Owyhee River Wilderness

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Owyhee River Wilderness
Owyhee River Wilderness A.jpg
Owyhee River Wilderness
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Location Owyhee County, Idaho, United States
Nearest city Boise, Idaho
Coordinates 42°16′N116°46′W / 42.26°N 116.77°W / 42.26; -116.77 Coordinates: 42°16′N116°46′W / 42.26°N 116.77°W / 42.26; -116.77
Area267,328 acres (108,184 ha)
Established2009
Governing body Bureau of Land Management

The Owyhee River Wilderness is located on the high basalt plateaus of Owyhee County in southwestern Idaho in the western United States. The wilderness area is named after and protects the upper Owyhee River, its tributaries, and the surrounding desert canyon landscape. [1] Whitewater rafting is a popular recreational activity in this wilderness area. Managed by the Bureau of Land Management, it is the second-largest U.S. Wilderness Area that is not located within a National Forest, National Park, or National Wildlife Refuge. The BLM's Black Rock Desert Wilderness, located within Black Rock Desert – High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area, is larger. About 67.3 miles (108.3 km) of the Owyhee River is classified as a wild river. [2]

Contents

Geography

The Owyhee River Wilderness is irregularly shaped, generally following the course of the Owyhee River, South Fork Owyhee River, Little Owyhee River, Deep Creek, and Battle Creek, as well as including some plateau lands. The wilderness area stretches from the Oregon-Idaho border in the west to the Duck Valley Indian Reservation in the east to the Nevada-Idaho border in the south. The rivers and creeks are deeply eroded into the Owyhee Plateau, resulting in deep canyons. [3] The only roads are rough and there are few trails. There are challenging whitewater rivers.[ citation needed ]

Legislative history

The Owyhee River Wilderness was created by the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 and signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 30, 2009. Also created in the Omnibus Land Act were five additional southwestern Idaho wilderness areas in Owyhee County, collectively known as the Owyhee Canyonlands Wilderness Areas: [4] [5]

The Act of 2009 added 517,025 acres (209,233 ha) of wilderness within the state of Idaho. The Owyhee River Wilderness accounts for 51.7% of that area. [4] [5]

Wilderness areas do not allow motorized or mechanical equipment including bicycles. Although camping and fishing are allowed with proper permit, no roads or buildings are constructed and there is also no logging or mining, in compliance with the 1964 Wilderness Act. Wilderness areas within National Forests and Bureau of Land Management areas also allow hunting in season. [6] [7]

Natural history

The Owyhee River Wilderness lies within the Owyhee Desert, part of the northern Basin and Range ecoregion, although hydrologically the wilderness area is within the Snake River – Columbia River drainage. [8] [9] The region is home to a varying amount of animal and plant life. Animals such as bighorn sheep, cougars, prairie falcons, bobcats, and pronghorn live through the region. A variety of plant life such as lupine, Eriogonum salicornioides, Phacelia lutea var., and bitterroot can also be found in the area. [1] [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Owyhee River River in Nevada, Idaho, and Oregon, United States

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Jarbidge River River in Nevada and Idaho, United States

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Northern Basin and Range ecoregion

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Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009

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Bruneau–Jarbidge Rivers Wilderness

The Bruneau – Jarbidge Rivers Wilderness is located on the high basalt plateaus of Owyhee County in southwestern Idaho in the western United States. The wilderness area is named after and protects much of the Bruneau and Jarbidge Rivers and their canyons. Whitewater rafting is a popular recreational activity in this wilderness area, which has rivers up to Class V. About 40 miles (64 km) of the Bruneau River and about 28.8 miles (46.3 km) of the Jarbidge River are classified as a wild river.

Santa Rosa Wilderness Protected wilderness area in California, United States

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Cottonwood Canyon Wilderness

Cottonwood Canyon Wilderness is a 11,712-acre (47.4 km2) wilderness area in the US state of Utah. It was designated March 30, 2009, as part of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009. Located adjacent to the southern edge of the Dixie National Forest, it encompasses and protects a transition zone between the Colorado Plateau to the east and the Mojave Desert to the west. It is bordered by the Cottonwood Forest Wilderness to the northeast and is itself a part of the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area.

Dickshooter is the name of a trailmarker and also of at least three geographical features in Owyhee County, Idaho: a ridge, a reservoir, and a creek. These are in close proximity to each other in the southwestern corner of the state, in a wilderness area approximately 24 miles (39 km) northwest of Riddle.

Pole Creek Wilderness

The Pole Creek Wilderness is located on the high rhyolite and basalt plateaus of Owyhee County in southwestern Idaho in the western United States. Its whitewater rapids are a popular attraction.

North Fork Owyhee Wilderness

The North Fork Owyhee Wilderness is on the high basalt plateaus of Owyhee County in southwestern Idaho in the western United States. The rivers within it offer whitewater rapids up to Class IV. The upper 20.8 miles (33.5 km) of the North Fork Owyhee River, from the Idaho–Oregon border to the upstream boundary of the wilderness, are part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Of this total, 15.1 miles (24.3 km) are classified as wild and the remaining 5.7 miles (9.2 km) are classified "recreational".

Big Jacks Creek Wilderness

The Big Jacks Creek Wilderness is located on the high basalt plateaus of Owyhee County in southwestern Idaho in the western United States. Little Jacks Creek Wilderness is on its northwest border. About 35 miles (56 km) of Big Jacks Creek is classified as a wild river.

Little Jacks Creek Wilderness

The Little Jacks Creek Wilderness is located on the high basalt plateaus of Owyhee County in southwestern Idaho in the western United States. Big Jacks Creek Wilderness is on its southeast border. About 12.4 miles (20.0 km) of Little Jacks Creek is classified as a wild river.

Dominguez–Escalante National Conservation Area

The Dominguez–Escalante National Conservation Area is a 209,610-acre (848.3 km2) National Conservation Area located in western Colorado southeast of Grand Junction and northwest of Montrose. It is managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and was created as part of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009. In 2009 66,280 acres (26,820 ha) were also designated as the Dominguez Canyon Wilderness.

Battle Creek (Owyhee River tributary)

Battle Creek is a 67-mile (110 km) long tributary of the Owyhee River. Beginning at an elevation of 6,704 feet (2,043 m) in central Owyhee County, Idaho, it flows generally south through the Owyhee Desert to its mouth west of Riddle, at an elevation of 4,636 feet (1,413 m). In 2009, 23.4 miles (37.7 km) of the creek were designated as wild by the Omnibus Public Land Management Act, which also created the Owyhee River Wilderness.

Sheep Creek (Bruneau River tributary)

Sheep Creek is a 63-mile (101 km) long tributary of the Bruneau River. Beginning at an elevation of 6,126 feet (1,867 m) east of Owyhee in northern Elko County, Nevada, it flows generally north into Owyhee County, Idaho and the Owyhee Desert, where it is roughly paralleled by Idaho State Highway 51. It then flows to its mouth in the Bruneau – Jarbidge Rivers Wilderness, at an elevation of 3,415 feet (1,041 m). In 2009, 25.6 miles (41.2 km) of the creek were designated as wild by the Omnibus Public Land Management Act, which also created the Bruneau – Jarbidge Rivers Wilderness.

North Fork Owyhee River

The North Fork Owyhee River is a tributary, about 30 miles (48 km) long, of the Owyhee River in Malheur County, Oregon, and Owyhee County, Idaho, in the United States. It begins on the east flank of the Owyhee Mountains in Idaho and flows generally southwest to meet the main stem at Three Forks, Oregon, 161 miles (259 km) above the confluence of the larger river with the Snake River.

Sand to Snow National Monument

Sand to Snow National Monument is a U.S. National Monument located in San Bernardino County and northern Riverside County, Southern California.

References

  1. 1 2 "Owyhee River Wilderness - General". Wilderness.net. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
  2. ↑ "Wild & Scenic Rivers". Bureau of Land Management. Archived from the original on February 14, 2013. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Map of Owyhee River Wilderness" (PDF). Bureau of Land Management. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
  4. 1 2 "Owyhee Canyonlands Wilderness Areas". Bureau of Land Management. Archived from the original on October 24, 2011. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
  5. 1 2 "Owyhee Canyonlands Wilderness". Idaho Public TV. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Forestwide Standards and Guidelines" (PDF). United States Forest Service. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
  7. ↑ "Owyhee River Wilderness - Area Management". Wilderness.net. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
  8. ↑ PD-icon.svg This article incorporates  public domain material from the United States Geological Survey document: Thorson, TD; Bryce, SA; Lammers, DA; et al. "Ecoregions of Oregon" (PDF).(color poster with map, descriptive text, summary tables, and photographs; with a Reverse side)
  9. ↑ PD-icon.svg This article incorporates  public domain material from the United States Geological Survey document: McGrath, CL; Woods, AJ; Omernik, JM; et al. "Ecoregions of Idaho" (PDF).(color poster with map, descriptive text, summary tables, and photographs; with a Reverse side)
  10. ↑ "Little Owyhee River Wilderness Study Area" (PDF). U.S. Department of the Interior: Bureau of Land Management. Retrieved February 20, 2012.
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