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
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.
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.
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.
This summer a member of the chapter mentioned that in the past he had participated in packing in fish to a mountain lake and suggested that we might want to contact Fish & Game about getting some of their left over fish fingerlings in the fall after they had finished with their planned stocking. Calls were made and Malia Galloher 208-305-7822 in McCall agreed to call us if fish were available and we could agree on suitable lakes that could use them. At the end of September Malia called and said they had some Grayling that they would like to stock in lakes on the south western side of the Frank Church. The lakes being considered were Pistol and 44 lake near Landmark.
Arctic grayling grow to a maximum recorded length of 76 cm (30 in) and a maximum recorded weight of 3.8 kg (8.4 lb). Of typical thymalline appearance, the Arctic grayling is distinguished from the similar grayling (T. thymallus) by the absence of dorsal and anal spines and by the presence of a larger number of soft rays in these fins. There is a dark midlateral band between the pectoral and pelvic fins, and the flanks may possess a pink iridescence. T. a. arcticus has been recorded as reaching an age of 18 years.
Where are grayling found?
RANGE: Arctic grayling are native to drainages of the Arctic Ocean, Hudson Bay and Northern Pacific Ocean in North America and in Asia. Two distinct populations historically inhabited waters in Michigan and Montana. The distinct population of Arctic grayling in Michigan is now extinct.
The arctic grayling is not native to Idho or Utah, but it has been introduced into several high elevation lakes in the Mountains. The arctic grayling eats primarily invertebrates, including insects, insect larvae, and zooplankton. … Grayling are related to trout and can be caught using familiar techniques.
How do you catch a grayling in a lake?
Arctic grayling can be caught in mountain lakes and streams. Grayling are typically caught with artificial baits including small spinners, lightweight jigs, wet flies and dry flies. They can be easily caught using a spinning rod and spinning reel.
Are Grayling good to eat?
Alaskan Arctic Grayling are a delight to catch as they readily hit dry flies and are a darn good fight for their size. … It is debated that the Alaska grayling is one of the best eating freshwater fish in the world. Their flesh is white and flaky when cooked over an open fire for a tasty shore lunch.
Life cycle
Several life history forms of Arctic grayling occur: fluvial populations that live and spawn in rivers; lacustrine populations that live and spawn in lakes; and potamodromous populations that live in lakes and spawn in tributary streams.
The Arctic grayling occurs primarily in cold waters of mid-sized to large rivers and lakes, returning to rocky streams to breed. The various subspecies are omnivorous. Crustaceans, insects and insect larvae, and fish eggs form the most important food items. Larger specimens of T. arcticus become piscivorous and the immature fish feed on zooplankton and insect larvae.
Spawning takes place in the spring. Adult fish seek shallow areas of rivers with fine, sand substrate and moderate current. Males are territorial and court females by flashing their colourful dorsal fins; the fins are also used to brace receptive females during the vibratory release of milt and roe. The fish are nonguarders: the eggs are left to mix with the substrate. Although the Arctic grayling does not excavate a nest, the highly energetic courtship and mating tends to kick up fine material which covers the zygotes. The zygote is small (approximately 3 mm or 0.1 in in diameter) and the embryo will hatch after two to three weeks. The newly hatched embryo remains in the substrate until all the yolk has been absorbed. They emerge at a length of around 12 to 18 mm (0.5 to 0.7 in), at which time they form shoals at the river margins. The juveniles grow quickly during their first two years of life.
Idaho Fish & Game McCall Hatchery
Species Production – Summer Chinook salmon is the primary species produced at McCall hatchery. A resident species program operates during the summer months, producing small fish for statewide mountain lake stocking, and redistributing catchable size rainbow into local area waters. https://idfg.idaho.gov/fish-identification
The Plan was for Joe Williams with his stock to drive up to the Pistol Lake trail head north east of Landmark on FR – 447 on Thursday October 15, and Rob Adams to meet Fish and Game on Friday the 16 to shuttle the fish to the trail head. Arrangements were made to meet F&G in Cascade on Friday morning at 08:00 at Grandma’s dinner. At 07:50 the F&G truck arrived and eight 3 gallon bags of fish were quickly loaded into coolers in Rob’s truck. The drive from Cascade to the trail head takes around 90 minutes and when Rob Arrived Joe was just finishing saddling his stock.
A bit of air was removed from each bag and the fish were loaded into some ridged pack boxes and the rest of the loads were hung and within 60 minutes of Rob’s arrival Joe was loaded and heading down the trail for the 7 mile ride into 44 Lake.
Joe reported on Sunday, that the fish did well and only a few didn’t hit the lake water and quickly disappeared into its depths. In a couple of years there should be some good Grayling fishing in this remote mountain lake.
The culmination of 2020 Field season; showcasing the timber harvest and restoration of the Sagehen area including roadside hazard and removal of hazard trees in campgrounds for public health and safety.
WATCH VIDEO
Brenden Cronin is the River Ranger on the Payette River on the Boise National Forest. Brenden describes his job and his work duties on the river. Brenden spends time floating the river, picking up trash, cleaning toilets, and he helps people load and unload their boats from the river. There are seven river sites along the Main Payette River and Brenden maintains those by stopping at those sites and picking up trash and cleaning those toilets at the sites. Brenden spends time talking to people on the river and informing them about the use of the river and any hazards that might exist. Filmed and edited by Charity Parks. WATCH VIDEO
Today we’re relaunching #VotePublicLands, American Hiking’s nonpartisan voter education and engagement effort.
2020 has been a big year for public lands, and we’ve seen that when the hiking community uses its collective voice we can advance public land priorities. We worked hard for the Great American Outdoors Act to become law with overwhelming bipartisan support, but the work doesn’t stop there. We as hikers need to work towards equitable access to the outdoors for all.
One of the most important ways to make our voices heard is to VOTE. Through #VotePublicLands, American Hiking provides our members and supporters easy to use resources to register to vote, check registration status, and request an absentee ballot/vote by mail. 
Explore the key issues to be strong public lands advocates
Build in Idaho
https://datinfab.com/motorcycle-chainsaw-mount/#product-reviews
Universal Motorcycle Chainsaw Holster.
Fork mounting, locks down tight and secure with a 1″ cinch strap for fast, easy on and off. Fits most chainsaws up to 18″. Trusted by the Idaho BLM
- One strap. Fast easy removal.
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- Made of 14 ga. laser cut steel.
- Black texture powder coated.
- Stainless steel fasteners.
- Universal mount, fits many bikes.
- Easy assembly with Allen wrench and end wrench.
- The best motorcycle chainsaw mount for the money.
- Proudly made in Idaho USA
Datin Metal Fabrication LLC.
Middleton, ID 83644 USACall us at 208-713-1359
Update – August 23, 2020 Cowboy Campground has found a host. She will be starting on Wednesday.
Thanks Arlynn
Hi, All –
If you have been in touch with Sabrina recently she may have mentioned to you that we would like to have a camp host up at the campground. We would like to start our search with the local Backcountry Horsemen chapters, as we feel this would be a great pond to fish in for folks who are competent and trustworthy. If we don’t find them within your chapters then we will expand our search to other chapters and a few other organizations, such as Facebook groups and maybe the Forest Service.
We have developed the attached flyer for our search. Would you all be so kind as to send it out to your chapters?
Also, I want to be clear as to which chapter you’re each a part of, so can you reply and let me know, please?
If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me via Email or my cell at 208-629-9270.
Thanks – Diane Carty horsey4life@msn.com
Leave no trace camping puppet show for kids was created by volunteer Ethan and Ranger Katie in 2009 to communicate to children at lower grade levels. Alaska Park Service Watch Video
The highline – Way back in 2009 I created a highline how to video. It’s been pretty popular and I hope it’s been helpful. But that was over a decade ago and lots of things have changed in that time. Not only do I have less hair, and a rocking beard, I set up my highline differently now.
It’s time to refresh, revamp, and revise this piece. Please join me as we discover the joy of “A Better Way to Hold Your Horses”.
The highline. At its heart it’s just a stout rope stretched between two sturdy objects. But like many things that seem simple at first blush there’s a little more to it.
Done well a highline is a safe and effective tool to help keep our ponies out of trouble. Done poorly there’s few easier ways to heartbreak.
READ MORE / Buy a highline kit
I awoke thinking of death And being unable to go back to sleep Read of death in Leaves of Grass “Yourself! Yourself! Yourself, forever and ever!”
The darkness envelops It is fearful, yet common The comforting hearths of the ants of the Bitterroot Valley below me Yet on the other side, black I know what is there but I cannot see it
READ MORE
Treasure Valley has posted a great report on their delayed National Trails day project on their Facebook page. Check it out!
EPSON MFP image
Click on Picture or HERE to read
Hello Wilderness advocates!
I hope this note finds you and your loved ones healthy and enjoying the outdoors.
Once again, we are adapting to our circumstances. The printer we normally use to print/mail the newsletter remains closed.
We are delivering the Spring 2020 edition of the newsletter to your inbox rather than your mailbox. We’ve put the newsletter in a format that we hope you enjoy. You can electronically turn the pages as you would our printed newsletter. Just click on the side arrows to turn the pages! You can access the newsletter by clicking on the button below! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed putting it together.
Female Urinary Devices, also known as FUDs, or pee funnels, can really save the day. These items are a well-kept secret of female campers because they let you go #1 without having to drop your pants completely. Without these devices that let you pee standing up, women have to wander very far away from camp to get the privacy they need. With an FUD., since you can actually “go” while standing up, you experience the same “go anywhere” convenience that men enjoy.
TB Video Review of 10 FUD products
How to Tie the Highwayman’s Hitch
How to tie the HIGHWAYMAN’S HITCH – Knot Tying Instructions
The Highwayman’s hitch is a quick-release hitch used for temporarily securing a load that will need to be released easily and cleanly, such as your horse! The hitch can be untied with a tug of the working end. The highwayman’s hitch can be tied in the middle of a rope, and so the working end does not need to be passed around the anchor, or rail, when tying or releasing.
Steps to Highwayman’s Hitch
1 – Double your rope to make the first bight in the rope and place the bight behind your rail.
2 – Make a second bight in the standing line and pass that bight through the first bight
3 – Take the working end and make a third bight.
4 – Pass the third bight through second and pull on the standing line to snug the knot.
The knot holds with tension on the standing part and can be released with a tug on the working end.
Special Report
Going Outdoors or Staying Inside
May 2020
Many people are turning to the outdoors to cope with the stress and concerns of the Corona Virus Pandemic. Volunteer groups may also be considering offering outdoor activities to the public to address this public use. But is this a good idea? Not really. Here is the rationale for why we need to encourage everyone to stay home and stay local.
Short Term Issues
The immediate effort nationwide is to prevent the spread of the Corona virus. This is being accomplished by requesting, and in some states demanding, that people self-quarantine, maintain social distancing, and practice good hygiene practices. Non-essential businesses where large number of people congregate like restaurants, theaters, bars, and gyms have been closed. Sporting events of all types have been cancelled and venues closed. State and local parks, some National Forest recreation sites, and National Parks are being closed as well. These closures initially were intended to last 2-3 weeks but may extend for 4-6 weeks or longer depending on local infection rates.
For stewardship organizations this strategy has meant cancelling meetings, trainings, and outdoor events for the near term. Volunteer activities can be expected to be curtailed for several months. While generally access to dispersed areas like wilderness is open, some popular trailheads may be closed to prevent people from congregating.
There has also been mixed messaging about going to the outdoors to escape the virus and other people. While we extoll the virtues of getting outdoors, what has happened instead is even more people seeking out these opportunities creating large crowds in popular areas. It is important that people stay close to home, and enjoy nature in their backyards, their neighborhoods, or at least for the time being, virtually. Protecting the health of our communities and avoiding strains on the medical infrastructure, especially in our vunerable rural areas, are critical right now.
This article says it all: High Country News: https://www.hcn.org/articles/covid19-as-covid19-spreads-how-do-you-ethically-get-outdoors/
Here are Leave No Trace suggestions for getting outdoors: https://lnt.org/the-leave-no-trace-recommendations-for-getting-outside-amidst-covid-19/
Here are suggestions from the Outdoor Alliance on getting outside during this crisis.
Stewardship Group Coping Strategies
Groups around the country are adapting to the crisis situation. Here are some ideas for your organization.
- Review your plans for the year and postpone or reschedule events to June or later.
- Consider doing training online or with video conferencing software like Zoom of GoToMeeting.
- Consider adapting your recruiting from a national to a local area model. Impacts to travel and concerns over the spread of the virus will continue for months impacting broad recruitment area strategies. Local recruitment may offer new opportunities for relationship building and capacity growth while providing needed employment stimulus locally.
- Check in with your agency partners to see what current policies are and what resources they might have available. The Park Service has created a webpage for Partners during this crisis at: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/partnerships/publichealthforpartners.htm
- If you have existing agreements with agency partners, start discussing now how closures will affect recruiting and summer programs. Adjust your agreements as necessary.
- The current stand down may result in additional year end fund availability. Never too early to start discussing future projects and potential agreements with agency partners to put these funds to good use.
April 29. 2020
As Idaho prepares to reopen some businesses and lift its coronavirus-related stay-home order, some federal agencies are tightening or extending restrictions related to the pandemic.
In a news release on Tuesday, the U.S. Forest Service announced it would extend some closures in the Salmon-Challis National Forest and cancel permits to float the Salmon River and Middle Fork of the Salmon through mid-May. Any “developed recreation sites” including campsites and day-use sites are closed through May 15, while “Forest Trail #6232, the Warm Springs Trail and the area within 250 yards from the center of Gold Bug Hot Springs” will be closed through the end of May.
Officials said anyone with a float permit will receive an email notification that their permit has been canceled, as well as a refund of any fees. Permits are required year-round to float the Salmon River and Middle Fork of the Salmon, though the primary float season is from June to September.
Forest Service officials said the continued closures are meant to prevent the spread of coronavirus and the disease it causes, COVID-19.
“We have visitors that want to enjoy the forest but many areas are drawing more people than social distancing guidelines recommend,” said Chuck Mark, Salmon-Challis National Forest supervisor, in the news release. “As spring progresses, many of these recreation sites are beginning to become accessible. We will continue to monitor the situation closely. The forest is developing a plan to phase reopening some sites when conditions allow.”
Similarly, the Boise National Forest announced on Friday that it would extend closures at campgrounds, hot springs and trailheads through June 30 due to the pandemic. The agency had previously announced that many popular campgrounds near Boise, including Cottonwood, Sage Hen and Peace Valley, would be closed through the end of June; however, its early April closure of hot springs had no initial expiration date.
A list of all affected Boise National Forest sites can be found online at fs.usda.gov.
Also on Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced restrictions at Lucky Peak Dam. The Corps said, until further notice, fires and camping are prohibited and boats are required to be docked at a marina or out of the water between sunset and sunrise. According to the Corps’ news release, the restrictions were “made in response to public safety and resource protection concerns,” though it’s not clear if they are related to coronavirus. The Statesman has reached out to the Corps for more information.
BNF-Closed PDF 04-03-2020 Idaho COVID Group Limits of 10 order SIGNED
About 15 miles north of Emmett is 25,806 acres of rolling hills, prominent buttes and ridgelines that make up the Bureau of Land Management’s Four-Mile Wild Horse Management Area (HMA). Elevations vary from 2,500 to about 5,400 feet.
The Four-Mile population census taken in February 2018 was 128 horses according to Boise District BLM Wild Horse and Burro Specialist Raul Trevino.
History of Gem’s wild horses
The Four-Mile horses originated from domestic stock owned by those living in the Big Willow Creek and Four-Mile Creek areas. Pinto horses were raised by Jack Macomb in the 1930s in the Four Mile Canyon. Others raised horses in the area including Nelson McCullough on Willow Creek, Tom Wilburn on South Crane Creek and Walter Knox on the Indian Jake Ranch. These horses were not considered wild according to the BLM until people came and tried to catch them or chase them. Being difficult to corral, they were considered wild. Sixty-five privately owned horses were rounded up and removed in 1965.
At the passage of the Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act in 1971, two HMAs were identified and BLM was given authority to manage wild horses and burros on public lands. There were 75 horses in the 4-Mile HMA and West Crane HMA. Decisions removed the horses permanently from West Crane and reduced the Four-Mile to the appropriate management level of 20 head for rangeland health.
An aerial survey in 1972 counted a total of 13 adult and two foals. Of those, one was a mule, one wore a halter and another horse wore hobbles.
During a 1986 wildfire in the Four-Mile HMA, 14,000 acres burned. The horses were removed January 1987 due to a lack of forage on their home range and to allow vegetation recovery. The area was aerially seeded with grasses and forbs. Then in the fall of 1991, nine horses from the Owyhee Resource Area were introduced back into the Four-Mile HMA. Three years later there were 12 head on 18,018 acres.
Currently there are 128 horses in the HMA. The Low Allowable Management level is 37 head for the area, so the BLM is in the process of gathering and removing horses to meet the allowable number. BLM manages a total of six wild horse herd management areas in Idaho on approximately 418,000 acres of private, public and state lands.
As of March 1, 2018, the wild horse and burro population on public lands was estimated at 82,000 animals, which is more than triple the number of animals the land can support in conjunction with other legally mandated land uses. Four-Mile HMA is also overpopulated.
On April 16, 2020 Phil Ryan and Rob Adams rode the south west corner of the HMA. We saw more then 75 wild horses at least 12 of them were this year’s foals. There were also a number that look to be yearlings. WATCH VIDEO
Washington state is gearing up for a new challenge this year – fighting wildfires in the time of coronavirus.
Fire season is already here, too — 160 fires have sparked so far statewide, with 30% of them in the western part of the state. Thursday, Dept. of Natural Resources crews were fighting two of the largest fires burning near Arlington in Snohomish County, and Acme, in Whatcom County.
“It’s been challenging to fight fire, and to get people trained up this year,” said Jay Guthrie, asst. region manager for Forest Practice and Fire with the Washington Dept. of Natural Resources.
Spring training sessions have moved online, which makes it difficult to do the hands-on learning of firefighting. Prescribed burns were canceled. Crews are also trying to practice social distancing – keeping at least six feet apart while working in the field.
They do have one thing going for them already:
“Part of normal working safety is to keep 10 feet apart, so any swing of a tool is not within range of someone else,” said Guthrie.
State Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz said they’re currently working with the federal government to rewrite the playbook for wildfires during a pandemic. READ MORE
A vast region of the western United States, extending from California, Arizona and New Mexico north to Oregon and Idaho, is in the grips of the first climate change-induced megadrought observed in the past 1,200 years, a study shows. The finding means the phenomenon is no longer a threat for millions to worry about in the future, but is already here.
The megadrought has emerged while thirsty, expanding cities are on a collision course with the water demands of farmers and with environmental interests, posing nightmare scenarios for water managers in fast-growing states.
A megadrought is broadly defined as a severe drought that occurs across a broad region for a long duration, typically multiple decades.
Unlike historical megadroughts triggered by natural climate cycles, emissions of heat-trapping gases from human activities have contributed to the current one, the study finds. Warming temperatures and increasing evaporation, along with earlier spring snowmelt, have pushed the Southwest into its second-worst drought in more than a millennium of observations.
The study, published in the journal Science on Thursday, compares modern soil moisture data with historical records gleaned from tree rings, and finds that when compared with all droughts seen since the year 800 across western North America, the 19-year drought that began in 2000 and continued through 2018 (this drought is still ongoing, though the study’s data is analyzed through 2018) was worse than almost all other megadroughts in this region.
The researchers, who painstakingly reconstructed soil moisture records from 1,586 tree-ring chronologies to determine drought severity, found only one megadrought that occurred in the late 1500s was more intense.
Historical megadroughts, spanning vast regions and multiple decades, were triggered by natural fluctuations in tropical ocean conditions, such as La Niña, the cyclic cooling of waters in the tropical Pacific.
“The megadrought era seems to be reemerging, but for a different reason than the [past] megadroughts,” said Park Williams, the study’s lead author and a researcher at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University.
Although many areas in the West had a productive wet season in 2019 and some this year, “you can’t go anywhere in the West without having suffered drought on a millennial scale,” Williams said, noting that megadroughts contain relatively wet periods interspersed between parched years.
“I think the important lesson that comes out of this is that climate change is not a future problem,” said Benjamin I. Cook, a NASA climate scientist and co-author of the study. “Climate change is a problem today. The more we look, the more we find this event was worse because of climate change.”
The study is part scientific grunt work, involving sifting through drought records to find past instances of comparable conditions, and part sophisticated sleuthing that employs computer models to determine how climate change is altering the likelihood of an event like this one.
Cook said the researchers analyzed climate models for the region, which showed warming trends and changes in precipitation. They compared soil moisture with and without global warming-induced trends, “and we were able to determine that 30 to 50 percent of the current drought is attributable to climate change.” READ MORE
Black bears (Ursus americanus) are found throughout both the foothills and forests of Idaho. Between 20,000 and 30,000 black bears roam these wild lands. These bears share space with a human population that is expected to grow by more than 15 percent during the next 10 years. This means that human/bear encounters will continue and likely increase.
Every year, Idaho Fish and Game Department staff respond to dozens of calls from citizens reporting bears that have become become attracted to — and then accustomed to — human food sources such as garbage, bird seed, and pet food. Though the bears are just following their sensitive noses to high-calorie foods, being in constant contact with people can cause them to lose their natural wariness of humans. Bears intent on getting a good meal can cause harm to someone who gets in their way. For this reason, Fish and Game staff are regularly forced to euthanize some bears that have become too comfortable around people. That’s treating the symptom, not the cause of the problem.
Idaho’s mountain towns are a great place for humans, but why do bears like them so much?
Bears spend approximately one-third of the year in their den, sleeping through winter. To prepare for this, they spend most of their time during summer and fall fattening up by consuming as many calories as possible.
Contrary to popular belief, more than 90 percent of most black bear diets consist of vegetation: berries, nuts and plants. A bear’s keen nose can smell foods up to five miles away!
