Taking a quiet break to check the map before heading up and over Trail 219 into Ants Basin. 34
‘Best Foot
Forward’ Wilderness Groups Work with MTB Community to Preserve Idaho Land as National Monument by Trina Ortega Shawn Lortie
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Shawn Lortie
Brad Hunt makes his way up the trail toward Fourth of July Lake with the White Clouds beckoning in the distance.
The list at the top of the proposal contains an unlikely combination of collaborators: The Wilderness Society, International Mountain Bicycle Association, Idaho Conservation League and Wood River Bicycle Coalition. But when it came to protecting hundreds of thousands of acres of prized backcountry in central Idaho, these organizations looked past their differences and in early March unveiled a proposal to maintain high-quality wilderness and protect world-class mountain bike access in the Boulder-White Cloud Mountains. The agreement is an example of how parties with different interests have put their “best foot forward,” according to Brett Stevenson, executive director of the Wood River Bicycle Coalition (WRBC), the local IMBA chapter based in Ketchum/Sun Valley that represents a far-reaching MTB community in all compass points from the famed ski resort. “Historically there has been some disagreement between the mountain biking community and conservation groups,” Stevenson told Mountain Flyer. “Collectively, we stepped beyond past differences and realized we want the same thing—and that is for the area to remain virtually unchanged. This is an opportunity to work 36
collaboratively towards land management that effectively protects the ecological values of the Boulder-White Clouds and preserves some of the best riding around.” Representatives from IMBA and The Wilderness Society agreed that the collaboration is ground-breaking. “I have watched for a decade with both trepidation and great hope, as our collective communities navigated a challenging yet important task of finding common ground on how to manage this iconic landscape,” said IMBA President Michael Van Abel. “I am pleased to see that in today’s often divisive atmosphere, we have reached an agreeable solution and can stand united on what the future of the Boulder-White Clouds should look like.” The agreement establishes recommendations that could guide a national monument designation for 570,000 acres in lieu of what the coalition of conservation and mountain bike groups describes as “absence of action at the congressional level.” For nearly 15 years, conservation groups have been pushing for the highest protection in the Boulder-White Clouds. U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson introduced six iterations of a wilderness proposal in six consecutive sessions of Congress, but none moved forward. The groups finally opted for a
different route and—by teaming with IMBA and WRBC—have shifted their thinking and will now push for the land to be preserved as a national monument, which wouldn’t require a bill going through Congress. “Given the last 10 years of legislative history … and the recent struggles of Congress to pass anything, we decided with the Idaho Conservation League that something needed to be done to protect this area. It’s the largest under-protected roadless area in the United States,” said Rob Mason, the central Idaho representative for The Wilderness Society. So instead of relying on Congress for a higher level of protection, the group decided to pursue a national monument designation under the Antiquities Act. Originally proposed to protect Native American artifacts on federal lands, the 1906 Antiquities Act allows the president to set aside public natural areas as park, monument and conservation land. Because the act allows approval via executive order, the process can be much quicker than the congressional route of creating an official wilderness area. Representatives of the four organizations, with support from other organizations such as the Outdoor Alliance, worked together for months before hitting a balance between protecting land in areas long recommended for wilderness and preserving access to mountain biking, which is a local attraction and has become a significant economic driver. “The Boulder-White Clouds have extraordinary wilderness values and worldclass recreational access,” said Rick Johnson, executive director of the Idaho Conservation League. “We are working together to protect both.” Take the drive from Ketchum to one of the Galena Summit viewpoints located 7,000 feet above the valley floor, and you’ll be grateful that the mountain biking community is working with conservation groups in an effort to preserve the land. Jagged peaks surround the broad valley that inspires both wonder and humility. The headwaters of the Salmon River (also known as the River of No Return) is near the summit, and the river courses its way through the Sawtooth Valley floor 425 miles before reaching the Snake. As you travel further north and east, the remote high-alpine landscape changes to grasslands and badlands. “The diversity of terrain from a recreation standpoint is spectacular,”
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said Mason, who spends a lot of time backpacking in the Boulder-White Clouds. “It’s just classic Idaho.” The groups have detailed recreation and protection plans for about half of the proposed national monument. While there are no immediate threats from the extractive industry (minimal logging currently takes place), Mason indicated the area is critical big game habitat, during both the summer and winter seasons, primarily because of the land’s roadless aspect. Gray wolves and Canada lynx were introduced a couple of decades ago and the elusive wolverine also makes its home in the area. The Wilderness Society is concerned about the impact of increased human traffic, particularly OHV use. “Wildlife habitat is one very significant reason that this area deserves some kind of permanent protection,” Mason added. Another major priority for The Wilderness Society is watershed protection. The Boulder-White Clouds are home to the headwaters of four rivers, important fisheries in which salmon return from the Pacific Ocean each year to spawn. According to Mason, the East Fork of the Salmon River is a critical fishery for Chinook salmon and remains unprotected. The monument designation would protect the entire Salmon River watershed. To address those concerns, the proposal breaks up the land into two “zones”: wilderness character zones and humanpowered backcountry recreation zones. Wilderness-grade protections would apply to important watersheds in high-alpine lake basins and the high peaks of the White Clouds. These areas would not be open to motorized or mechanized travel in order to preserve the “wilderness character and opportunities for backcountry solitude away from areas where modernity dominates the landscape and therefore is scientifically, biologically, and socially valuable and worth monitoring, maintaining, and protecting,” the memoradum of understanding states. Under the human-powered backcountry recreation zones, land would be managed as trail corridors to ensure a high-quality human-powered recreation experience. The MOU describes human-powered recreation as outdoor recreation activities in which no motorized source of power is used as part of the activities or as part of the means of transport. The groups agree that mountain biking is an appropriate use and list nearly two dozen MTB routes—including the popular Fisher Creek and the epic Ants Basin
and Castle Divide—that will remain open. “Those are the trails we’re agreeing will continue to be bikeable. We categorized by trail rather than by area. So the idea was that we would maintain a human-powered corridor through these wild areas. At end of the day, we will still be able to mountain bike through some beautiful areas,” said Stevenson, who has been pedaling in the central Idaho backcountry for about 15 years. “To me, it’s about getting to do these big backcountry, high-alpine adventure rides. It’s so inspiring and the Boulder-White Clouds offers that like nowhere else in the region. “If biking is causing environmental degradation, then it should be limited, as should any other use. Recognizing the purpose and value of limitation is something all trail users need to be able to do,” Stevenson said. “On the other hand, if we’re talking about trail users’ experience rather than an environmental impact issue, then I feel that mountain bikers should be granted some wild backcountry experiences that hikers and horseback riders get to enjoy.” Stevenson, who previously worked at the Idaho Conservation League, said it is encouraging to facilitate backcountry outings in which riders may have a new experience that encourages them to think more about conservation, public lands management and environmental science. “It is hard not to be inspired by some of these topics when recreating in the Boulder-White Clouds.” About half of the proposed monument additionally overlaps the neighboring Sawtooth National Recreation Area, 756,000 acres protected in 1972 in an effort to prohibit open-pit molybdenum mining on Castle Peak, the range’s tallest mountain. With the encompassing Sawtooth Wilderness and adjacent Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, the entire area offers a variety of experiences for backcountry users. The Sawtooth NRA has 40 peaks rising over 10,000 feet, 300-plus high mountain lakes, and more than 700 miles of trails, including the scenic loop around Redfish Lake that winds through granite boulders and lodgepole pine and skirts the large lake to a swim platform (OK, it’s a boat dock, too), before climbing out on narrow singletrack where your handlebars frame the view of Mt. Heyburn and Grand Mogul. If the president signs off on the proposal, the groups then roll up their sleeves again to start a series of stakeholder meetings and develop a full-fledged management plan within three years. 39