The 248,000 acre Secesh roadless
area is by far the largest, most scenic, and most geologically and biologically
diverse roadless area in central Idaho.
The existing Forest Service wilderness proposal for the Secesh roadless area is
110,300 acres. It runs west-to-east, reaching from near Payette Lake to
the River of No Return Wilderness, which gives it the preeminent place in Idaho
for providing migration of wildlife habitat in a warming world. It
connects to French Creek and Patrick Butte to the vast Hells Canyon National
Recreation Area. This intact landscape supports a number of animals: Wolves,
bighorn sheep, bears, martin, wolverine, fisher, salmon, trout, and steelhead.
The elevation runs from 3,400
feet to above 9,000 feet at Loon peak--from grasses at lower elevation to above
treeline including lodgepine pine, Douglas fir and Ponderosa pines, spruce,
larch, aspen, and up to whitebark pine near the rocky summit. This region
is extremely rugged and includes VictorPeak, LoonPeaks, and StormPeak
where a number of spectacular lakes occur: Enos, Twenty mile, Storm, Victor,
Burnside, Hum, Box lakes and many others. The SeceshRiver
and the South Fork Salmon River flow through the Secesh roadless area which
protects critical salmon and steelhead habitat and forms the greatest character
of the region. The name is fabulous, indicating some of the rich history
of the region and that it was originally settled by secessionists at the end of
the American Civil War.
Several RS2477 rights of way are
claimed by ValleyCounty, have to be
resolved in legislation, and should be debated among members of the public who
are interested in them. In addition, some of the lands are adjacent to
the towns of Secesh Meadows, Warren, and Yellowpine and the concerns of local
citizens about access and fire threats should be heard. This
enormous landscape holds much for all people enjoy.
Needles
USFS Proposed Wilderness
Ninety-five thousand acres of
the Needles roadless area are recommended by the Forest Service as deserving
wilderness protection. The Idaho Roadless Plan would define the same
95,000 acres under the Wildland Recreation Theme. The wilderness
qualities include large Ponderosa pine trees, imperiled wildlife (wolverine,
lynx, grey wolves, and occasional bighorn sheep, and lots of elk), superb
views, hot springs, rugged country, spectacular
creeks, like Buckhorn and Fitsum creeks, and most importantly, the land
adjacent to the South Fork of the Salmon River.
Several creeks in this area, as well as the South Fork, support threatened
Chinook salmon, steelhead, and bull trout. Rare cutthroat trout and
lamprey eels are also present there. Long term protection of the land
adjacent to the South Fork is critical to protecting key fish and wildlife.
It is recognized by many people
that the Needles roadless area deserves protection because of endangered
species living in this region and the extremely erosive granitic soils in the
South Fork drainage. One example of the sensitivity of the batholitic
soils came in the mid 1990’s after a major storm swept substantial sediment
from the roadbed into Buckhorn Creek and the South Fork; the Buckhorn road was
closed and turned into a foot trail and ORV trail shortly thereafter. The
South Fork road has been rerouted, paved, and millions of dollars spent on
erosion control with only a few positive (and many negative) results.
Owing to the sensitivity of the South Fork drainage, no fire fighting
should be proposed, except within one-half mile of year-round lived-in
residences, such as in Yellowpine. Even here the logging should be
“feathered,” rather than creating abrupt forest edges, to reduce the intensity
of fires as they reach structures.
The South Fork Salmon drainage
should be seen for its fish production and the thousands of people who enjoy
catching the magnificent salmon on an annual basis. Additional
reasons for protecting land beside the river include: the site of an IDFG
hatchery on the upper drainage, the reconstruction of the South Fork road in
the 90s to protect fishery habitat, and the significant sediment production
which came from Buckhorn Creek, the South Fork, and other watersheds within the
roadless area. Finally, there are many scenic values in the Needles IRA
that deserve to be acknowledged and protected, such as Buckhorn Mountain,
Buckhorn Lakes, 33, Cly and Tsum Lakes.
French
Creek
Citizen
Proposed Wilderness Area
The 88,000 acre French Creek
roadless area has been the site of many pitched battles in the last two decades
because of its timber, remarkable solitude, and wildlife values. In the
early 1990’s French creek was connected to the 80,000 acre Patrick Butte
roadless area but the two areas were dissected by logging projects. And
of course, wildfire has changed the appearance of much of the place, having
burned over this country in the fires of 1994. Fortunately, the price of
roadbuilding and logging and fights between conservationists and loggers has
spared most of this area from severe damage. The Idaho Roadless Rule
would identify most of French Creek as a Backcountry Recreation/Restoration
area and the Forest Service’s Forest Plan has refused similarly to resolve any
of the issues in the past. These conflicts have festered over the years and
now require resolution.
SWC and CIRC propose that the
land including French Creek and Little French Creek on the west side of the
roadless area and east to near Burgdorf, then north along Fall Creek should be
included as Wilderness in legislation. This would protect the Wild and
Scenic river corridors, most of the critical wildlife habitat, and rugged lake
systems. It would also resolve some of the ORV concerns that people have
raised and preclude snowmobile use in places where the terrain is dangerous or
impossible for them to gain motorized access. We look forward to being
involved in a collaborative group to look at and resolve these issues in the
French Creek roadless area.
There are also many lakes within
the French Creek roadless area that are full of more fish than fishers and many
wildlife that live here. This roadless area reaches its high
point on Black tip at nearly 9,000 feet and reaches down to the Salmon River at about 2,000 feet giving the area special
significance, providing important habitat for bighorn sheep, wolverine, bear,
elk, wolves, and several species of trout and salmon.
