Ranchers & Enviros Combine For 510,000-Acre Owyhee River Wilderness Plan

"Environmentalists and ranchers came together to unveil an unprecedented plan Monday to preserve wilderness, wildlife and ranching in Owyhee County. The six new wilderness areas, if approved by Congress, would be the first designated in more than 20 years in Idaho. The Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness was established in 1980.

The proposal would designate as federal wilderness 510,000 acres of desolate canyonlands and sagebrush uplands as federal wilderness, closing them to motorized recreation and development. The plan also would protect 390 miles of the Owyhee and Bruneau river systems as Wild and Scenic rivers, limiting future water development.

Another 205,000 acres of lands, locked up as wilderness for the past 20 years, would open to ranchers and motorized users for new trails. Ranchers would be able to install water projects to enhance grazing operations and get a different review process of federal decisions on their grazing plans. The review would be done by an independent science panel.

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If approved by Congress, the proposal would require the Bureau of Land Management to develop a roads and trails plan for the federal lands of Owyhee County within three years. The first part of the travel plan for the popular Owyhee Front area near Marsing and Nampa would have to be finished within a year of passage. In the meantime, all motorized travel would be limited to the 10,000 miles of existing roads and trails. One area where the group was unable to reach agreement was in the Dickshooter Ridge area, which is included in the Owyhee River Wilderness. Motorized recreationists opposed the closing of 21 miles of road popular with bird hunters in the fall."

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http://www.idahostatesman.com/News/story.asp?ID=65264

I have some reservations about aspects of the plan, but the Owyhee and Bruneau are two of the most beautiful and wildest rivers in America. They're also almost completely unknown. Check out the photo page that accompanies this article to get a feel for the area.