Clearwater Wildlands Map (2024)
Below is a map of the wildlands of the Clearwater, made in collaboration between FOC staff and volunteers. The map shows the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests colored by land classification.
TAN areas are developed forest, meaning areas full of old timber roads, culverts, logging projects, and more. These areas tend to have the least protection, lowest quality streams and rivers, youngest forests, and most invasive species.
LIGHT GREEN and HIGHLIGHTER YELLOW areas are roadless. Roadless areas are de facto wilderness without the legal protections of congressionally-designated wilderness areas. These areas have virtually no roads, only trails (though some have motorized trails within them). They tend to have greater protection than loaded areas, since the Idaho Roadless Rule offers some protections. Roadless areas also have higher quality water ways, more old-growth, and great habitat for rare species.
TEAL areas are designated wilderness areas. Four wildernesses can be seen on the map: The Selway-Bitterroot, the Gospel Hump, the Frank Church-River of No Return, and the Hell’s Canyon wilderness. These areas are permanently protected from roadbuilding, logging, and most commercial enterprise. They are core habitat for many species, a source of deep solitude and reflection, and contain the headwaters of many of Idaho’s rivers.
Three BLACK and GREEN areas show what is recommended as wilderness in the 2023 CNPNF Forest Plan. These areas, including portions of the Mallard-Larkins to the north, the Great Burn (also known as Kelly Creek, or Hoodoo) to the north-east, and a portion of Meadow Creek to the south. They represent just 18% of the roadless country of the forest, with 88% facing eventual logging and roadbuilding. In this way, the forest plan doesn’t propose “more” wilderness, it proposes 88% LESS wilderness than what is already doing fine without human management.
A PDF version of the map can be found here.
A volunteer-created map of the wildlands of the Nez Perce and Clearwater National Forests.