Protections Sought For Wilderness 500,000-Acre Set-Aside Urged For Boulder-White Clouds Area

Twenty-five years ago, the Sawtooth National Recreation Area was established to protect central Idaho’s alpine territory, but the job is not finished, environmentalists say.

Besides the 756,000 acres already set aside in the recreation area, they also are calling for a 500,000-acre Boulder-White Clouds Wilderness to end any threat of mining or development.

“People are discovering the natural beauty that’s there,” said Lynne Stone of the Boulder-White Clouds Council. “The SNRA is one of the West’s few places where recreation, wildlife, fish and scenic values are considered more precious than gold.”

She said the recreation area attracted about a million people and their tourist dollars last year. Stanley, Ketchum and - perhaps eventually - Challis owe their livelihoods to visitors, Stone said.

The new wilderness would encompass the East Fork of the Salmon basin, except for private holdings along the river. It would mesh with the recreation area along its western boundary, nearly reaching Stanley.

A multicolored map of the conservationists’ aims shows a study zone for potential addition to the Sawtooth recreation area that stretches from the South Fork of the Boise River, to between Ketchum and Hailey, nearly to Challis in the northeast, and Bear Valley to the northwest.

A proposed open-pit molybdenum mine in the White Clouds became the top issue in the 1970 gubernatorial election in which Cecil Andrus ran against Republican incumbent Don Samuelson, who favored the mine. Andrus won, and with the help of Democratic Sen. Frank Church, squelched the mine and formed the designated area.

The environmentalists are calling upon Idaho’s congressional delegation to secure yearly appropriations to buy scenic easements in the Stanley Basin to halt subdivisions. One is proposed south of Stanley in the 10 percent of the recreation area not already covered by easements.

The recreation area got an $800,000 appropriation last year to buy easements and is hoping for another $1 million this year.

U.S. Rep. Michael Crapo, R-Idaho, conducted field hearings two years ago on proposed wilderness boundaries for the Boulder-White Clouds, but there is no consensus from Idaho’s all-Republican delegation. Crapo would not introduce legislation until there is, said his spokeswoman, Susan Wheeler.

Rep. Lenore Barrett, R-Challis, said she will fight any expansion of the recreation area, particularly if it impinges on prime ranching land on the East Fork of the Salmon near Clayton.

“That area is very beautiful because man has made it that way,” she said. “I don’t support the expansion of anything federal. Once they draw a line, it becomes like an amoeba: It keeps creeping and creeping.”