Idaho's Roadless Lands
On October 5, 2006 Governor Risch submitted his petition for the management of Roadless Areas in Idaho. This is the first petition, filed under the Bush Administration’s state petition process, which would allow for development. This report, submitted to the Roadless Area Conservation National Advisory Committee, includes maps, pictures, and in-depth analysis of what is at stake in Idaho’s 9.3 million acres of roadless forests under the Governor’s petition.
>> Get the report: Idaho's Roadless Areas at Risk [pdf]

Idaho has nearly 9 million acres of roadless, undeveloped National Forest land, more than any other state in the lower 48. The Wilderness Society has made permanent protection of these roadless lands a top priority, for within them is a cache of irreplaceable wild places. Many deserve to become part of the National Wilderness Preservation System, joining 4 million acres of Idaho wilderness that the Congress has already protected.
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Owyhee-Bruneau Canyonlands: High Desert, Deep Canyons
There are other high-desert ecosystems in the U.S., but few are considered to be as rich as the Owyhee-Bruneau region in southwest Idaho. Taken together, the Owyhees encompass an area twice the size of Yellowstone National Park. They are wild, but they'll need our help to stay that way.
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The Boulder-White Clouds: A Rugged, Roadless Expanse
Central Idaho's Boulder-White Cloud area is the largest single unprotected national forest roadless area in the lower 48 states. Over a half a million acres in size, the Boulder-White Clouds are a stunningly rugged chain of mountains near the headwaters of Idaho's famous "River of No Return," the Salmon River. Destructive off-road vehicle use chews at its wildness. Motorized recreationists are intent on keeping the area out of the wilderness system so they can continue that destructive activity.
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Hells Canyon National Recreation Area
Off-road vehicles have taken aim at Hells Canyon National Recreation Area. Hells Canyon itself is widely acknowledged to be the deepest gorge in North America. But the U.S. Forest Service has been unable to find more than half a heart for managing off-road vehicles, while whole-heartedly pursuing logging in the recreation area.
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Off-Road Vehicles on Idaho's Public Lands
Dirt bikes, four-wheeled all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles, and motorcycles are the greatest threat to the integrity of Idaho's wild lands and the threat is growing. This is not a question of whether one type of recreation is "better" than another; it is a question of what belongs where and whether motorized use belongs everywhere. Its proponents are intent on making it so. Land, water and wildlife pay a high price for that insistence. Opportunities to know natural sounds, quiet and solitude dwindle as the range of motors expands.
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The Wilderness Society's Research Effort in the Northern Rockies
The Wilderness Society has launched a long-term research program for the Northern Rockies region of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. Its goal is to provide a solid foundation of science, with key research products and tools, to make the case for ecology-based, large-scale land protection and to improve land management decisions in the region.
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Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area
Recurring wildfires and military training exercises in the Birds of Prey National Conservation Area (NCA) have put the raptor population -- the very reason the NCA was established -- at risk.
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Exotic Weeds in Wilderness
Invasive exotic weeds have altered the natural appearance within the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness Area. The Wilderness Society supports U.S. Forest Service efforts to control these weeds within the wilderness area.
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Things to Cheer About:

Federal Appeals Court Upholds Roadless Rule
In a clear and resounding victory for advocates of protecting national forest roadless areas, the Ninth Circuit Court upheld the legality of the Roadless Rule in December 2002, overturning an injunction against the Rule imposed by the Idaho District Court.
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More Than 50 miles of Illegal Road "Improvements" to be Rehabilitated
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced in December 2002 that it will rehabilitate 50-plus miles of roads illegally bulldozed in sensitive areas in southwestern Idaho.
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Measuring the Racket
As part of a settlement from a lawsuit The Wilderness Society and others filed, the U.S. Air Force has conducted a study to monitor the noise of its military training overflights in the the Owyhee-Bruneau Canyonlands to quantify military aircraft noise, and baseline "natural" noise.
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A Roadless Area Protected on the Clearwater
Years of advocacy, administrative challenges, and public outreach were rewarded when the Forest Service dropped plans to build roads and harvest timber in roadless areas on the Clearwater National Forest.
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