About this item
- Stainless steel grill folds to 1.5 inches thick and fits in a backpack; can be used as a fire pit; comes in regular or mini sizes (sold separately)
- Regular size features 13 x 10-inch grilling area for up to 6 servings; mini features 9 x 6.75-inch grilling area for up to 3 servings
- Stable base for safe grilling; quick 30-second setup; sides of grill serve as a wind-break
- Safely contains fire and keeps fire off the ground; constructed from durable stainless steel to provide high rust and corrosion resistance
- Dimensions: 13.5 x 10 x 1.5 inches; weight 3.2 pounds; 10 x 13 inch grilling area; 1 year manufacturer’s warranty
The Blue Mountains Trail is an immersive adventure through the diverse interconnected eco-regions that comprise the Greater Hells Canyon Region. The trail will take you deep into the mountains, forests, rivers, ecosystems, and communities of northeast Oregon. It shares the living history of why the Blue Mountains are ecologically unique and more parts of it deserve permanent protection. LINK PDF
The Blue Mountains Trail is an immersive adventure through the diverse interconnected eco-regions that comprise the Greater Hells Canyon Region. The trail will take you deep into the mountains, forests, rivers, ecosystems, and communities of northeast Oregon. It shares the living history of why the Blue Mountains are ecologically unique and more parts of it deserve permanent protection.
trail stats
566 miles through northeast Oregon from Wallowa Lake State Park near Joseph to John Day
7 Wilderness Areas and 1 National Recreation Area in 3 National Forests
Ancestral lands of the Nez Perce, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla, and Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs
3 Oregon State Parks
Connects with the communities of Joseph, Troy, Tollgate, La Grande, Sumpter, Austin Junction and John Day, with connection opportunities to more nearby towns
Trail connects approaches to notable Blue Mountain summits: Eagle Cap (Wallowas): 9,573 ft – Rock Creek Butte (Elkhorns): 9,106 ft – Strawberry Mountain: 9,042 ft – Vinegar Hill (Greenhorns) 8,131 ft.
It’s official! In November, 2020, Greater Hells Canyon Council launched Oregon’s newest long-distance trail – forming a 566-mile spiral. Contemplated, mapped, and dreamed of for more than half a century by conservationists, the trail is now tangible.
The route links all seven of Northeast Oregon’s wilderness areas, requires no new trails to be built, limits road walks and bushwhacks, and connects hikers to the communities of Joseph, Troy, Tollgate, La Grande, Sumpter, Austin Junction, and John Day with ties to more nearby towns.
The pace of the past year’s work is as breathtaking as the speed of the first four thru-hikers covering rough terrain, bushwhacking alternative paths, and reporting on conditions. News of the trail’s brilliant peaks, rivers, forests, and wildlife is rippling among long distance hikers, tourism groups, communities, businesses, and conservationists.
Watch Video
Such a colossal proposal coming from a relatively unknown Republican is a shocker and the delegation is already giving it a look.
All four Democratic senators from Washington and Oregon issued a joint release Friday evening stating: “All communities in the Columbia River Basin and beyond should be heard in efforts to recover the Northwest’s iconic salmon runs while ensuring economic vitality of the region. Any process needs to balance the needs of communities in the Columbia River Basin, be transparent, be driven by stakeholders and follow the science.”
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Spokane, put out a statement in staunch opposition. “These dams are the beating heart of Eastern Washington,” she said in a press release. “Spending $33 billion to breach them — with no guarantee that doing so will restore salmon populations — is a drastic, fiscally irresponsible leap to take.” Washington’s three GOP House members also joined with a representative from Idaho on a proposed resolution supporting existing hydropower dams, and seeking expansion of hydropower in the region.
But Simpson has captured the ear of others who normally would pile on. Instead, they are listening, with caveats and caution, to be sure.
Simpson is careful to point out that what he has released is an overall concept that provides only broad spending targets for key initiatives. What he wants is a regional conversation about a new vision for the Northwest. What if we stopped debating whether the Lower Snake River dams are valuable, and recognize that they are, then figure out together how to replace those benefits?
Idaho Wildlife ORG
February 7, 2021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Brian Brooks, Executive Director, 208.870.7967 – bbrooks@idahowildlife.org
This weekend Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson released a preliminary proposal to restore Idaho’s salmon and steelhead by breaching the lower Snake River dams and investing in new power generation and transportation infrastructure, among many other things. The Idaho Wildlife Federation (IWF) applauds the legislative package and the Congressman’s clear commitment to seeing the restoration of the region’s salmon and steelhead while ensuring the well-being of all stakeholders between Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.
“This is the first meaningful approach any elected official has made public that recognizes the only way to recover Idaho’s salmon and steelhead to meaningful abundance is to untangle the gargantuan and crippling bureaucratic knot that is now also failing ratepayers and taxpayers,” said IWF’s executive director Brian Brooks. “The scope of this proposal will be a massive and decades long – possibly perpetual – shot in the arm for the economies of North Idaho, and Eastern Washington and Oregon.”
What was once a profitable system even 20 years ago is now on course for unending and ever-increasing costs on three fronts. First, the free market is moving away from lower Snake River shipping – down almost 80% from it’s peak – which means taxpayers now shoulder the ever-growing loss of revenue to upkeep the aging dams. Second, BPA – a federal agency – charges $36 per megawatt hour while their competitors charge $22, and is so far in irreversible debt ($15 billion and counting) the former administrator called their situation a ‘bloodbath’. This is the same entity on the hook for funding fish recovery ($17 billion spent so far to no avail). Third, Idaho’s fish are careening toward extinction and after 50 years of trying to reverse the trendline, we are redlining.
Within the legislative package are detailed investments of a modernized rail system for grain growers, economic development plans for communities along the river, irrigation options, investments in modular nuclear power and new transmission lines, a path forward for measurable recovery of Idaho’s anadromous salmon and steelhead, which includes removing recovery oversight from BPA. And much more.
Only the earthen portions of the dams will be removed, leaving in place the concrete infrastructure if one day it is decided to turn the dams back on.
“Idahoans, no matter their background, will benefit from increased salmon and steelhead in our state’s rivers. From the small business owner in Clearwater County to the outfitter in the upper Salmon. Not only will Lewiston become the inland fishing capital of the northwest, it will be a hub of major economic activity with the investments this proposal makes. Its a game changer,” Brooks added.
“This is a only a proposal at this point, but my hope is that Idahoans come together and understand the way we do things now is leaving many of our friends and family behind. Let’s pick a new future – a new system – that works for all of us. I’m hopeful.”
Nowadays you’ll struggle to find many outdoor enthusiasts who aren’t familiar with “Leave No Trace” and the ethics embodied by the motto.
Designed as a framework to minimize the impact humans have when visiting the great outdoors, Leave No Trace guidelines are applicable to almost every recreational activity.
It’s important to familiarise yourself with the principles no matter how you plan to enjoy adventuring out into the wild. We all can take something from them.
This guide will walk you through where the Leave No Trace (LNT) movement came from, outline the seven principles that make up LNT ethics, and question whether it does enough to encourage people to preserve the environment.
Forest Service Washington Office Trail and Travel Management Programs January 2021 We are a forward-thinking team of trail professionals who embrace innovation and collaboration. We take strategic actions to leverage resources and develop program efficiencies that increase capacity at the field level in order to best serve the public. We are collaborative and open communicators who strive to promote relevancy, efficiency, transparency, and equity throughout the national trail program.
Forest Service Trail Program Partner Meeting
Brenda Yankoviak, the new Forest Service Trails program manager held a Partner meeting recently to introduce the current Trails Team and share trails information..
National Wilderness Skills Training Survey
The Forest Service is looking at ways to host a virtual National Wilderness Skills Training this spring. Here are the results of a survey to assess interest, topics, and issues with such a training.
Burk’s new book tells essential story of Montana’s wild places
What better thing could a bunch of old timers leave for us before taking off to those fabled “happy hunting grounds” than to tell us the story, and maybe show us a few pictures as well, of the most remarkable places they’ve been, the marvelous things they’ve seen, and the deep respect they’ve gained for everything wild in Montana. A couple of old timers, Dale Burk of Stevensville and Wayne Chamberlin of Helena, along with over 70 other writers and photographers, have done just that in the new book, “A Wild Land Ethic – The Story of Wilderness in Montana.”
Co-editors Burk and Chamberlin have managed to pull together a masterful collection of stories and photos from some of the most dedicated and influential wilderness advocates in the state, each one giving us a glimpse into the awesome majesty of the wild, informing us of its intrinsic value and conveying the need to protect Montana’s wildlife and wild places for future generations. The book is dedicated to the late Ken and Florence Baldwin of Bozeman, early advocates in Montana for wilderness preservation and founders of the Montana Wilderness Association.
In this instructional webinar led by Chip Noble, senior product manager at Garmin, we review the features and functionalities of each inReach device, as well as what types of activities each device is best suited for.
We also discuss inReach compatible Garmin apps and products, such as GPS watches and cycling computers.
Top Tips for Using inReach Devices in the Winter
More and more, people are finding ways to enjoy outdoor activities during the winter months. And while snowy landscapes can be beautiful, colder temperatures and drastic weather can become dangerous quickly. Here are our top tips for using inReach® satellite communication devices in the winter.
- Always pack your inReach. It can be even more important to carry an inReach device in the wintertime when equipment failure or minor injury can have much more serious consequences. Without the proper equipment, spending a night in the woods can have a very different outcome in the wintertime than it might in the summertime.
- Carry the inReach device inside your jacket and close to your body to keep it warm and extend the battery life when it’s cold, as all electronics have reduced battery performance at cold temperatures. We recommend storing it in an upper pocket for the best satellite connection.
- Plan the hike and hike the plan. That’s particularly important in the winter when cold temperatures and winter storms can slow or stop your progress. Use inReach tracking and your MapShare™ page to let your friends and family follow along during your trip. Send them a message if you are delayed and will be later than expected.
- Try to keep your gloves on when sending messages with your inReach Explorer®+ device or GPSMAP® 66i/GPSMAP 86i handheld. If you own an inReach Mini and pair it to your cellphone, carry a small touchscreen stylus on a lanyard around your neck so you can tap out a message without taking your gloves off. It only takes a few seconds to get cold fingers and lose the necessary dexterity to use your equipment.
- Take advantage of preset and quick text messages to save time, keep moving and stay warm in the winter. You can quickly send an “I’m checking in” preset message to friends and family, or reply to a message with a “Yes,” “No” or “Wish you were here” quick text.
- Carry the inReach device with you to have access to satellite weather forecasts anywhere in the world. Check for clear skies or approaching storms to make informed decisions about whether to start your activity or wait it out.
- If snow covers the trail, or if you encounter blizzard conditions or simply get lost, use the TracBack® feature on your device to navigate back to where you first started tracking.
- Spend less time dealing with your equipment in cold temperatures by pairing your phone to the Earthmate® or Garmin Explore™ app or your compatible Garmin wearable, prior to beginning your activity.
- For multiday trips, put your device in Extended Tracking or Expedition mode to extend the battery life. Or consider carrying a backup lithium battery pack for your device.
- If an emergency situation does occur, don’t hesitate to trigger an SOS for yourself, a party member or a third-party individual. In cold weather, every moment counts. Once an SOS is triggered, staff at GEOS, the Garmin-powered International Emergency Response Coordination Center (IERCC), will immediately begin coordinating a rescue response.
NOTICE: To access the Iridium satellite network for live tracking and messaging, including SOS capabilities, an active satellite subscription is required. Some jurisdictions regulate or prohibit the use of satellite communications devices. It is the responsibility of the user to know and follow all applicable laws in the jurisdictions where the device is intended to be used.
City Of Rocks Project
Wild & Scenic Salmon River Project
Imogene Lake, Sawtooth Wilderness Project (Squaw Butte will be doing pack support)
2021 modified project protocols for volunteers
As part of our membership drive, we are bringing you weekly updates about some of the programs your donations are helping to make happen!
These tools are OLD!
Since our humble beginnings in 2010, ITA volunteers have spent a decade maintaining hundreds of miles of non-motorized trail in Idaho. This means that our trail work tools have spent 10 years in the field cutting brush, digging tread, mining rock, and sawing logs. Every season our tools travel across the state, from project to project, enabling our volunteers in their stewardship of Idaho’s hiking trails. The current ITA cache is a hodgepodge of Forest Service hand-me-downs, donations from our Board and members, and additional tools paid for by supplemental grants.
These tools have served us well! Our tools traverse the ridges of the Frank Church Wilderness, summit the Sawtooth peaks, boat the wild Salmon and Snake rivers. They brave the snow and sizzle in the heat of summer. Hundreds of volunteers have taken their first Pulaski swing with an ITA tool. Our seasoned equipment has gotten crew after crew of like-minded Idahoans out in the woods to enjoy the best of what Idaho has to offer.
As ITA has continued its steady growth, our tools have been tasked with more and more. They’ve been spread thin. They’ve grown tired. There have been casualties. Every season a few of our hard-working tools succumb to the abuse they receive in their mission to keep Idaho’s trails open. Wobbly shovel heads and wonky pulaskis become the norm when tools are pushed to their breaking point. 2021 will see a continued expansion of our trail program and an increased demand on our tool cache.
With the addition of six week-long youth projects and two Women Only Week-longs, ITA will have more projects running concurrently than ever before. That’s why we are seeking to raise an additional $2,500 this year to fully outfit a 12-person crew with new tools. These tools will ensure that every volunteer that wants to help maintain Idaho’s trails has access to the tools to do so. This cache will allow us to retire some of our older tools that have served many seasons beyond their prime and help us avoid excessive tool-trailer shuttling. These tools will set up ITA for success in 2021!
Will you join us in supporting Idaho’s trails by becoming a member and helping us purchase the tools we need for a strong 2021 season? JOIN or RENEW your Membership
Schade, Nicholas E -FS <nicholas.schade@usda.gov>
Hello – On behalf of the Salmon-Challis and our trails staff, I wanted to extend a sincere thank you to all of our partners and volunteers who helped ensure that 2020 was a successful trail work season on the Salmon-Challis! In spite of the challenges that 2020 presented us all, collectively we were able to increase the trail miles maintained on the Salmon-Challis as compared to the past several years. We were able to maintain 1,181 miles in 2020. This is in large part to work completed, organized, and championed by our partners and volunteers. As many of you know, we received a few substantial grants and earmarks from the State of Idaho and the Forest Service Washington and Regional offices in the last few years to help us maintain our trails infrastructure. In many cases your support helped secure this funding for the Salmon-Challis and for you, our partners, to complete this important trails maintenance. With the Great American Outdoors Act being past this year, the Trails Stewardship Act (2016) and other recent attention on improving trail conditions, we will continue to need your support and assistance to help solve our trails issues. Thanks again for all of your help and we look forward to working with you as we head into 2021 and beyond.
Please feel free to share with others who I may have missed.
Best,
Nick Schade
https://groups.google.com/g/salmon-area-trails-group/c/rD6J3jODmQs/m/CSB5xnP9AQAJ?pli=1
A Senate Bill (S. 1695) by Senator Mike Lee, Utah which would allow mountain bikes in designated wilderness was given a hearing in early December. NWSA and other groups wrote opposing this and other measures which would weaken wilderness protections. Read more….
A coalition of groups is pushing to stop legislation in the U.S. Senate that would open wilderness areas to mountain bike use.
The coalition, which includes the American Hiking Society, Appalachian Trails Conservancy, National Wilderness Stewardship Alliance, and Pacific Crest Trail Association, maintains that there are enough trails open to mountain bikers without the need to allow them access to official wilderness.
“We strongly oppose S. 1695, and encourage subcommittee members to oppose this legislation as well,” the group said in a letter to U.S. Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, of the Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests and Mining, which has been considering the measure. “S. 1695 seeks to open federal wilderness areas to mountain biking, a clear violation of the 1964 Wilderness Act, the nation’s seminal conservation law. Most importantly, S. 1695 would threaten the character of the entire National Wilderness Preservation System by undermining our nation’s bedrock landscape conservation tool.”
Introduced by Lee in 2019, the Human-Powered Travel in Wilderness Areas Act would redefine “human travel” in official wilderness as that which does not involve a “propulsive internal or external motor with a nonliving power source.” When Lee introduced the measure, he said the access was needed to “enrich Americans’ enjoyment of the outdoors by expanding recreational opportunities in wilderness areas.”
Under the legislation, federal land managers — including the National Park Service — would be given the authority to decide whether to allow and how to regulate non-motorized travel in wilderness areas within their jurisdictions.
The Wilderness Act of 1964 prohibits the use of motor vehicles, motorized equipment, motorboats, and other forms of mechanical transport in officially designated wilderness.
In arguing againt the bill, the groups said the Wilderness Act “is more relevant today than ever before.”
“Our nation’s wilderness areas include only 5 percent of our nation’s public lands. In the lower 48 states, it’s merely 3 percent,” they noted. “The remaining 97 percent is open to motorized and mechanized recreation. Designated wilderness areas have a fundamentally different purpose than providing for motorized and mechanized access. In fact, that is the very purpose of the Wilderness Act – to provide for a few remote, pristine areas where nature prevails.”
They also pointed out that “(T)here remains a nearly inexhaustible supply of non-wilderness federal lands that are open to mountain biking and where additional mountain bike trails and opportunities continue to be created. In the last decade, new mountain biking trails have been developed at a historically rapid rate.” READ MORE
Bob Marshall: https://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2020/12/bob-marshalls-long-lost-arguments-for-wilderness.html
Boundary Waters: https://www.minnpost.com/community-voices/2020/12/saving-the-boundary-waters-is-key-to-solving-the-climate-and-extinction-crisis/
Millions of Americans breathed a deep sigh of relief in early November when Joe Biden was elected the 46th president of the United States — not only because he signified a return to order and normalcy from the lawlessness of the Trump administration, but also because of his focus on tackling the climate change crisis. It is a gigantic task — as large an undertaking as any that mankind has faced. Opportunities have been missed and progress delayed because of political intransigence. One opportunity that we must not miss, which is before us right now, is the opportunity to protect the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA) from the danger posed by sulfide-ore copper mining.
Banning this destructive mining from the headwaters of the Boundary Waters would deliver multiple benefits of the kind critical to addressing the climate and extinction crisis, including preserving carbon sequestration; avoiding the massive energy demand of large sulfide-ore copper mines and thus eliminating major new greenhouse gas sources; and preserving a 4.3-million-acre ecosystem that provides a refuge for species threatened by climate change.
The Boundary Waters region is vital for carbon sequestration.
The 4.3 million-acre Quetico-Superior region is primarily boreal forest. Boreal forests store more carbon than any other terrestrial ecosystem — almost twice as much per acre as tropical forests. Keeping carbon locked in these forests and out of the atmosphere is a vital part of the fight to keep warming below 2 degrees Celsius. According to a federal government report prepared for members and committees of Congress, each acre of terrestrial boreal forest stores on average about 180 tons of carbon in its vegetation and soils. Destruction of boreal forest for industrial mining is a double whammy — the release of much of that carbon into the atmosphere and the loss of the capacity of the land to take up carbon in the future. The loss is even greater if wetlands are destroyed. Soil carbon levels in wetlands are nearly double the level in the terrestrial boreal forest.
Mechanical destruction of vegetation and soil is not the only harm that would result from permitting copper mining; the carbon storage assets of the Boundary Waters region (surface vegetation, soils, wetlands, and peatlands) are incredibly vulnerable to acid mine drainage – the water pollution that inevitably results from sulfide-ore mining.
Protecting the Boundary Waters is critical for greenhouse gas emission avoidance.
A leading ally of Chilean mining conglomerate Antofagasta, which seeks to develop the Twin Metals copper mine, is Minnesota Power, a local utility that feeds a group of energy-devouring industrial customers. According to MinnPost, 74 percent of Minnesota Power’s electricity is sold to six taconite mines and four paper and pulp mills. Just one taconite mine alone needs roughly the same amount of energy as the City of Minneapolis. Minnesota Power is aggressively seeking to grow its industrial customer base with a Twin Metals copper mine next to the Boundary Waters. Although Minnesota Power has started to shift away from carbon, it has two coal-fired generators (Boswell plant), is seeking to build a $700 million gas plant, and may re-commission a coal-fired plant on the North Shore of Lake Superior.
An estimate of greenhouse gas emissions, based on a 2014 Prefeasibility Report for the proposed Twin Metals mine, is 23,444,730 metric tons of CO2 over a 20-year life of the mine. This is equal to greenhouse gas emissions from adding nearly 5 million passenger vehicles to the roads for one year.
The Boundary Waters is crucial for climate adaptation and resilience.
The Wilderness Society identified 74 places in the United States that are crucial to our ability to sustain biodiversity in the face of a changing climate. These areas have three essential characteristics: (1) an especially high degree of wildness; (2) connectivity to existing protected areas; and (3) diversity of unprotected species and ecosystem types. The analysis found that the Quetico-Superior region is one of the top places in the nation with this “Wildland Conservation Value.”
A recent study by The Nature Conservancy with similar findings underscores the necessity of keeping these areas intact and undeveloped. Consistent with this, The Nature Conservancy, The Conservation Fund, and The Trust for Public Land have acquired large swaths of land across northern Minnesota to keep them protected. Allowing the creation of an industrial mining zone in the watershed of the Boundary Waters would undermine the work that these and other organizations are doing to prepare us for the future.
The Boundary Waters — the heart of the Quetico-Superior region — is a vitally important regional and national asset. It is the most visited wilderness area in the United States. It is the largest wilderness area east of the Rocky Mountains and north of the Everglades. Sacrificing this unique and vital region to sulfide-ore copper mining would destroy not only an irreplaceable recreational and economic treasure, but what is also one of our best natural assets in the fight against climate change.
Becky Rom of Ely, Minnesota, is the national chair of the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters.
OVERWHELMING SPORTSMAN OPPOSITION TO LUCKY PEAK TRAIL
This summer, sportsmen and women rallied together to oppose the Army Corps of Engineers’ plan to construct the Lake View Trail near Lucky Peak Reservoir and within the Boise River Wildlife Management Area. IWF led the charge the organize our community push back on a project that punches through critical mule deer wintering habitat. Of the total comments received, 92% voiced opposition to the construction of the 15-mile multi-use trail.
IWF and many of our affiliate organizations expressed substantial concern about the trail proposal, including the lack of analysis of impacts to the largest migrating mule deer herd in the state and their winter habitat, increased fire risk, and the lack of enforcement during seasonal closures.
The Idaho Department of Fish & Game and the Idaho Fish & Game Commission also strongly voiced these concerns and deserve our continued support. This landscape was set aside decades prior specifically for wintering ungulates and is managed under a specific Wildlife Management Area Plan. Sportsmen and women, the Department, and the Commission are standing together to protect these investments, and the future viability of the land, wildlife, and sporting opportunities.
Last week, IWF staff welcomed the release of additional scientific data that further validates these positions. The map below was published by the USGS as part of their Ungulate Migrations of the Western United States report and outlines migration routes and stopovers of Idaho’s Blacks Creek-Danskin mule deer herd, the largest migrating herd of mule deer in the state. The Army Corps’ proposed Lake View Trail would bisect the western edge of this critical habitat.
To further highlight the importance of the greater landscape, tack on this additional migration identified just on the other side Lucky Peak Reservoir, as seen in the map below.
Hunters have shown that we turn heads if we unify and speak as one voice – often it is uncomfortable and unfamiliar, but this is what determines the future of our wildlife and sporting heritage. While reports like the newly released USGS publication should impact land management decisions, it is still essential that we, as hunters, raise our voices of the value of these landscapes to decision makers. As the Army Corps inches closer to a decision, IWF will continue to closely monitor this process.
To read our original blog on this issue, click here. Be sure to check out the full USGS Report to view more of Idaho’s important migrations!
BREAKING: ARMY CORPS DECIDES “NO ACTION” ON LUCKY PEAK TRAIL
The Army Corps of Engineers has just issued a “No Action” decision for the proposed Lake View Trail in critical big game wintering habitat near Boise. The No Action alternative decision is a tremendous win in the eyes of sportsmen and women who have fought for generations to protect Idaho’s largest migrating mule deer herd from encroachment of development.
The Army Corps’ proposed Lake View Trail was a 15-mile multi-use trail near the shores of Lucky Peak Lake and in the Boise River Wildlife Management Area. Idaho Wildlife Federation opposed the trail and expressed significant concerns over the trail proposal’s location, lack of enforceable seasonal closures, fire risk, and direct conflicts with Boise River Wildlife Management Plan’s management directions. IWF, along with our conservation partners, including the Upper Snake River Tribes Foundation, Idaho Department of Fish & Game, and the Idaho Fish & Game Commission raised these points to the Corps over several months- and the Corps’ Lt. Col. Childers listened. The Corps cited that the decision to take no action at this time was due to “the very high value some stakeholders place on the ecosystem outputs provided by the existing habitat conditions and traditional significance of the area.”
“Idaho Wildlife Federation welcomes the Corps’ decision to forgo plans to construct the Lake View Trail. The trail, as proposed, brought significant risks to the landscape utilized by our state’s largest migrating mule deer herd and would have undermined generations of conservation efforts dating back to the 1940s” said Brian Brooks, Executive Director of Idaho Wildlife Federation. “We will continue leading efforts to address the needs of wildlife amidst a rapidly expanding population in Idaho.”
The hills just beyond Boise to the East make up the Boise River Wildlife Management Area; highlighted in this USGS report of major ungulate migrations of the Western US. From as early as 1943, this landscape has been set aside specifically to protect the last remaining wintering grounds for mule deer and elk that migrate upwards of 100 miles to summer feeding grounds near the Sawtooths. This data is critical to showcase the value of conserving winter range at the terminal end of these annual migrations.
“IWF owes a huge thank you to the sportsmen and women who spoke up in opposition during the public comment period,” said Garret Visser, IWF’s Conservation Program Coordinator. “Conservation wins don’t come easy. It takes a lot of work to educate folks on an issue and organize them to take action, but it’s all for nothing if no one takes the step to voice their values. This decision was made possible by our voices echoing all the way to the Army Corps’ desks in Walla Walla.”
92% of submitted public comments opposed the construction of the trail. “Those numbers are remarkable,” concluded Visser. “Wildlife conservation is still such a uniting issue.”
Check out the Army Corps’ decision here.
People visit this area to experience the serenity and solitude of wilderness in the largest complex of congressionally designated wilderness areas in the lower 48 states. The designated wilderness areas in this priority area include the Frank Church-River of No Return, Gospel Hump, and most of the Selway-Bitterroot wilderness.
The majority of the 9,200 miles of trails in the priority area are in remote locations that make access to conduct routine trail maintenance difficult. Portions of the trail are currently impassable due to substantial deadfall and landslides created by wildfires and wind events.
The trail maintenance backlog and the impacts of wildfires have inspired the cooperation of wide-ranging organizations and entities in support of the trail system to improve public access. Together, the Nez Perce-Clearwater, Bitterroot, Payette, Boise, and Salmon-Challis National Forests and partners are meeting challenging conditions by leveraging limited federal trail maintenance budgets.
Download a map of the trail maintenance priority area (PDF)
Examples of Trail Maintenance Needs
- Remove hazard trees and logs over the trail
- Remove overgrown brush
- Repair and replace drainage structures
- Conduct general trail maintenance
- Complete trail reconstruction and reroutes
Our Partners
Partners supporting this priority area include:
- Idaho State Trail Ranger Program (Idaho State Department of Parks and Recreation)
- RTP Grants (Idaho State Department of Parks and Recreation)
- Idaho Department of Fish and Game
- Idaho Conservation League
- Idaho Outfitters and Guides Association
- Licensed and Permitted National Forest Outfitters
- Boise Forest Coalition
- Selway-Bitterroot Frank Church Foundation
- Idaho Trails Association
- Clearwater Basin Collaborative
- Backcountry Horsemen of Idaho
- Idaho Aviation Association
- Conservation Corps
- Montana Conservation Corps
- Idaho Conservation Corps
- Motorized User Groups
- Dust Devils
- High Mountain Trail Association
- High Country Snowmobile Club
- Idaho Pathfinders Association
- Valley Cats Snowmobile/ATV Club
- Lewis and Clark ATV Club
- Public Land Access Year-Round, PLAY
Learn More & Get involved!
To know more about trail maintenance efforts in this priority area, contact:
Kent Wellner, Regional Trail Leader
Email: kent.wellner@usda.gov
Phone: (406) 329-3150
Larry R. Velarde, Regional Trail Leader
Email: larry.velarde@usda.gov
Phone: (801) 625-5205
Adam Larson, Trails Supervisor
Payette National Forest, McCall Ranger District
p: 208-634-0419 adam.larson@usda.gov
Savannah Steele, Trail Supervisor
Boise National Forest, Lowman Ranger District
P: 208-259-3726 Savannah.Steele@usda.gov
Jascha Zeitlin, Recreation Specialist
Payette National Forest, West Zone
p: 208-549-4224 Weiser Ranger District
p: 208-253-0113 Council Ranger District
c: 801-831-9459 jascha.zeitlin@usda.gov
By Jerry Painter – The Post Register
Each year in late summer/early fall, chinook salmon travel more than 800 miles back from the ocean to scoop out gravel nests in the small streams of the central Idaho wilderness and deposit their eggs.
Idaho Fish and Game biologists are literally hovering over the streams and taking notes.
Fish and Game recently completed its 460-mile aerial helicopter survey of chinook salmon redds in the Frank Church – River of No Return Wilderness along the Middle Fork of the Salmon River and its tributaries. For five straight days, biologists flew at tree-top height above streams to count redds. What they found was encouraging.
Biologists counted 467 nests, better than last year’s 161.
“It’s a definite improvement over last year,” said fisheries biologist Conor McClure who participated in the count. “Still below the (average) of the past 25 years. That’s kind of the way it goes. You have peaks and valleys. It was up this year, and we hope it will continue.”
Redd numbers have peaked at more than 2,000 back in 2003. The past four years have seen counts plummet to a few hundred or less. Last year’s count of 161 was one of the lowest since the surveys began. Fish and Game said information collected during the surveys helps make predictions about future returns, monitor trends over time, and guide management decisions.
McClure said recent alarms of plunging salmon numbers have Idaho Fish and Game working to improve habitat to help chinook produce more fish.
“One thing I can say that we are doing here and have been doing for a long time is habitat improvement,” he said. “There has been some research that has indicated that one thing that could benefit the population that we can control on our end is natal habitat for juvenile chinook.”
McClure said projects to improve nursery streams for fish are underway in the Lemhi, North Fork of the Salmon and Pahsimeroi rivers and tributaries.
“There are a lot of factors that affect (salmon),” he said. “Commercial fishing, dams in terms of out-migrating and return has an influence, ocean conditions, recreational fishing, predation, things that can and do affect them. On our end our big thing is restoring habitat.”
Salmon deposit 4,000 to 15,000 eggs in each redd, but after hatching and traveling to the ocean and back through a gauntlet of hazards, “only a handful return from each redd,” McClure said.
“It’s a numbers game for fish,” he said. “That’s how they do it. Instead of having one young to nurture to the ocean and back, they throw out a bunch of eggs so that some will make it back. In terms of biology, if they are at least replacing themselves, then it works. If they do better than that, the population grows.”
The Board of Directors is excited to announce that Melanie Vining has accepted the position as ITA’s new Executive Director! Melanie is a backcountry enthusiast with a strong passion for hiking, Idaho’s public lands, and helping to keep our trails open. She lives in Council with her husband Dave and two sons Wyatt and Wade. Her diverse background includes serving as a high school teacher, working for the Forest Service early on as a smokejumper and later as a zone hydrologist. She was instrumental in creating the Council High School Youth Crew, teaching youth life skills while helping assist the forest on projects. Melanie has also served on several Boards of non-profits. She began working with ITA in 2019 as a crew leader for our first Youth Trail Crew trip and has been an active ITA volunteer since then. Melanie brings a solid set of leadership skills to the job and the Board and Staff are looking forward to working with her starting in early January. Welcome to the ITA family, Melanie!
Three Blaze Trail
December 3, 6pm PST/ 7pm MST
Join the Payette National Forest Heritage Program for a virtual presentation on the Three Blaze Trail. Built in 1902 by homesteaders and horsemen, the trail delivered miners to the town of Roosevelt and the Thunder Mountain mines. ITA volunteers from the Three Blaze Trail survey project will also share stories and photos from their recent survey trip. Learn more about this historic trail by signing up here.
Jeff Halligan Virtual Retirement Party
December 17, 6pm PST/ 7pm MST
Join us for an evening of celebrating Executive Director Jeff Halligan and sending him off into a happy retirement. Sign up to join this Zoom event here.
November 21, 2020 was a blue bird day for penguins, at 10:00 it was 33 degrees at my home, but the urge to get in one last ride while the roads are not snow covered was too great. I was curious about the Woodland Fire near Cambridge, so I dress for cold riding and headed for the Brownlee campground to see what damage was done on Cuddy Mountain. There is fire damage on both sides of Highway 71, but most was on the north side. There are still hot spots that the rain and snow have not completely put out yet, but it is very unlikely they can spread. No building along the road were damaged, but the black goes right to the edge of some of them. Cuddy is a patch work, black areas but also a lot of unburned areas.
Brownlee Camp ground did burn, but most of the big trees should be ok, in that area it mostly burned the brush. No idea what the condition of the trail on that part of the mountain are like, something to check out next summer.
The Woodhead Fire burned almost 100,000 acres to date and is now 100% contained. The burned area is located east of Council, Idaho including lands in the Payette National Forest. Starting September 28, a team of Forest Service specialists conducted field assessments to determine the need for burned area emergency response (BAER) treatments. Specialists included hydrology, soils, engineering, botany, range, recreation, fisheries, archeology, and wildlife. BAER is a specific effort to reduce further damage due to the land being temporarily exposed in a fragile condition. Loss of vegetation exposes soil to erosion; water runoff may increase and cause flooding; sediment may move downstream and damage houses or fill reservoirs, putting habitat and community water supplies at risk. The BAER program is designed to address these situations through the key goals of protecting life, property, water quality, and deteriorated ecosystems.
Led by West Zone Hydrologist Melanie Vining, the Woodhead Fire BAER Team uses satellite imagery of the burned area to classify the landscape into low, moderate, and high soil burn severity. The fire on the forest burned in a mosaic pattern with most of the burned area classified as unburned, low severity, or moderate severity. The burned area was initially classified using the satellite imagery and adjustments in classification were made based on ground surveys to yield a final soil burn severity map.
The entire burned area is mapped, though the field work and treatments identified by the Forest Service BAER Team are limited to only the acres of burned area on the Payette National Forest. A BAER Plan summarizing the assessment results and describing the proposed treatments has been prepared and is pending approval. Approved treatments will be implemented over the next 12 months using federal dollars on federal lands. Areas of concern for watershed impacts are in places that experienced higher burn severity, namely in Crooked River, No Business Basin, and Brownlee Creek.
After the fire burn severity map is completed and the BAER treatment plan is approved additional information will be provided to the public. While the BAER program does not prescribe treatments on non-federal lands, the assessment and hydrologic risk analysis can be useful to adjacent and downstream landowners to inform their own range of possible treatments. The Woodhead BAER team continues to share information with County officials and other agencies who in turn coordinate with affected landowners.
Great American Outdoors Act Virtual Sensing Opportunity
The USDA Forest Service is moving forward with implementation of the Great American Outdoors Act, which will enable federal land managers to take aggressive steps to address deferred maintenance and other infrastructure projects on national forests and grasslands through 2025.
The Forest Service will use these funds to maximize the benefits experienced by millions of Americans who visit and use their national forests. Projects funded by this act will focus on improving conditions on forest and rangelands, reducing wildfire risk, and increasing the resiliency of our nation’s forests for present and future generations.
The Forest Service is inviting the public to provide feedback on the projects that are under consideration to be prioritized for funding in Fiscal Year 2022. This opportunity is intended to serve only as a virtual listening session via solicitation of public feedback. Feedback provided will become part of the project record. A response to the feedback submitted during this opportunity will not be provided. Projects selected for funding will be compliant with the National Environmental Policy Act. Public notification and engagement on the selected projects will occur as required by regulation.
The following is a list of proposed projects for the Intermountain Region. Your feedback is requested by Nov. 30, 2020.
Please note that this project list includes projects submitted for funding consideration under the agency’s National Asset Management Program, which includes funding available under the Capital Improvement and Maintenance and Federal Land Transportation Program.
The public has until Nov. 30, 2020 to review and provide feedback on the proposed list. For more details on how to submit your feedback, visit: https://cara.ecosystem-management.org/Public/CommentInput?project=NP-2648.
News Release: USDA Forest Service Invites Public Feedback on Proposed List of Deferred Maintenance Projects for Fiscal Year 2022
The company owned by a pair of Texas Billionaires who bought up significant land holdings in Idaho in recent years – listed a big chunk of it for sale.
The property listing comes to light as another for-profit company hopes to convince State of Idaho leaders to transfer control of a similarly-sized piece of property nearby.
Dan and Farris Wilks’ Wilks Ranch Brokers listed a 48-square-mile piece of property to the west of McCall for sale last year. The property, which the Wilks’ call McCall Red River Ranch, is the largest piece of property for sale by the firm. Last year, the Idaho Statesman estimated the Wilks’ own more than 300 square miles of land across the state.
“At over 30,000 contiguous deeded acres, McCall Red Ridge Ranch is a scenic mountain timber ranch nestled in the stunning Payette National Forest,” Wilks Ranch Brokers says of the offering on its website. “Overlooking and adjacent to the major tourist town of McCall, Idaho, the ranch has uniquely positioned mountain ranges… A unique and rare first time offering, this recreational and productive ranch is full of water, timber, big game, and endless division and subdivision possibilities.”
WATCH VIDEO
The Pacific Southwest Region’s Pack Stock Center of Excellence is an innovative program that honors Forest Service tradition while addressing current and future needs. This 12-minute video shows how horses and mules have been used in the agency since its inception. With the passage of the 1964 Wilderness Act, which generally prohibits motorized equipment and mechanized transport in these areas, packing has become the key method of transportation for both people and supplies into the backcountry for increasingly important work.
The inReach product line is growing! Join us at 3:30 p.m. ET, Nov. 19, for a live inReach webinar featuring Chip Noble, senior product manager at Garmin. We’ll review the features and functionalities of each inReach device as well as what types of activities each device is best suited for. As always, we’ll save time for your questions.
Miss a previous newsletter? Here are some of the recent stories we shared:
- Webinar recording: inReach Best Practices Webinar
- Podcast: A Plane Crash in the Idaho Backcountry
- The 5,000th inReach SOS: A Whitewater Rafting Emergency
- Remote Alaskan Lodge Uses inReach for Epic Adventures
Read more about exploring the outdoors on the Garmin blog.