As the original highways used to explore our country, rivers offer a unique way to experience backcountry areas by water. The few remaining wild rivers are invaluable to Americans who prefer to experience nature in their canoes, kayaks and rafts. Nowhere else in the contiguous United States can paddlers find as many remote and wild whitewater rivers as exist in Idaho. Some of the most treasured rivers flow through backcountry roadless areas including the North Fork Boise, Upper Deadwood, Upper Secesh, South Fork Salmon, Meadow Creek, Upper Fish Creek, White Sand Creek, Little North Fork Clearwater, and Coeur d’Alene. In addition to the rivers that flow directly through roadless areas, many additional rivers are bordered by roadless areas that define their superb scenery and water quality. These include most notably the Lochsa, North Fork Clearwater, Middle Fork Boise, and the South Fork of the Payette. The Lochsa and the Payette are commercially rafted by large numbers of people, supporting significant regional economies.
A big part of what makes these landscapes what they are, from scenery to the solitude and aesthetics, is that they are in Roadless Areas. Roadless Areas are not quite wilderness, but they feel that way, and they tend to be more accessible and open to a variety of sustainable recreational pursuits. Roadless Areas make up about 31% of our National Forests and are ecological gems with clean air, water and plenty of wildlife.
Back in 2001 the Federal government proposed to protect these areas in a simple way – stop building new roads. Without roads, it’s pretty tough to harvest timber or mine phosphate. The American public loved the idea and the “2001 Roadless Rule” became one of the most popular federal regulations in history.
Things are about to change. Even though these are National Forests, the Federal government now wants to let individual states drive how roadless areas are managed, letting them re-jigger different levels of ecosystem protection and impinge on the wild qualities that make these places what they are to paddlers and everyone else that uses these lands and waters in a sustainable manner.
The first state to take the plunge is Idaho. Colorado is next. There are Roadless Areas in 39 states across the country. Fortunately the Federal government is circling back and asking the public what they think about this new state-driven plan, starting with the Idaho plan. Aside from setting the stage for other states, Idaho is particularly important because with 9.3 million acres of Roadless Areas, it has the largest intact ecosystem in the lower 48 states.
We already have more than 380,000 miles of Forest System roads – nine times the size of the federal interstate system.
To Protect these Experiences We Need Your Help Today
Tell the Forest System what you think. Should we keep these places wild and thriving with qualities that make places worth climbing up and carving down and treat them like the national resources that they are, or whittle them away,
here and there, state by state until the edge that makes Roadless Areas unique becomes dull and then gone?