Wilderness Areas

Wilderness Areas




Nearly 4 million acres of wilderness area are designated in north central Idaho alone.  There are 4 wilderness areas located here:  Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, Gospel Hump Wilderness, Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness and the Hells Canyon Wilderness.

Frank Church River of No Return

Designated in 1980 containing 2,366,757 acres. All of this wilderness is located in Idaho and is managed by the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service. The Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness is bordered by the Gospel-Hump Wilderness to the northwest and the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness to the north (separated by the Magruder Corridor and Highway 12).

Description

Few places in America, and nowhere outside of Alaska, provide a Wilderness experience to match the sheer magnitude of the Frank Church-River of No Return, the second largest unit of the National Wilderness Preservation System in the Lower 48 (second in size only to California's Death Valley Wilderness). This area combines the old Idaho Primitive Area, the Salmon Breaks Primitive Area, territory on six national forests, and a small swath of land managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Senator Frank Church played a key role in the passage of the Wilderness Act of 1964, and his name was added to the Wilderness in 1984, shortly before his death.

It is a land of clear rivers, deep canyons, and rugged mountains. Two white-water rivers draw many human visitors: the Main Salmon River, which runs west near the northern boundary; and the Middle Fork of the Salmon, which begins near the southern boundary and runs north for about 104 miles until it joins the Main. Reaching 6,300 feet from the river bottom, the canyon carved by the Main Salmon is deeper than most of the earth's canyons--including the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River--and this fast-moving waterway has been dubbed the River of No Return. In the northeastern corner of the Wilderness, the Selway River flows north into the nearby Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness. Trout fishing usually rates from good to excellent. The Middle Fork, the Selway, and nearly all of the Main Salmon are Wild and Scenic Rivers. Unlike the sheer walls of the Grand Canyon, these rivers rush below wooded ridges rising steeply toward the sky, beneath eroded bluffs and ragged, solitary crags.

The Salmon River Mountains dominate the interior of the Wilderness. Without a major crest, these mountains splay out in a multitude of minor crests in all directions, and rise gradually to wide summits. East of the Middle Fork, the fabulous Bighorn Crags form a jagged series of summits, at least one topping 10,000 feet. The Bighorns surround 14 strikingly beautiful clearwater lakes. Hiking up from the rivers into the mountains brings sudden elevation changes.

Great forests of Douglas fir and lodgepole pine cover much of the area, with spruce and fir higher up and ponderosa pine at lower altitudes. The forests are broken by grassy meadows and sun-washed, treeless slopes.

A dry country, as little as 10 inches of precipitation falls near the rivers. As much as 50 inches may fall on the mountaintops, but much of it is snow. Despite the dryness, wildlife abounds. As many as 370 species have been identified in a single year, including eight big game animals.

Wildfire has been allowed to play a more natural role in the wilderness in recent years. Tens of thousands of acres have burned without the interference of humans, producing a mosaic of vegetation from severely burned timber stands in some areas to lightly burned grass slopes and understory in other areas.

A network of 296 maintained trails (approximately 2,616 miles worth) provides access to this seemingly endless area, crossing rivers and streams on 114 bridges. This is a paradise for horsepackers. Thirty-two Forest Service Roads lead to 66 trailheads. Despite the extensive trail system, an amazing 1.5 million acres remains trail-free. Small planes are allowed to land on several primitive airstrips dating back to the days before Wilderness designation. Jet boats are allowed on the Main Salmon. Dozens of outfitters offer float, jetboat, horsepacking, backpacking, and ski trips.

Gospel Hump Wilderness

Designated in 1978 containing 205,796 acres. All of this wilderness is located in Idaho and is managed by the Forest Service. The Gospel-Hump Wilderness is bordered by the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness to the southeast.

Description

Long before explorers Lewis and Clark first laid eyes on this region in 1805, Nez Perce Indians were hunting the elk, deer, and black bears whose descendants still roam here. Discovery of gold in the 1860s brought a flood of miners into central Idaho that didn't subside until after the turn of the century. Another brief gold rush occurred during the Great Depression, remnants of gold mining operations are evident.

Elevations in the Gospel-Hump Wilderness range from 1,970 feet at the Wind River pack bridge on the Salmon River to 8,940 feet at the summit of Buffalo Hump. The northern portion contains relatively gentle, heavily forested country that sweeps up the glaciated divide between the South Fork of the Clearwater River and the lower Salmon River, which flows out of the nearby Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness. From the divide, the terrain becomes the steep and sparsely vegetated along the Salmon River Breaks. Moose, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, mountain lions, wolves and anadromous fish live here.

The area sees extreme variations in weather, with temperatures sometimes soaring over 100 degrees Fahrenheit along the Salmon River while snow whitens the high country. Seasonal roads of fair to poor quality surround the Wilderness, offering access to trails that lead from the Salmon River Breaks into the high country, which many hikers would classify as very challenging, and are often impassable due to late snows.

Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness

Designated in 1964 containing 1,340,502 acres. Idaho contains approximately 1,089,059 acres. Montana contains approximately 251,443 acres. It is managed by the Forest Service. The Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness is bordered by the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness to the south (separated by the Magruder Corridor and Highway 12).

Description

Montana entry:

Selway-Bitterroot is the third largest Wilderness in the Lower 48, surpassed in size only by California's Death Valley Wilderness and Idaho's Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness (RONR). Less than one-fifth of the area lies in Montana. Only the 600-foot-wide Nez Perce Trail (The Magruder Corridor), an unimproved dirt road, separates the Selway-Bitterroot from the Frank Church-RONR. The Wilderness straddles both sides of the Bitterroot Range, which stands along the Montana-Idaho border and includes the Wild and Scenic Selway River, all of which flows through Idaho.

This vast wildland is one of the roughest mountain areas on earth, a country of high ridges dropping off into steep-walled canyons. The barren peaks don't hint at the dense forests below, where a number of streams and more than 100 lakes offer excellent trout fishing. Hardly any humans visit the huge trailless portions of this Wilderness, which makes it all the more appealing for the large Selway elk herd, plus deer, moose, black bears, and mountain lions.

Many miles of trails provide access to the Montana side of the Selway-Bitterroot, but large sections are unmaintained and rugged. The Divide Trail (Trail 16) follows the Bitterroot Divide for approximately seven miles north of Nez Perce Pass, offering outstanding views across the Montana and Idaho portions of the Wilderness.

Idaho Entry:

The Bitterroot Mountains form a rugged, glacier-carved border between Idaho and Montana. On both sides of this border is the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, the third largest Wilderness in the Lower 48. A much smaller (but still considerable) portion is protected by Montana, and the Idaho side includes the large Moose Creek Ranger District (560,000 roadless acres), the only district in the Forest Service System entirely within a Wilderness. Except for the high crest of the Bitterroots, the area is dominated by ridges broken with raw granite peaks. Below the ridges are deep canyons covered with thick coniferous forest. Hidden low valleys are rich with old-growth cedar, fir, and larch, and extensive stands of subalpine spruce and fir can be found higher up.

Hundreds of miles of trails, more than 700 in the Moose Creek Ranger District alone, wind through the area, but they are rarely maintained. From Big Fog Saddle a trail suitable for foot and horse traffic marches toward the heart of the area. Along the Selway River, the hiking rates as moderate. Leave the river and you'll find drastic elevation changes, making for difficult going.

Water is plentiful in lakes, bogs, and marshes. The Wild and Scenic Selway River rushes out of the mountains of Idaho to join the Moose Creek drainages and the Middle Fork of the Selway. Many rafters ride the river, and at lower elevations in the Selway River Canyon you'll find the warmest temperatures year-round. But the weather varies like the terrain. Spring and fall bring rain lower down, while it is snowing higher up. Summer days are typically warm and dry with nighttime temperatures low enough to send you burrowing deep into your sleeping bag. You should be prepared for avalanches in winter.

In the high country in summer, mosquitoes and biting flies are frequent campsite companions. Rattlesnakes and black bears are common. Hunters are attracted to elk, deer, mountain lions, and grouse. Hunters may track moose and bighorn sheep with a special permit. Trout fishing can be excellent in well over 100 mountain lakes. By late July, wildflowers bloom at elevations over 5,000 feet, luring many photographers.

Hells Canyon Wilderness

Designated in 1975 and it now has a total of 214,944 acres. Idaho contains approximately 83,811 acres. Oregon contains approximately 131,133 acres. It is managed by the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service.

Description

Managed by the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area (HCNRA), Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, the HCNRA is composed of 652,488 acres straddling the border of northeastern Oregon and western Idaho. Split into two distinct halves by the Wild & Scenic Snake River, approximately one-third of HCNRA has been designated Wilderness. A small portion of the Wilderness in Oregon is managed by the BLM.

The Idaho side of the Wilderness, which lies in parts of Nez Perce and Payette National Forests, is smaller than the Oregon side. The main Idaho-side trailheads start at Black Lake, Windy Saddle, and Pittsburg Landing. From Pittsburg Landing, the Snake River National Scenic Trail follows 31 miles of the river on the Idaho side.

On the Oregon side, the higher elevation areas are characteristic of rocky slopes and grasslands laced with 'stringer canyons' and groves composed of Douglas fir and ponderosa pine. The lower elevations are dominated by grassland benches with steep canyons and ravines dissecting the isolated Oregon-side. Major trailheads include; Buck Creek, PO Saddle, Hat Point, Warnock Corral, and Dug Bar. Two National trails are found at various elevations: Western Rim/Summit Ridge Recreation Trail at the upper elevation, and Nez Perce Historic Trail near the Snake River. Species of interest are Rocky Mtn Elk, bighorn sheep, mule deer, and chukar.

 

 



 


 

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