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.