New White-Water Quotas Proposed For Idaho Rivers

Sun., Feb. 1, 1998

New York Times

The U.S. Forest Service has proposed sharply curtailing white-water trips on the Salmon River gorge in central Idaho, angering professional outfitters and boaters.

The proposal, announced on Tuesday, would reduce the number of people allowed to take trips by 50 percent on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River and by 30 percent on the main Salmon River. It would also reduce the maximum size of rafting parties, to 15 people from 30 in the case of trips run by outfitters, and to 10 from 24 for private groups.

Outfitters and others say the Forest Service’s current quotas, in place for about two decades, have worked well. Quotas have limited such trips to about 10,500 people a year on the Middle Fork and 8,000 on the Salmon, compared with about 24,000 a year on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.

“I think the Forest Service’s credibility is in question because this plan is so extreme,” said David Mills, co-owner of Rocky Mountain River Tours, a company that has run trips on the Middle Fork for 24 years. “This is like turning the wilderness into ‘land of no use.”’

But Forest Service officials contend that the Middle Fork and the main Salmon River were too congested in the high season in July and August, potentially ruining visitors’ “wilderness experience.”

Ken Wotring, the service’s wilderness coordinator for the Salmon-Challis National Forest, said the number of river rafters could double under the existing quota system, so some kind of reduction is needed.

The issue, Wotring said, is “what kind of wilderness opportunities are we going to leave behind for our grandkids?”

The Forest Service’s proposal has national implications because people from throughout the United States float the 100-mile Middle Fork, or the 80 miles of the main Salmon River that is in the canyon. The canyon section of the main Salmon, which is 475 miles long, and the entire 100 miles of the Middle Fork have been classified as wild and scenic rivers by Congress.

If adopted in 1999, as envisioned by the Forest Service, the new management plan would set guidelines for the rivers and the 2.3 million-acre Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness for the next 10 years.

Public comments will be taken over the next three months by mail and at hearings.

The notion of restricting public use has echoed throughout the nation as more people seek adventure in the country’s wilds.

Local journalism is essential.

Give directly to The Spokesman-Review's Northwest Passages community forums series -- which helps to offset the costs of several reporter and editor positions at the newspaper -- by using the easy options below. Gifts processed in this system are tax deductible.

Meet Our Journalists

Jesse Tinsley

Meet Jesse Tinsley. As a certified drone pilot, this veteran Spokesman-Review photographer often can be seen capturing beautiful aerial photographs of our region. Sometimes though, the job requires getting down with the dogs.
Jim Meehan

Jim Meehan is no stranger to Zag Nation. As the lead writer covering the Gonzaga men’s basketball team, he tells the stories behind the game and gets fans a bit closer to their favorite players.
Molly Quinn

There is no artist in Spokane like Molly Quinn. Her whimsical style is instantly recognizable to readers of The Spokesman-Review. She has painted gorgeous illustrations that instantly elevate the journalism accompanying it. She brings to life the stories that defy photography. She makes our pages better.
Rob Curley

Spokesman-Review editor Rob Curley loves to talk with people and learn about their lives, whether it's a best-selling author or a stranger he meets downtown on his walk to lunch. It's that inquisitive nature combined with a playful sense of storytelling that helps make our newspaper different than most.