A wilderness bill with a little something
for everyone
by Ray Ring
For wilderness advocates:
If passed, the Central Idaho Economic Development Act would create
two new wilderness areas in the Boulder-White Cloud mountains, separated
only by a narrow dirt-bike trail. The Ernest Hemingway/Jerry Peak
Wilderness, above the famous writer’s old home in Ketchum,
would protect 219,400 acres of peaks, forest and sagebrush. The
74,700-acre White Clouds Wilderness would protect alpine lakes,
peaks and forests. It would kick motorized dirt bikes off two key
trails (Fourth of July Lake and the West Fork of the East Fork of
the Salmon River) and sections of other trails. Bicyclists would
be banned from about 70 miles of high trails. Much of the wilderness
would become cow-free as federal money becomes available to buy
out ranchers’ permits.
For local communities:
The bill would give about 2,200 acres of federal lands to Custer
County, Blaine County, and four small towns (Challis, Stanley, Mackay
and Clayton). Most of the land would likely be sold for development.
The bill might give additional small parcels to counties and the
state for recreation developments. And Custer County would get a
$5 million grant for "sustainable economic development."
For ranchers:
The bill would authorize $7 million to buy out the grazing permits
of any rancher in the area who wants to sell. At an estimated rate
of $300 per Animal Unit Month, that’s high enough to be attractive
to ranchers. About 30,000 AUMs on a million acres would be eligible.
For off-road drivers:
The bill would keep open the dirt-bike trail along Germania Creek
that divides the wilderness areas. It would reopen a five-mile road
to Herd Lake campground, which was blocked by a 1983 landslide.
It would also allow off-road drivers to keep using most trails outside
the wilderness. It would authorize more federal money to construct
"motorized recreation parks" on a total of 1,200 acres
of federal land near Boise, Twin Falls, Idaho Falls and Pocatello.
And $1 million would go to Idaho’s off-road vehicle program,
for buying and improving more sites.
For bureaucrats:
The bill would designate several hundred thousand acres of federal
land, basically a ring around the wilderness areas, as the Boulder-White
Cloud Management Area, to be overseen by the U.S. Forest Service
and the Bureau of Land Management. The bill says motorized vehicles
in this area would be limited to existing routes, but it adds that
the secretaries of Interior and Agriculture could put in new roads
for "access to recreation areas." Backers of the bill
say that any new roads would only go to existing campgrounds and
picnic areas. Critics say the bill could allow new roads extending
anywhere in this area. Also, the bill would authorize $5 million
to buy out pockets of private land inside the management area.
Odds and ends:
To satisfy helicopter-skiers, the bill would leave the high country
of the North Fork of the Big Wood River outside the wilderness boundaries.
It would also build new trails for bicycles, snowmobiles, and disabled
hikers, and authorize more money for a state historic park.
