Backcountry Musings

Imagine visiting Yellowstone this summer. You wake up before dawn to take a picture of the sunrise over the mists emanating from Yellowstone hot springs. A thunderhead towers above the rising sun, and the picture turns out beautifully. You submit the photo to a contest sponsored by the National Weather Service. Under a statute signed into law by the Wyoming governor this spring, you have just committed a crime and could face up to one year in prison.

Wyoming doesn’t, of course, care about pictures of geysers or photo competitions. But photos are a type of data, and the new law makes it a crime to gather data about the condition of the environment across most of the state if you plan to share that data with the state or federal government.

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Wyoming law against data collection: Protecting ranchers by ignoring the environment.

Poker Ride-2

2015 NBM report

Dear Friend,

I am participating in The 20th Annual Diabetes Ride on May 17, 2015, in support of Camp Hodia, which provides a wonderful service to Idaho Kids with Type 1 Diabetes. I am committed to raising much-needed funds to support this worthy cause, and with your help through pledging, and sharing this link with friends and family, we can all help make a big difference in the lives of Idaho Kids!

You can quickly and easily make a tax-deductible donation today through my secure fundraising website: Cini’s Fundraising Page where your gift will make a big difference for Idaho kids. Any amount, large or small, is greatly appreciated as is your willingness to forward this on and request others help as well.

If you would like to take a few minutes and learn more about Camp Hodia, please view this YouTube video or perhaps check out their website: www.camphodia.org and perhaps even join in your own pledge raising campaign for this amazing organization!
Thank you!

P.S. If you have any questions or if you would prefer to donate by check or cash, please contact me directly.

Cini Baumhoff
208-870-1449
cinibaumhoff@yahoo.com

2014 Volunteer Hours Report
2014 BCHA Volunteer Hours Report Summary

By Rocky Barker

Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell has an answer when he hears state leaders call on the U.S. Forest Service to do more logging and other forest treatments to reduce the size of wildfires.

“We are doing more and we’re doing it for less money,” Tidwell said in an interview with the Idaho Statesman on Thursday.

The Forest Service has reduced its nonfirefighting staff by 39 percent since 2000. But its Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program alone has treated 1.45 million acres over the past five years and harvested 1.2 billion board feet of timber from national forests.

The program funnels money to projects that were developed with local residents, the timber industry, conservation groups, sportsmen and Indian tribes. These groups, such as the Clearwater Basin Collaborative and the Payette Forest Coalition, make the projects easier to complete because they have broad community support, Tidwell said.

“Without this we wouldn’t have been able to take on the scale of these projects,” he said.

He’s asking Congress for $20 million more annually so he can expand beyond the 23 existing projects to other forests and groups seeking to work together. Eventually Tidwell said he envisions the collaborative model approved by Congress in 2009 used to manage the Forest Service’s entire 193 million acres of forests and grasslands. That includes about 20 million acres in Idaho.

“We’ve built enough trust so we can move forward and make this the norm,” Tidwell said.

In Idaho, the Weiser-Little Salmon project has resulted in four timber contracts since 2012, which has allowed the Evergreen lumber mill near New Meadows to add a second shift and create 15 new jobs.

One contract that’s halfway completed generated 3.4 million board feet of timber, enough to build 5,000 homes. The $690,000 that Evergreen paid for the timber goes back into restoration, road closings and wildlife habitat improvement.

The Selway-Middle Fork forest restoration project in the Clearwater Basin received $16 million, which has been augmented by $13 million in matching funds. It is generating $14 million in labor income, reducing fire risk on 16,000 acres, treating weeds on 16,800 acres more and improving 16,000 acres of wildlife habitat.

“Forest restoration efforts are now demonstrating a track record of creating jobs, reducing the threat of wildfires and improving forest health on our public lands,” said U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo, who helped advance the Clearwater Basin Collaborative. “Collaborative efforts like these get us back to work in our forests and are one step, among others, we need to take to restore the economies of our rural counties.”

That doesn’t mean the states can’t help. A “good neighbor” policy expanded by Congress in the last farm bill allows states to work with the Forest Service to get projects done. Oregon is paying millions to crews who mark trees for sales. Montana is paying for the environmental reviews on some sales to get them moving. In Washington’s Colville National Forest, a large landscape restoration project is going out to bid, with the buyer paying for the environmental review in exchange for the wood products from the project.

The Idaho Legislature approved a Senate resolution calling for Idaho’s congressional delegation to help increase funding and develop agreements whereby the state could carry out restoration efforts on some federal lands.

Tidwell, who attended Capital High School, was in Boise to address a conference on wildland fire safety. Safety will be especially important this year, with warm temperatures across the West melting the snowpack early.

Tidwell expects another long fire season, and that’s why he hopes Congress approves a bill that will stop him from having to take money from other programs to fight fires. That will improve the agency’s efficiency, he said. “It’s past time for us to treat these large fires as a national disaster,” Tidwell said.

He hears critics saying he and other decision-makers should return to the levels of timber harvests that took place in the 1970s and 1980s. The Forest Service needs to get “more work done,” Tidwell said, but can’t go back to those levels.

“I think we’re doing a better job than we ever did,” he said.

Click  to watch video

Guest Opinion: Infrastructure is key to healthy, growing forests

April 20, 2015

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Federal authorities have made public the final management plan for six wilderness areas and 16 wild and scenic river segments in southwestern Idaho, starting a 30-day appeals process.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management on Monday published on the Federal Register the Owyhee Canyonlands Wilderness and Wild & Scenic Rivers Management Plan.

The process allows for appeals to be made during the next 30 days concerning the state’s newest wilderness areas that include about 518,000 acres and 325 miles of wild and scenic river in Owyhee County. The six rugged areas became federally protected preserves in 2009 after U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, cobbled together a coalition of ranchers, wilderness advocates, outdoor enthusiasts and others in an effort called the Owyhee Initiative.

“This is certainly a milestone, and we’re looking forward to reviewing the document and seeing if it’s captured the intent of the Owyhee Initiative,” said John Robison of the Idaho Conservation League. “It’s the kind of wilderness area we’re going to keep as it is. Come if you’re up for it.”

The 99-page federal document contains rules ranging from floating on rivers, hunting and grazing livestock.

“The purpose is not to have improvements,” said MJ Byrne, spokeswoman for the Bureau of Land Management’s Boise District, who emphasized visitors need to be self-sufficient. “The purpose is to keep its wild, wilderness character.”  Wilderness list & maps

Kevin Lewis of Idaho Rivers United said he hadn’t had time to review the document. Members of the Owyhee Cattlemen’s Association didn’t respond to emails from The Associated Press on Monday.

The sweeping land-use package added six wilderness areas and opened other previously off-limits areas to motorized recreation, livestock grazing and other activities. It also provided ranchers with cash and federal land in exchange for giving up private land and giving up grazing rights on some public land.

Grazing remains on portions of the wilderness, and there are both private and state land inholdings. Byrne said ranchers during the last five years have sold property that’s been added to the wilderness. Numbers weren’t available Monday.

Byrne also said Idaho and federal officials are working on a land swap to trade state land within the wilderness for federal land outside of it. But she described that process as in its formative stage.

While wilderness designations generally prohibit mechanized equipment, it will be allowed in some areas associated with pre-existing rights, the plan says. The final plan also prohibits goats as stock animals and domestic sheep grazing to protect California bighorns in the wilderness from potential diseases.

If an appeal is filed, the group filing the appeal has 30 days to supply a reason. Byrne said an appeal starts a review process.

The six wilderness areas are the 50,929-acre Little Jacks Creek Wilderness, the 12,533-acre Pole Creek Wilderness, the 42,413-acre North Fork Owyhee Wilderness, the 267,328-acre Owyhee River Wilderness, the 52,826-acre Big Jacks Creek Wilderness, and the 89,996-acre Bruneau-Jarbidge Rivers Wilderness.

Some areas are only about 45 minutes south of Boise, but other portions are more remote with little access. Byrne said it’s not clear if the wilderness designation increased travel to the area.

“(The plan) does provide for full stewardship of the treasure of the Owyhee Canyonlands,” Byrne said. “And they are treasures.”

Like many people, I was bewildered that U.S. Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch recently voted in favor of a resolution that could allow the transfer of federal lands to states.

For the record, I think it’s a long shot at best the federal government will ever transfer title of its lands, but I will get to that later. It still concerns me that Idaho’s two senators are deaf to Idahoans’ loud-and-clear message to protect and preserve our public lands.

It’s an issue that unites a bear hunter in Orofino with a backcountry skier in Ketchum. Both know how important those lands are to the fabric of Idaho’s communities. Public lands keep people grounded in rural communities and drive others to leave cities to recreate and renew themselves in Idaho’s backcountry. If there’s a non-debatable motherhood-and-apple-pie issue in Idaho, it ought to be public lands.

What’s equally baffling is why these two senators would vote for this misguided legislation. Both have shown leadership and wisdom in managing federal lands. Crapo spent years crafting a balanced and comprehensive package for the Owyhee Initiative that satisfied a broad swath of Idaho’s citizenry from ranchers to backpackers and ATV riders to bighorn sheep hunters.

“The best way to make decisions about our environment and land is through cooperation and collaboration, and we have done that with the Owyhee Initiative proposal,” Crapo said after its passage.

Now he seems to be favoring a hostile takeover instead of “cooperation and collaboration.”

As for Risch, during his brief stint as Idaho’s governor, he put to rest a decades-old struggle over Idaho’s roadless lands by making most of them off limits to intensive development while loosening restrictions that made some lands challenging to manage. The Clinton administration signed off on Risch’s plan, and many called it a model for other states to follow in dealing with their roadless federal lands.

Earlier this month in the Statesman, Crapo tried to explain his recent vote with the Republican majority in a party-line 51-49 vote by saying that laying the groundwork for transferring federal lands doesn’t mean he actually supports doing it. That sounds a lot like the squishy substance that sticks to my truck’s tires when I drive through a cow pasture.

Risch has been quiet about his vote. Maybe he’s hoping it will blow by like a spring rainstorm and the sun will keep shining in his political world, but I think there’s a bigger storm brewing than either realize.

If Western politicians want to hitch their wagon to a losing proposition, transferring or selling federal lands is it. I think it’s an issue that will goad apathetic voters to the polls and make people vote across party lines. Selling the Forest Service and BLM lands where Idahoans camp, fish, hunt, hike, ski, snowmobile, ride motorcycles, ATVs, mountain bikes and horses, where they go for picnics, Sunday drives and to pick huckleberries, is just a bad idea.

Sell off granny’s secret huckleberry spot at your own peril, senators.

The idea of federal lands being traded or sold off has been around since the 1970s during the failed “sagebrush rebellion.” It was a bad idea then, and I would venture it’s an even bigger loser now brought on by politicians a little too comfortable in their seats, or who are trying to make a name for themselves more for political reasons than practical ones.

Look at Texas senator and presidential candidate Ted Cruz, for example. He can pander to the Tea Party crowd without worrying about the backlash from his home state because Texas is less than 2 percent federal lands.

I expect this nonsense from the Statehouse. Demanding the feds to turn over about 62 percent of Idaho’s land it manages is good political theater. It may win votes in places like Custer County, where about 90 percent of the county is federally owned, and they aren’t happy with how it’s managed.

It’s a jaded, cynical attempt to turn back the clock. Because this isn’t about who owns the lands, it’s about how the lands are managed. There’s a sad sentiment that lingers among some Idahoans that if we could go back to Grandpa’s days, all would be good in Idaho. Mostly it’s in rural Idaho that has leaked jobs and population for decades, and the “Feds” are supposedly to blame.

That attitude has become toxic, and it’s what fuels people like Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy to nearly start a modern range war because he didn’t want to pay the federal government for grazing fees he owed.

It also ignores the fact that federal lands are owned by all Americans, not just those who live near them in the West. Show me the benefit of land transference to a family from back East who wants to go rafting on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River. When they’re awed by the rugged, pristine beauty of the Middle Fork, I doubt they will clamor for the federal government to turn it over to the state.

Mainly, it won’t fly because it’s bad policy, and I think the majority of Idahoans will rise up and loudly reaffirm that. That’s not to say I have no gripes with the current management of federal lands. Most are under-managed, under-funded and borderline neglected. I think, even when we agree locally and nationally on what’s good management for federal lands, getting anything to change is a byzantine, glacial process mired in red tape.

But Crapo and Risch have shown the ability to navigate that bureaucracy and come out the other side with something lasting and meaningful that benefits Idahoans. It’s not easy, but it’s a better option than aligning with wingnuts and their hot-breathed, hostile-take-over rhetoric that’s doomed to failure because it’s a stupid, far-fetched idea borne out of frustration rather than reality.

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Transporting Livestock in Idaho         EIA MOU ID_WA_OR

***Please read below the word from the State of Idaho***
It means you no longer need a coggins test on your horse when traveling in or between IDAHO, OREGON & WASHINGTON. However, you DO need a Health Certificate signed by a veterinarian and a permit number (obtained thru a vet for Washington & Oregon). This is good news and should save everyone some time and money if just traveling the Northwest this summer!

The Idaho State Department of Agriculture has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the states of Washington and Oregon to allow an exemption to the EIA test requirement on horses moving between the 3 states. The MOU is attached.

Effective April 6, 2015 – Equine moving between the states of Idaho, Oregon and Washington are exempt from having a current EIA (Coggins) test prior to movement. All equine are still required to have an interstate Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (iCVI or Health Certificate) prior to interstate movement. This testing exemption applies only to equine traveling between the states of Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

Please contact the ISDA with any questions at 208-332-8540.

The thing about scams and the people behind them is that they are often successful. Some scams are easy to spot, such as the Nigerian cousin you didn’t know you had who is in immediate and dire need of wired cash. The best scams — the ones that fool people — are more subtle, such as reckless efforts to convince Idahoans and other Western state residents that our public lands system is broken and that we all should give up our rights by transferring shared national lands to the states.

Arguments asserting states’ rights have been made to appeal to strong federalist sensibilities in Idaho. Statements that the federal system is broken and the state can fix it sound awfully appealing. But the state land grab isn’t about states’ rights; it’s about your rights to access your public lands.

Rarely do those in the west hold up Eastern states as places we ought to mimic. Advocates of taking away public land in Idaho have declared that Western states, unlike our fortunate Eastern brethren, got a raw deal when our country was formed, because we have less private and state land within our borders. According to these advocates, New Jersey and Maryland got it right, and Idaho got it wrong. In their view, having millions of acres where we all can camp, hike, fish and hunt without having to ask a landowner for permission means Idaho got it wrong.

Let me paint a picture of what it would be like if public lands are turned over to the state. Expect that all recreation uses will be subservient to extractive uses. State of Idaho lands are not public lands and are managed for maximum economic return, by constitutional mandate. Be ready for your favorite camping spot to be closed off, and don’t be upset if your hunting spot is now posted with a “no trespassing” sign. You may even find an oil rig or mining operation behind that sign.

Idahoans don’t travel to Maryland to go hunting, and rarely do we travel to New York to go camping. People from back East come here — and dream about the chance — to chase a wild bull elk or raft the Middle Fork of the Salmon, because we have what they don’t: access and wide-open spaces. We live in a place where money doesn’t buy your ability to hunt, fish, raft, bike, hike or ride your motorized vehicle. If you think the smoke and mirrors of state management won’t change that, think again.

The state Legislature has been “studying” the ability of the state to take public lands for the past two years. The state would have to either jack up taxes or sell public land to pay for management, because there is absolutely no way the state can afford to pay the estimated $111 to $390 million per-year cost to manage public lands. Sane minds would have thought it ended there, but recently the Idaho House of Representatives passed a compact bill (HB 265), joining other special interest lobbying groups, to spend your taxpayer dollars fighting to take your public lands. Just last week, Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch voted in favor of a budget measure that would facilitate the sale of public lands.

If this sounds crazy, it is. Yet the scam continues.

The next time your elected official tells you they support the state of Idaho taking over your public lands, tell them to keep their hands off your property. Public lands are yours and mine, and nobody has any business telling us what we can do with our land.

Brad Brooks is a longtime Idaho hunter, climber and outdoorsman. He works for The Wilderness Society in Boise.

by Sarah Wynne Jackson

Back Country Horsemen of America protects our right to ride horses on public lands in a wide variety of ways across the country. They believe in putting a priority on the things that really matter, such as making our beautiful landscape accessible to all users and developing partnerships that help us accomplish that. BCH folks know there’s value in lending a hand, even on projects that don’t directly benefit horse users.

Building Relationships

Sometimes building relationships means pitching in even if you have to leave your horses at home. The Uinta Basin Chapter of Back Country Horsemen of Utah have been looking for ways to get involved with trail work in Dinosaur National Monument. This National Park Service property along the Colorado and Utah border consists of 210,000 acres of river canyons, mountains, and basins that support over a thousand different native species of plants and animals. The Utah side also boasts dinosaur fossils and the world renowned Carnegie Fossil Quarry.

Although horseback riding is not yet allowed in Dinosaur National Monument, the Uinta Basin Chapter BCH contacted the land managers to offer their assistance with trail maintenance. Because of Back Country Horsemen of America’s reputation, they were told a face-to-face meeting was not necessary and were asked to help with work on a hiking trail. Uinta Chapter Back Country Horsemen members met with hikers, youth volunteers, and NPS em¬ployees to build rock cairns and a rock stair step on the busy Sound of Silence hiking trail.

After a long work day, BCH members discussed with the land managers the possibility of a horse trail in Dinosaur National Monument and were invited to meet formally for further discussion. Lending a hand where it’s needed, regardless of personal interests, builds a rapport that benefits everyone. The Uinta Basin Chapter of Back Country Horsemen of Utah will continue nurturing this relationship, making a way for us to enjoy this stunning landscape by horseback.

Preserving History

Back Country Horsemen of America values our country’s past and welcomes opportunities to preserve it. Managers of the Salmon-Challis National Forest recently began restoration of the Norton Ridge Lookout in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. This abandoned cabin sits on an open mountaintop at nearly 8500 feet elevation. Constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933 to house fire spotters, it is eligible to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Treasure Valley Chapter of Back Country Horsemen of Idaho eagerly participated in the project which was carried out under the super¬vision of Archaeologist John Rose from the Challis office of the Salmon-Challis National Forest. Their purpose was to begin the restoration work necessary to maintain the cabin’s historical value and for the use and enjoyment of the structure by the US Forest Service and the public.

Treasure Valley Chapter BCH’s first task was to pack in wood shingles to be stored inside the cabin for re-roof¬ing at a future date. They trucked their horses and equipment seven hours to the trailhead at Meyer’s Cove. From there, they rode and led their pack animals 14 miles along Camas Creek to the spot where it flows into the Middle Fork of the Salmon River. The next day the group rode 11 miles upstream along the Middle Fork River to the Sim¬plot Ranch and airstrip, where the shingles were delivered by plane.

At this point, it was learned that the 11 mile trail from the airstrip to the cabin had not been cleared. Most of the TVBCH group spent four days clearing the trail and packing the shingles up to the cabin. It took another two days to pack out to the trailhead and return home. Despite the long trip and various challenges, the Treasure Valley Chapter of Back Country Horsemen enjoyed taking part in an important historic project.

About Back Country Horsemen of America

BCHA is a non-profit corporation made up of state organizations, affiliates, and at-large members. Their efforts have brought about positive changes regarding the use of horses and stock in wilderness and public lands.

If you want to know more about Back Country Horsemen of America or become a member, visit their website: www.bcha.org; call 888-893-5161; or write PO Box 1367, Graham, WA 98338-1367. The future of horse use on public lands is in our hands!

Since 2009, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the University of Idaho 4-H Youth Development have
partnered to offer an educational opportunity and fundraiser for Idaho 4-H Horse Clubs. 4-H members gentle and train weanlings (ages 4 months to 8 months).

This year, eight 4-H horse clubs picked out weanling mustangs in February, to gentle and train. 4-H youth and their weanlings will compete at the Expo in an In-Hand Trail competition class in the D & B Supply Round Pen, on Saturday 2:45 – 3:30, and Sunday, 9:15 – 10:00.

A demonstration will also be held on Sunday, in the Boot Barn Main Arena, Noon – 1:00. These weanlings will be up for adoption, by silent auction, on Sunday, after 2:00 pm. All proceeds from the adoption over $25 will go back to the individual 4-H clubs to help cover the cost of the training program, and other events.

Through this hugely successful partnership, BLM has adopted over 100 wild mustangs to loving families and homes from across Idaho. The program has raised approximately $10,000 for the 4-H youth and their clubs’ activities.

Roland Cheek’s Stories        Roland’s Facebook Page

About The Dogged and the Damned:

A tale inspired by the tragic story of a World War 11 combat soldier suffering the effects of what was, at the time, a little studied psychological impairment that, today, we call Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It’s about a federal veterans psychiatric hospital and its well-meaning staff. And it’s about the soldier’s war at home as he repeatedly escaped confinement to live by his wits in the wilds. The story includes the efforts of a county law enforcement agency sometimes bewildered in its ongoing attempts to capture a fugitive the media sensationalized as a “Wild Man.” It’s a tale of people in a place and at a time when the author came to manhood amid that hospital’s nearby valleys and surrounding forest and mountains.

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By ERIC MELSON

February 20, 2015

The next generations of conservationists want to hike and explore wild landscapes like the Boulder-White Clouds, just as the first travelers who discovered them. The only difference is we use fancier equipment.

My generation, the “millennials,” hikes, backpacks and floats the wilderness just like our forefathers have. But advances in materials and technology now allow us to go farther and lighter than ever before. You can now pack two weeks of food and gear into a 65-liter pack that weighs only 30 pounds. I know this because for the last six years I worked as a wilderness ranger in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness and spent my summers backpacking while clearing trail with cross-cut saws and axes.

I consider myself a public servant, care taking wilderness for the benefit of all Americans. I love wild places just as much as anyone else, but that doesn’t mean I’ve sold off my mountain bikes because they’re nonconforming uses in wilderness.

The traditional conservation demographic has shifted. Instead of just backpackers, hunters, anglers, boaters and climbers speaking up for healthy landscapes, mountain bikers are voicing their concerns about access to and protection of America’s wild places. Adrenalin-fueled activities piloted by younger activists should now have a seat at the table. So what does that look like for the future of conservation and our beloved Boulder-White Clouds?

It means a community approach to management on a trail-by-trail basis. It means reaching across the table to negotiate for the benefit of the landscape – not to benefit a particular party or interest. It means being flexible, patient and professional.

The Wood River Bike Coalition working with the International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA), The Wilderness Society, Idaho Conservation League, Outdoor Alliance, along with numerous other organizations, 46 businesses, and local county and state officials all support a national monument because of its ability to reflect Idahoans’ broad interests. A monument delivers the conservation objectives, while also preserving prime recreational opportunities.

The Obama administration, like them or not, has proved it wants to hear and consider local sentiment before moving forward, and any action will be based off decades of local involvement. Well, the BWC have been a conservation topic for the last 40 years; Rep. Mike Simpson’s CIEDRA bill was introduced over a decade ago, and reintroduced several times since.

And while the latest iteration of CIEDRA is a noble attempt, it has yet to result in a bill that represents the full interests of Idahoans. Now more than ever, there are additional recreation pressures that need to be considered. National monument status is sensical, does not need legislative approval and has room to negotiate travel planning for all parties, especially mountain bikers.

The collaborative group has worked together to find a balance – ensuring sensitive areas get heightened protection to safeguard critical habitat, yet allowing mountain bikes to access some of the most distinctive backcountry rides in the country. This community-based approach is the future of conservation. A national monument is the Idaho solution.

The millennial generation has just as much, I would wager more, skin in the game to decide the future of the Boulder-White Clouds as any of the old guard. We’re the ones who will end up managing it, maintaining it and ultimately paying for it. And yes, it’s true, management comes at a price, but to us the price of protection in perpetuity is worth it. #MonumentsMatter #GetLoudForTheClouds

Eric Melson, of Boise, served as the Frank Church program director for the Selway-Bitterroot Frank Church Foundation from 2010 to 2015. He is a graduate of Colorado State University.

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Our next National Monument: Idaho’s Boulder-White Clouds (Feb 27, 2015)
By former Rep. Larry LaRocco (D-Ida.)

Last week was historic with three more national monument designations: Pullman in Chicago, Honouliuli in Hawaii and Browns Canyon in Colorado. President Obama has now designated 16 national monuments using the executive authority of the Antiquities Act. The Antiquities Act gives the President authority to permanently protect places of natural, cultural and historic value and, as an Idahoan who loves the outdoors, I support the Boulder-White Clouds as national monument number 17.

The congressional efforts to save Central Idaho’s Boulder-White Clouds, the largest unprotected roadless area in the U.S. outside of Alaska, are dangerously stalled. And as a former staff member of Sen. Frank Church (D-Ida.) and former member of Congress myself, I fear further waiting won’t yield a favorable outcome. Church instilled in all of his staff a great passion for untrammeled public lands, a legacy that remains today. In his four terms from 1957 to 1981 representing Idaho in the U.S. Senate, Church was an influential leader on many fronts, but is perhaps best known for preserving much of Idaho’s spectacular wild lands and waters.

He was an integral player in the passage of the landmark Wilderness Act in 1964, one of America’s greatest conservation achievements. In Idaho, he led successful efforts to protect some of the state’s most treasured landscapes– Gospel Hump, the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, the Sawtooth Wilderness and National Recreation Area, and later the River of No Return Wilderness, re-named the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness in his honor. And he and his wife Bethine backed protection of the Boulder-White Clouds region.

The Boulder-White Clouds is considered one of the last best wild places in North America and deserves permanent protection. Fishing and hunting opportunities abound. There is a stunning array of animal species from chukar partridge to wolverine; rugged, alpine terrain for hikes and climbers alike. With the addition of the East Fork of the Salmon that provides abundant clean water, the area is a literal heaven for sportsmen and outdoor recreation enthusiasts.

Idahoans are grateful to Rep. Mike Simpson (R) for his tireless efforts on behalf of the Boulder-White Clouds for the past 11 years. Unfortunately, his bid to gain Wilderness status has repeatedly failed to gain traction in Congress. The gridlock shows no sign of breaking even now after he’s made several concessions to try to win support. This is no fault of the Congressman’s but rather another indicator of protracted congressional malaise.

After waiting for decades, I recently joined 43 of my former colleagues from Church’s office and asked Obama to protect Church’s legacy by proclaiming a Boulder-White Clouds National Monument. Church’s work isn’t over and it’s time Obama used his authority to protect one of the last “crowning jewels” of Idaho as a national monument.

LaRocco served in the House from 1991 to 1995 and was the author of the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area, PL 103-64.

Deadly Force: A Prosecutor’s Perspective

BCHA Officers Contact List 2015

Saturday, Dec 20, 2014, the BCHI President Karen Kinball drew the calendar winners for 2014 and delivered a Christmas surprise for two Squaw Butte members. Phil Ryan and Robbin Schindele both won $1000.00 gift cards in this years raffle. So remember as you’re selling calendars to keep a couple for yourself and don’t forget to mail in your cards!

2014 Calendar Winners  (BCHI Web Site)

Jason Winters           Middleton, Id
Robin Schindele        Emmett, ID
Carol Young              Boones Mill, VA
Bonnie Stacy            Jerome, ID
Debi Riggin              Walla Walla, WA
Ray Robinette          Grangeville, ID
Les Chapman          Meridian, ID
Brenda McRoberts  Grangeville, ID
Cassidy Lindsey      Meridian, ID
Sharon Katzke        Caldwell, ID
Jo Hardy                 Grangeville, ID
Phil Ryan                Emmett, ID

This is the link to the SDPB program. The first 10 minutes is on the Harney Peak Tower restoration project and the next five and a half minutes is on the Black Hills Back Country Horsemen of South Dakota.

Available Soon at the BCHA On-line Store

2014 Presidents Report

2014 trail crew report

GARY HOLT and TINA MAE WEBER visit with JIM MCGARVEY chairman of BACK COUNTRY HORSEMEN of AMERICA. What the recent agreement with BCHA and the National Park Service means to you, the Trail Rider!

Saddle Up America

From the Chairman’s Saddle

Kentucky BCH agreement with NPS