Your own."
Bob turned out to be a char-
acter himself, an 83- year -old
miner who still mucked ore
and breezed up the sides of
cliffs in a luxury car. His hard
hat appeared to have been
made in an ore crusher.
"Better ride with me," he
said, disdainfully eyeing my
Volkswagen. "You'll never
make it in that thing."
We drove from Bob's place to
a wide spot in a dirt road,
See Woodward /M
Tim Woodward
�, _ . _. .
where he stol ped and turned the
car around.
"Miss a turn ?" I asked.
"Nope. Road's up there. We
gotta get a r nnin' start."
The "road' was twin ruts an-
gling up a ountainside. I con-
sidered jum ing out of the car,
but by then Bob was into his
running start. We hit the slope
at a good 20 mph and began to
climb.
I thought the spot where the
road vanished was the moun-
taintop, but it was just the first
switchback. Bob glided through
the first few turns, then stomped
on the brakes.
"At 83, it's a serious business
to pay your rent," he said.
"You're absolutely right," I
replied, peering down at empty
air. (The last thing you want on
a road like that is to offend the
driver wi h a petty dis-
agreement.)
"I still go spit, anyhow."
"I can see that, Bob. No argu-
ment here."
We sailed through more
switchbacks. It was amazing
how effortlessly Bob guided the
car through the turns, as if we
were in a parking lot instead of,
clinging to a goat trail. I was
trying not to look down when he
stopped again.
"I've had a million dollars sev-
eral times in my life," he
announced.
"Really? That's great."
"I'm better off without it," he
said. "All it did was get me into
trouble."
"You're right, Bob. Money is
the root of all evil."
This stop was really up there.
You could see the valley spread
out below, hear the rocks slip-
ping under the tires.
A series of pounding heart-
beats later, we stopped for a
discourse on the ugliest woman
Bob had ever seen.
"It was an odd thing," he said
as we lurched to a standstill,
causing a small avalanche of
free- falling pebbles. "The longer
I knew her, the more beautiful
she was."
Then we were at the top.
The man who lived there was
interesting, but not half as inter-
esting as the trip up.
I don't remember much about
the trip down. My eyes were
tightly closed.
THE INDIANS AND THE MINERS
By Sheila D. Reddy
Frank Church -River of No Return Wilderness
U. S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service
Regions 1 and 4
Heritage Program
August 1996
By the early 18601s, the first flush of miners surged into
Idaho. They pushed past the Indians in a rush to pan for gold in
streams, the same streams and rivers where Indian tribes had
fished and trapped for thousands of years. Mining claims sprung
up on winter village sites. Miners burned lodge poles for fire-
wood and pitched tents over ancestral burial grounds.
After the discovery of gold north of the Salmon River in 1860,
the rush was unstoppable. In 1862, gold was discovered in Warren
and the Boise Basin (Idaho City).
Sven Liljeblad (1957) describes the impact on the Tukudika, or
Sheepeater band of Northern Shoshone living in Idaho's central
mountain country during the period that followed:
"Shortly thereafter, gold as also found on the Yankee Fork
of the Salmon River, the principal spawning ground of the
Columbia River salmon and a center of tukudeka winter camps.
In 1866, prospectors from Montana found coarse gold on Pan-
ther Creek, west of Salmon City, at a place called Leesburg.
A few months later, Leesburg had a population of three thou-
sand. Unfortunately for the tukudeka, this place was situat-
ed in proximity to several of their largest winter villages
...Within a year, there were 7,000 miners in Leesburg ba-
sin...In 1870, Leesburg had more than one hundred stores,
saloons, hotels and work shops.
Area newspapers published a continual series of angry and
indignant articles as bands of Indians traveling through the
country attempted to travel to summer trading grounds near Coun-
cil, Boise, Camas Prai3ie and Bear Valley in southern Idaho. On
these grassy meadows the tribes tried to meet as they had each
summer for centuries for trading-fairs. Newly settled farmers and
ranchers fumed and threatened, not understanding when thousands
of Indians collected in "their" pastures, eating "their" grass.
Throughout the 18601s, the Idaho Statesman had little good to
say about Idaho's Indians, other than.a few grudging comments
they published about the Sheepeaters:
"It is doubtful if there are a dozen peaceable Indians ex-
cept the tribe of Sheepeaters who occupy a not very large
scope of country on the headwaters of the Salmon. They stay
at home and make their own living by fishing and hunting.
They have thus far treated whites passing through their
country with kindness and cordiality and are as thoroughly
hostile as the whites are towards the small thieving rene-
gade bands that occasionally go up that way from this vicin-
ity" (March 21, 1866 issue).
Liljeblad continues the
story of the Tukudika:
"Salmon City and Challis were established as trading centers
to supply miners. Business in both places was soon con-
trolled by ... Colonel George L.Shoup, the first Governor of
the State of Idaho. He won his military honors in the Sand
Creek Massacre, Colorado in 1864...
"...the Indians, terrified by all this noise and at the
destruction of their fishing waters, could do nothing but
move farther away into their forests, trailed closely by
hardy white men who searched for gold in every creek."
Southern Idaho's Indians, however, would no longer be allowed
to roam freely through the country they had lived in for centu-
ries. On June 14, 1867, President Andrew Johnson, issued an exe-
cutive order setting apart the Fort Hall Indian Reservation, or-
dering the bands of Northern Shoshone and Bannock to be- removed
there. The Sheepeater band, however, remained in the quiet shad-
ows of the Wilderness until 1879, when, during Idaho's last Indi-
an war, the Sheepeater Campaign,' the military forced them from
their mountain home.
YOUR ROLE IN PROTECTIM
SITES
Wilderness Archaeologists are currently working to preserve,
protect and understand the prehistory of the ancient peoples who
lived in the Frank Church -River of No Return Wilderness. As this
prehistory is discovered and understood, they will share it with
the public through educational monographs and other publications.
You can help in this effort by leaving artifacts where they lie,
and informing Forest Service Wilderness managers of your discov-
ery.
Take pride in our American heritage.
Take nothing but photographs.
THE COMING OF THE HORSE
By Sheila D. Reddy
Frank Church -River of No Return wilderness
U. S. Department of Agriculture, Forest service
Regions l and 4
Heritage Program
August 1996
The moccasin tracks of "the wa king" Indians have been hidden
by the wind, but the memory of Idaho's early peoples should not
be forgotten. Following Indian roads and trails that crisscrossed
the Snake River Plain and wound north and south into the moun-
tains, "the walking" Indians moved through the seasons. Within
that ancient circle they traveled great distances, carrying lit-
tle.
In the spring, bands left winter camps located along the Snake
and Salmon Rivers and their tributaries to dig camas bulbs and
other roots in wet meadows. After quantities of camas had been
collected and roasted the bulbs were shaped into cakes and dried
in the sun. Leaving the camas harvest, small family bands moved
over the land to hunt and gather, hoping to find plenty so the
excess could also be dried, cached. As leaves began to fall,
stored goods were collected and taken to supply winter villages.
Some cache sites held not only food, but. locally specific
medicine /basketry plants, or leather pouches 'of chipping stone
for making arrowheads, scrapers and knives. Locations of these
caches, hunting camps, gathering sites, and stone quarries were
retained in tribal memory, for it was a life without writing..
Tribal strength and knowledge lay in remembering and recounting.
From ancient times dogs had been used by "the walking people"
to transport goods: meat from a kill, provisions, furs, leather,
or extra moccasins on the trail. But a dog could carry a pack of
50 pounds or less and only for a few hours, limiting their use.
By the mid- 1500's Spanish explorers arrived in the Rio.Grande
Valley and Texas Panhandle with the first horses. But, as writer
Francis.Haines points out, early Spanish :mil itary expeditions did
not travel with even one mare in their reamdas. It would be late
1600 before the tribes had horse herds of their own; only after
tho Spanish established ranches in New Mexico and the Pueblo
Revolt (1680) did various Indian tribes secure breeding stock.
According to Haines, the Comanche were among the first to be-
come mounted hunters and warriors on the Southern Plains. The
Northern' Shoshone traded often with- their Comanche relatives and
not long after the Comanche had.the horse, the Shoshone were rid-
ing north toward the Snake River on mounts of their own.
Horses, often referred to as .big' dogs" by -early Indians,
transformed the newly mounted peopl 's lifeway. Small bands could
move easily. By joining together for safety, large groups began
traveling east into the "grass Plains" to hunt buffalo.
An excellent food resource, the male buffalo stands as much as
seven feet high at the shoulders and weighs as much as 2,000
pounds; buffalo cows average five feet at the shoulder and weigh
from 700 to 900 pounds. With a horse trained to run with the
buffalo, a skilled hunter could bring down several animals.
Buffalo also supplied robes for warmth, hides for lodges, and
skins for clothing; horn, bone, aiid hooves for utensils; sinew
for sewing and bow strings; hair for padding; fat and tallow.
But, the most important resource was meat that could be dried and
stored. Dried meat, pounded then ed with melted fat-and poured
into hide containers made pemmican The high calorie, nutritious
food could be carried, eaten on horseback, or stored for times
when snow covered the earth and bitter winds closed the land.
The first buffalo hunting bands traveling east encountered
unfamiliar tribes on the Great Plains. At trading fairs western-
ers were exposed to different foods, clothing styles, religions,
medical plants, horse gear, weapons, decorative items, and, etc.
Returning to the Plains the next season their pack horses were
loaded with dried salmon, camas, askets, skins, bows, and ob-
sidian for bartering. They later returned to the Snake River
country with meat and an array of goods and ideas that would
alter the traditions and lives of ."the walking people," forever.
Following the Plains Indians the Northern Shoshone, Bannock
and Nez Perce tribes were quick to adopt leather lodge covers
that could be carried by a pack horse from camp to camp and set
.up quickly in any location. Clothing of the tribes soon became
more tailored following eastern styles. The first white traders
with goods like iron kettles, steel needles, knives, guns and
ammunition were encountered at east 'rn trading fairs and later at
trading posts.
With sufficient meat carried b the horse to winter camps
people became healthier and more children lived to adulthood.
Tribal populations had started-to increase when waves of European
diseases slipped like dark mists through camps and villages.
Smallpox often wiped out whole bands, leaving tribes decimated.
Indian populations had no resist ce to foreign germs. In 1781
and again in the 1830's, smallpox epidemics swept across the
Americas. Smallpox was not the only illness that threatened Indi-
an populations; mumps, measles,. cholera, diphtheria -- killing
sicknesses for which healers had no medicine or cure.
The horse had carried the Ameri an Indian across an ocean of
grass into great change leaving behind some of the ways of the
ancient tribes who had walked acro s the land for thousands of
years. On the horse, the future exp nded ideas, but it also held
mysteries to be wary of. In transition the old ways might be for-
gotten, but the circle of the seasons lies deep within a people
and the land. Today in our search for the future we need to rec-
ognize the moccasin prints of a past hidden in the dust by the
wind. It is a past to be recognized, remembered, to learn again.
YOUR ROLE IN PROTECTING ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES
Wilderness Archaeologists are currently working to preserve,
protect and understand the prehistory of the ancient peoples who
lived in the Frank Church -River of No Return Wilderness. As this
prehistory is discovered and understood, they will share it with
the public through educational monographs and other publications.
You can help in this effort by leaving artifacts where they lie,
and informing Forest Service Wilderness managers of your discov-
ery. Take pride in our American heritage.
Take nothing but photographs.