The Selway: Uncommon place, uncommon river

Thanks to its remarkable qualities, the Selway River has long been recognized as one of America’s outstanding waterways.

When President Lyndon Johnson signed the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act into law in 1968, the Selway and seven other rivers – including the Middle Fork of the Salmon – instantly received federal protection.

Sponsored by Sen. Frank Church, D-Idaho, the Wild & Scenic Rivers act now safeguards more than 225 rivers in 41 states.

The Selway is arguably the most wild and scenic of them all.

Born in the Bitterroot mountains at an elevation of only 6,800 feet, it typically runs high and hard in May and June, then drops to a low-flow trickle by early July.

Daring experts will launch when it’s running high but, because of its difficulty, most folks prefer to paddle the Selway in low-flow conditions. Catching it at a medium flow is a rare thing.

The rarest thing of all about the Selway is receiving permission to float it.

Because it is so unspoiled and its rapids are so challenging, nearly everyone in the whitewater world wants to paddle the Selway.

To prevent a Tragedy of the Commons, the U.S. Forest Service allows only one party to launch per day during the high-demand season from May 15 through July 31. Permits are distributed via a highly competitive lottery.

In 2020, the odds of drawing a Selway permit were 1 in 122. Since then, the odds have only worsened.