The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Current Temperature
88°F
Current Conditions
Smoke
View complete weather report

Color Scheme

Subscribe now

Ranch along lower Selway River now public land

The Selway River Ranch near Johnson Bar on the Selway River is now owned by the U.S. Forest Service. The 152-acre property was first acquired by the Western Rivers Conservancy and then sold to the federal government, which used money from the Land and Water Conservation Fund. (Steve Dondero/Western Rivers Conservancy)
By Eric Barker Lewiston Tribune

LEWISTON – A formerly private ranch along the lower Selway River is now public property.

The Western Rivers Conservancy recently sold the 152-acre Selway River Ranch to the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest. The property, across from Johnson Bar, includes 1 mile of river frontage and is bisected by Elk City Creek and the 652 Road.

“The Selway is one of the West’s ultimate wild rivers, and we are very proud we were able to work with the seller and the U.S. Forest Service to keep a prime stretch of it pristine and undeveloped,” said Nelson Mathews, president of Western Rivers Conservancy, in a news release. “This partnership delivered a real win for the Selway, its wildlife and everyone lucky enough to be able to experience this incredible river and the exceptional wilderness that only the Selway offers.”

The group acquired the ranch in 2022 through a loan and then worked with the Forest Service to secure $2.4 million from the Land and Water Conservation Fund allowing the federal agency to purchase the land.

Its movement from private to public comes at a time when the size of the federal government’s land holdings is under debate. Congress is considering a Senate amendment to the budget reconciliation bill that would mandate the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management sell at least 2 million acres of public federal land.

Mathews noted the Great American Outdoors Act, which passed the Senate with 73 votes and the House with more than 300 votes and was signed by President Donald Trump in 2020, dictated that the Land and Water Conservation Fund be fully seeded annually with $900 million from offshore oil and gas drilling royalties. The fund is used by federal agencies to acquire important fish and wildlife habitat and public access easements. It is also tapped by local governments across the country and used to boost community parks and recreation.

“There’s been historic support for conserving lands like this, and we hope that it continues,” Mathews said.

While the ranch had a conservation easement attached to it, it could have been subdivided into four parcels with homes on each one. Under management of the federal agency, it will remain undeveloped. The group said that includes a meadow important to wildlife and Mathews said there is an opportunity for the Nez Perce Tribe and Forest Service to improve fish passage on Elk City Creek.

Ron Tipton, ranger of the forest’s Moose Creek District, said the acquisition increases public recreation access for boaters, anglers, campers and hikers.

“In addition to enhanced recreation opportunities, this acquisition supports habitat improvement for aquatic species including steelhead, chinook salmon, and westslope cutthroat trout in Elk City Creek with partners including the Nez Perce Tribe and Trout Unlimited,” he said.

The Selway River is protected under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and was among the first to be designated under the legislation that became law in 1968.

Western Rivers works to protect land along rivers that are important for fish and wildlife habitat and public recreation.

“It was a good win for the river there and for the family that had owned it all those years who wanted to see it protected and the fact that the Forest Service now has it is, I think, a very happy ending,” Mathews said.