On October 5, 2006 Governor Risch submitted his petition for the management of Roadless Areas in Idaho. This is the first petition, filed under the Bush Administration’s state petition process, which would allow for development. This report, submitted to the Roadless Area Conservation National Advisory Committee, includes maps, pictures, and in-depth analysis of what is at stake in Idaho’s 9.3 million acres of roadless forests under the Governor’s petition.
>> Get the report: Idaho's Roadless Areas at Risk [pdf]
Idaho has nearly 9 million acres of roadless, undeveloped National Forest land, more than any other state in the lower 48. The Wilderness Society has made permanent protection of these roadless lands a top priority, for within them is a cache of irreplaceable wild places. Many deserve to become part of the National Wilderness Preservation System, joining 4 million acres of Idaho wilderness that the Congress has already protected.
Some of the Healthiest Forests in the Nation
Anchored by 4 million acres of congressionally designated wilderness in the central part of the state, Idaho's forests are among the healthiest, most ecologically intact lands in the nation. They offer habitat for such rare species as the gray wolf, grizzly bear, Canada lynx, and steelhead and bull trout.
The fact that these species still remain in the lower 48 states owes much to designated wilderness, certainly, but much also to Idaho's roadless national forest lands that cover nearly 9 million acres.
Subsidized Destruction
For years the timber industry and the U.S. Forest Service have sought to bulldoze roads into these remaining areas and log them. Roadbuilding and logging disrupt and fragment wildlife habitat and cause erosion that dumps tons of mud into pristine streams and rivers. If the environmental cost is dear, so is the dollar cost: roadbuilding and logging in roadless lands have cost U.S. taxpayers tens of millions of dollars in subsidies.
The Wilderness Society focuses its efforts to protect these roadless areas on public education about the value of these wild forests and on active participation in land management planning processes that often determine the fate of these lands. We have developed and distributed educational materials about the importance of protecting these lands to sustain fish and wildlife populations and clean water supplies, and how their protection contributes to the diversity of Idaho's economy.
We have organized citizens to speak out for the protection of these roadless areas. We have prepared detailed critiques and comments on land management plans and initiatives that affect national forest lands. When needed, we have administratively and legally challenged timber sales that threaten roadless areas and the numerous natural resource values associated with them.
Forest Plan Revision and Roadless Areas
At present, The Wilderness Society is involved in the revision of the management plans for the Boise, Sawtooth and Payette National Forests. These three forests, those closest to the Treasure Valley, Idaho's population center, offer a wealth of backcountry recreation opportunities and potential wilderness areas.
A key issue in the revision of these forest management plans is how they will deal with roadless lands. Our goal is to insure that roadless areas remain roadless and undeveloped, not logged under the guise of forest fire fuel reduction.
Another critical element of the plans is how they propose to manage motorized recreation: dirt bikes and other off-road vehicles. Fully 79 percent of these forests are only one mile or less from a motorized route today. The Society's goal is to see that these forests are closed to indiscriminate cross-country travel by off-road vehicles, and to ensure that more trails, and the lands to which they provide access, are managed for non-motorized recreation.
With our conservation partners, The Wilderness Society is also working to protect the remaining roadless areas on the Clearwater and Nez Perce National Forests in northern Idaho. Here, we and our allies have beaten back timber sales that sought to cut the few remaining stands of old growth forests, to develop roadless areas, or to degrade habitat of the bull trout, cutthroat trout, steelhead trout, and chinook salmon.
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