At 2.4 million acres, the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness is the largest in the lower 48 states.
It is the most rugged, enchantingly diverse and wildlife-rich wildness in the nation.
But it also is the most motorized - so much so that the solitude one expects of a wilderness can be shattered.
And now the U.S. Forest Service wants to add to the commotion.
Both features - wilderness and motorized recreation - are the legacy of the late U.S. Sen. Frank Church, D-Idaho. The 24-year Senate veteran crafted the original 1964 Wilderness Act.
But in forging the 1980 River of No Return Wilderness, Church had to make compromises. Existing airplane and boat permits were recognized and preserved.
The 1980 wilderness charter required a level of jet-boat use equal to the level of usage in 1978. There are 18 commercial outfitter jets on the main Salmon River.
The 1980 bill also allowed the 30 landing strips in use when the wilderness was created to remain in place.
Jet boats and airplanes may have been a necessary component of Church's political calculus. But a jet boat and an airplane hardly fit into the 1964 act's definition of wilderness as a place "untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain."
In its new management plan, the Forest Service wants to nearly triple private jet-boat use on the main Salmon River. The new proposal would raise the limit on jet boats to 40 boat-use days per week but restrict overnight boat trips to five at any one time. That can mean jet-boat usage every day, up to a maximum of 10 per day.
Every day would bring the roar of the jet boats bouncing off the narrow canyon walls on the Salmon River.
The Forest Service wants to virtually close four remote landing strips, using them only for emergencies. The four "unsafe" strips are tied to once privately owned ranches that the Forest Service has since purchased. Even though the strips fail to meet state or federal standards, Idaho's aviation leaders are fighting the idea. Yet wilderness visitors are complaining about the disturbing noise the flights bring to the backcountry.
Here's what the Forest Service should be doing:
* Keep jet-boat use at the lowest level the wilderness charter allows. Three years ago, the Forest Service had it right. It proposed a 50 percent cutback for rafters in the peak summer period on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River and a 30 percent reduction in jet-boat use on the main Salmon. The agency later rejected the plan.
* Look at requiring permits for airplane flights into the wilderness with a goal of decreasing the number of flights. More strips should be closed but the language in the Frank Church River of No Return charter forces the Forest Service to get the Idaho Aeronautics Board's agreement. That's a dead end.
The Forest Service should stick to the outlines of Church's vision. That means holding the line on motorized traffic in this central Idaho wilderness - and certainly not expanding it.
This latest plan goes down the wrong path.
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