{"id":11767,"date":"2026-05-21T12:53:37","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T18:53:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/?p=11767"},"modified":"2026-05-21T12:54:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T18:54:18","slug":"forest-service-oks-chainsaws-to-clear-trails-in-one-of-the-largest-wilderness-areas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/?p=11767","title":{"rendered":"Forest Service OKs chainsaws to clear trails in one of the largest wilderness areas"},"content":{"rendered":"

https:\/\/www.aspenpublicradio.org\/2026-05-14\/forest-service-oks-chainsaws-to-clear-trails-in-one-of-the-largest-wilderness-areas<\/a><\/p>\n

The U.S. Forest Service has granted a rare exemption allowing the use of chainsaws in one of the country\u2019s largest wilderness areas.<\/p>\n

The agency on Wednesday approved a request from the Idaho Outfitters and Guides Association to temporarily use gas-powered chainsaws to clear about 542 miles of trails in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, citing \u201cextraordinary levels\u201d of downed trees. The Frank Church, in central Idaho, is the largest contiguous wilderness area in the lower 48 states.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis action is necessary to restore safe public access while minimizing impacts to wilderness character and remaining fully compliant with the Wilderness Act of 1964,\u201d Amy Baumer, a spokesperson for the Salmon-Challis National Forest, wrote in an email.<\/p>\n

Trees blocking trails<\/h3>\n

Trail crews typically rely on hand tools such as crosscut saws in designated wilderness areas, which are among the most protected public lands. The Wilderness Act prohibits motorized vehicles and equipment to protect places \u201cuntrammeled by man\u201d and to preserve \u201csolitude.\u201d<\/p>\n

These exclusions have long been interpreted to include chainsaws, though the Forest Service grants occasional exceptions, usually after wildfires or major storms.<\/p>\n

But the Idaho Outfitters and Guides Association (IOGA) petitioned the agency last year, arguing that decades of wildfire and disease have created an unmanageable buildup of fallen trees. A Forest Service survey last year estimated between 80,000 and 110,000 trees lying along one 150-mile stretch in the Frank Church.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlmost half the trails in this wilderness area on the Salmon-Challis are unusable,\u201d said Erik Weiseth, the executive director of IOGA. \u201cOver time, they will just be overgrown and disappear. That is not only hurting our outfitter members, but it’s also hurting the general public. It’s hurting their ability to access the wilderness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Weiseth said the blockages have meant lost business for outfitters who can\u2019t get to the spots where they\u2019re authorized to run hunting or guided horseback trips. Volunteers and a shrinking Forest Service workforce have struggled to keep trails open with hand tools, he said. He also pointed to language in the law specific to the Frank Church wilderness, which directs the agency to clear trails annually \u201cto the maximum extent practicable.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s allowed in wilderness?<\/h3>\n

In a letter on Wednesday, the nonprofit Wilderness Watch asked the Forest Service to delay implementation until 2027 to allow time for judicial review \u201cbefore the wilderness is overrun with chainsaws.\u201d<\/p>\n

George Nickas, the executive director of the Missoula-based organization, called the authorization \u201cjust blatantly illegal\u201d and said the organization is considering legal action.<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting in there with chainsaws to clear all these trails \u2013 it’s all about domination. It’s all about our controlling what’s going on there, our wanting to change the character of the wilderness to meet our demands,\u201d he said. \u201cThat’s just the antithesis of what the Wilderness Act is all about.\u201d<\/p>\n

The group said it learned of discussions between IOGA and Forest Service officials, including Chief Tom Schultz who is from Idaho, through public records requests. It criticized the agency for not allowing public comment before the approval.<\/p>\n

Nickas said the decision could have implications beyond Idaho. Public records reviewed by the group indicated outfitters in Wyoming asked the agency to allow battery-operated chainsaws for trail maintenance.<\/p>\n

In 2019, the Forest Service\u00a0approved chainsaw use<\/u><\/a>\u00a0in two wilderness areas in Colorado. Conservation groups including Wilderness Watch sued, and the agency later withdrew the proposal.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Two<\/picture>\n
\n
\n
\n
U.S. Forest Service<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>
A trail crews uses a crosscut saw to cut a fallen tree in the Gila National Forest in New Mexico.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

The authorization by the Forest Service in the Frank Church allows licensed outfitters to use chainsaws for three years from Jan. 1 through Aug. 1 each year.<\/p>\n

Weiseth said that by Wednesday afternoon, authorized outfitters were already in the forest clearing logs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a big deal to these guys. They’ve been wanting to get some of these trails open for a decade or more,\u201d he said. \u201cThey threw their stuff in the truck and started driving to the woods, ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Northern Colorado, KANW in New Mexico, Colorado Public Radio, KJZZ in Arizona and NPR, with additional support from affiliate newsrooms across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the\u00a0<\/i>Corporation for Public Broadcasting<\/i><\/a>\u00a0and Eric and Wendy Schmidt.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

https:\/\/www.aspenpublicradio.org\/2026-05-14\/forest-service-oks-chainsaws-to-clear-trails-in-one-of-the-largest-wilderness-areas The U.S. Forest Service has granted a rare exemption allowing the use of chainsaws in one of the country\u2019s largest wilderness areas. The agency on Wednesday approved a request from the Idaho Outfitters and Guides Association to temporarily use gas-powered chainsaws to clear about 542 miles of trails in the Frank Church-River of No […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,15,48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-around-the-campfire","category-current-events","category-public-lands"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11767","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11767"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11767\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11769,"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11767\/revisions\/11769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}