Owyhee River Wilderness

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. The only roads are rough and there are few trails. There are challenging whitewater rivers.

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:

• Big Jacks Creek Wilderness - 52826 acres
• Bruneau – Jarbidge Rivers Wilderness - 89996 acres
• Little Jacks Creek Wilderness - 50929 acres
• North Fork Owyhee Wilderness - 43413 acres
• Pole Creek Wilderness - 12533 acres

The Act of 2009 added 517025 acres of wilderness within the state of Idaho. The Owyhee River Wilderness accounts for 51.7% of that area.

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.

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. 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.

References

References

1. "Ecoregions of Oregon".
2. "Ecoregions of Idaho".
3. "Owyhee Canyonlands Wilderness". Idaho Public TV.
4. "Forestwide Standards and Guidelines". United States Forest Service.
5. "Owyhee River Wilderness - Area Management". Wilderness.net.
6. "Map of Owyhee River Wilderness". Bureau of Land Management.
7. "Owyhee River Wilderness - General". Wilderness.net.
8. "Owyhee Canyonlands Wilderness Areas". Bureau of Land Management.
9. "Wild & Scenic Rivers". Bureau of Land Management.
10. "Little Owyhee River Wilderness Study Area". U.S. Department of the Interior: Bureau of Land Management.