Sawtooth Wilderness

{{See also|Sawtooth National Forest#Forest history}}

Sawtooth National Forest was created as the Sawtooth Forest Reserve in the U.S. Department of Agriculture by proclamation of President Theodore Roosevelt on May 29, 1905. It was named after the Sawtooth Mountains in the northwestern part of the forest. On October 12, 1937, the U.S. Forest Service established the Sawtooth Primitive Area in the Sawtooth Mountains. Subsequently, Sawtooth National Forest began to extensively develop recreation opportunities, including new campgrounds, trails, and roads.{{cite journal |last=Dant Ewert |first=Sara E. |title=Peak park politics: the struggle over the Sawtooths, from Borah to Church |journal=The Pacific Northwest Quarterly |volume=91 |issue=3 |pages=138–149 |publisher=University of Washington |location=Seattle, WA |date=Summer 2000 |jstor=40492581 |issn=0030-8803}}

In 1960, Frank Church, a U.S. Senator from Idaho, first introduced legislation for a feasibility study to study the area for national park status. While Church allowed the 1960 feasibility study legislation to die, he introduced a bill in 1963 to create Sawtooth Wilderness National Park, which would primarily encompass the existing Sawtooth Primitive Area. While the 1963 bill also died, Church admitted that it wasn't designed to pass but rather to encourage thorough feasibility studies by both the Forest Service and National Park Service. Support for greater protection of the Sawtooths and surrounding areas grew after the discovery of a molybdenum deposit at the base of Castle Peak in the White Cloud Mountains in 1968.

In March 1971 Idaho's congressional delegation was finally united and introduced legislation to create the SNRA. On August 22, 1972 Public Law 92-400 establishing the SNRA, covering {{convert|756019|acre}}, and banning mining in it passed both the House of Representatives and Senate and was signed into law by President Richard Nixon. As part of this legislation, the Sawtooth Primitive Area became the Sawtooth Wilderness covering {{convert|217088|acre}} and part of the National Wilderness Preservation System under the Wilderness Act of 1964. The SNRA was dedicated in a ceremony held on the shores of Redfish Lake on September 1, 1972.

File:Sawtooths and S Fork of Payette.JPG Valley and Rendezvous Lake]]

The Sawtooth Wilderness is managed by Sawtooth National Recreation Area, which is a division of Sawtooth National Forest. However, the wilderness encompasses land that was originally part of three National Forests: {{convert|150071|acre|km2}} in Boise National Forest, {{convert|12020|acre|km2}} in Challis National Forest, and {{convert|54997|acre|km2}} in Sawtooth National Forest.

The Wilderness Act of 1964 enhanced the protection status of remote or undeveloped land already contained within federally administered protected areas. Passage of the act ensured that no human improvements would take place aside from those already existing. The protected status in wilderness-designated zones prohibits road and building construction, oil and mineral exploration or extraction, and logging, and also prohibits the use of motorized equipment, including bicycles. The only manner in which people can enter wilderness areas is either on foot or horseback. Hunting and fishing are permitted in the wilderness, just as they are throughout the SNRA, provided those engaging in such activities have the proper licenses and permits.{{cite web |last=Zahniser |first=Howard |author-link=Howard Zahniser |title=The Wilderness Act |date=September 3, 1964 |publisher=U.S. Congress |location=Washington, DC |url=http://wilderness.nps.gov/document/WildernessAct.pdf |access-date=May 22, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030516145211/http://wilderness.nps.gov/document/WildernessAct.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 16, 2003 }}{{cite web |title=The Wilderness Act of 1964 |publisher=Wilderness.net |url=http://www.wilderness.net/index.cfm?fuse=NWPS&sec=legisAct |access-date=20 May 2012}} Fires and stock are prohibited in certain high-use areas of the wilderness.

File:Sawtooth mtns.JPG from the Alpine Way Trail]]

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. Hunting is permitted during the appropriate hunting seasons. Hunting and fishing licenses are available from the state of Idaho through the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.{{cite web |title=Idaho Department of Fish and Game |publisher=Idaho Department of Fish and Game |url=http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/ |access-date=May 9, 2012}} There are 40 trails totaling nearly {{convert|350|mi|km}} in the wilderness that can be used for day hiking, backpacking, and horseback riding and accessed from 23 trailheads.{{cite web |title=Wilderness |publisher=U.S. Forest Service |url= http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5196564.pdf |access-date=July 1, 2012}} Most of these trails were constructed or reconstructed in the 1960s. Mountain climbing, rock climbing, snowshoeing, and backcountry downhill skiing are activities that are also permitted in the wilderness. The closest town to the wilderness is Stanley at the northern end of the Sawtooth Valley, but the communities of Atlanta and Sawtooth City also provide access to the wilderness.

The Sawtooth Wilderness encompasses the Sawtooth Mountains, which are part of the Rocky Mountains.{{cite map |publisher=Sawtooth National Forest, U.S. Forest Service |title=Sawtooth National Forest |edition=1998 }} The Sawtooth Mountains have at least 50 peaks over {{convert|10000|ft|m|abbr=on}} high, including Thompson Peak, the highest point in the range and the wilderness at {{convert|10751|ft|m|abbr=on}}.{{cite book |last=Lopez |first=T. |title=Idaho, a climbing guide: climbs, scrambles, and hikes |publisher=Mountaineers Books |edition=2nd |date=October 1, 2000 |location=Seattle, WA |isbn=978-0-89886-608-7}}{{cite summitpost |id=264649 |name=The Complete Sawtooths List |accessdate=May 10, 2012}} The second highest point in Mount Cramer. The northern Sawtooth Mountains formed from the Eocene Sawtooth batholith, while south of Alturas Lake the Sawtooth Mountains formed from the Cretaceous granodiorite of the Idaho Batholith.{{cite journal |last=Taubeneck |first=William H. |title=Idaho batholith and its southern extension |journal=GSA Bulletin |volume=82 |issue=7 |pages=1899–1928 |date=July 1971 |publisher=Geological Society of America |doi=10.1130/0016-7606(1971)82[1899:IBAISE]2.0.CO;2 |issn=1943-2674|bibcode=1971GSAB...82.1899T }}{{cite web |title=Idaho Batholith |publisher=Idaho State University |url=http://geology.isu.edu/Digital_Geology_Idaho/Module6/Idaho-Batholith-slide.pdf |access-date=May 9, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070710012842/http://geology.isu.edu/Digital_Geology_Idaho/Module6/Idaho-Batholith-slide.pdf |url-status=live |archive-date=July 10, 2007}}

File:Sawtooth Lake.JPG and Mount Regan in June 2008]]

{{See also|List of lakes of the Sawtooth Mountains (Idaho)}}

The entire wilderness is in the watershed of the Snake River, a tributary of the Columbia River, which flows into the Pacific Ocean. The eastern side of the wilderness is drained by Salmon River, which flows into the Snake River {{convert|425|mi|km}} downstream. The western side of the wilderness is in the watershed of the South Fork of the Payette River, while part of the southern end of the wilderness is drained by the Boise River. Several hundred lakes exist in the Sawtooth Wilderness, and nearly all are the result of glaciation. The largest lake in the wilderness is Sawtooth Lake, and other large lakes include Alice, Toxaway, Ardeth, Edna, Hell Roaring, Goat, and Baron lakes. Lakes in the wilderness can remain frozen until mid-summer, and many of the smaller lakes are unnamed.

The Sawtooth Fault is a {{convert|40|mi|km|abbr=on}} long east-dipping normal fault that runs along the base of the Sawtooth Mountains and was discovered and mapped in 2010. It is believed to be capable of producing an earthquake measuring up to 7.5 on the Richter magnitude scale, with one of the most recent large earthquakes occurring 4,000 years ago and a second 7,000 years ago.{{cite news |title=Scientists find new seismic fault in Rocky Mountains |work=BBC News |date=May 20, 2012 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11790298 |access-date=November 20, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101119052609/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11790298 |url-status=live |archive-date=November 19, 2010}}{{cite news |last=Wall |first=Tim |title=Large Seismic Fault Found in the Rockies |publisher=Discovery News |date=November 19, 2010 |url=http://news.discovery.com/earth/large-seismic-fault-found-in-the-rockies.html |access-date=November 20, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101123112245/http://news.discovery.com/earth/large-seismic-fault-found-in-the-rockies.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 23, 2010 }}

The Sawtooth Wilderness has a history of alpine glaciation, and while no surface glaciers exist today, perennial snow fields and rock glaciers remain, usually on north or east facing slopes. There have been 202 perennial snow fields mapped in the Sawtooth Mountains.{{cite web |last=Cannon |first=Charles |title=Glaciers of Idaho |publisher=Portland State University |date=August 24, 2011 |url=http://glaciers.research.pdx.edu/Glaciers-Idaho |access-date=May 9, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101007004502/http://glaciers.research.pdx.edu/Glaciers-Idaho |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 7, 2010 }} The Sawtooth Mountains were last extensively glaciated in the Pleistocene, but glaciers probably existed during the Little Ice Age, which ended around AD 1850.{{cite journal |last1=Thackray |first1=Glenn D. |last2=Lundeen |first2=Kari A. |last3=Borgert |first3=Jennifer A. |title=Latest Pleistocene alpine glacier advances in the Sawtooth Mountains, Idaho, USA: reflections of midlatitude moisture transport at the close of the last glaciation. |journal=Geology |volume=32 |issue=3 |pages=225–228 |publisher=Geological Society of America |date=March 2004 |issn=1943-2682 |doi=10.1130/G20174.1|bibcode=2004Geo....32..225T }}{{cite news |last=Mijal |first=Brandon |title=Holocene and latest Pleistocene glaciation in the Sawtooth Mountains, central Idaho |publisher=Western Washington University |location=Bellingham, WA |year=2008}} Remnants of glacial activity include glacial lakes, moraines, horns, hanging valleys, cirques, and arêtes.

Graham Guard Station is by the North Fork Boise River, on the far western edge of the Sawtooth Wilderness.{{cite web|url = https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/boise/recarea/?recid=5188 |publisher = USDA Forest Service |title = Graham Guard Station |access-date = November 25, 2023}} Graham Guard Station has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb), with subalpine climate (Köppen Dfc) characteristics. The temperatures at Graham Guard Station have a high degree of diurnal variation throughout the year, with the temperatures at night remaining cold throughout the year, with no months where the average low exceeds 40 °F (4.4 °C). Daytime temperatures in winter are relatively mild, with the average high temperature ranging between 39 °F (3.9 °C) and 45 °F (7.2 °C), but the temperature drops drastically at night, reaching far below freezing. The level of diurnal temperature variation is similar to that of Bodie, California.

{{Weather box

|location = Graham Guard Station, Idaho, 1991–2020 normals, 1988-2020 extremes: 5690ft (1734m)

|single line = Yes

|Jan record high F = 65

|Feb record high F = 67

|Mar record high F = 74

|Apr record high F = 85

|May record high F = 87

|Jun record high F = 96

|Jul record high F = 100

|Aug record high F = 98

|Sep record high F = 95

|Oct record high F = 85

|Nov record high F = 70

|Dec record high F = 63

|year record high F =

|Jan avg record high F = 58.1

|Feb avg record high F = 61.4

|Mar avg record high F = 67.5

|Apr avg record high F = 72.8

|May avg record high F = 77.3

|Jun avg record high F = 84.8

|Jul avg record high F = 92.3

|Aug avg record high F = 91.1

|Sep avg record high F = 86.0

|Oct avg record high F = 74.8

|Nov avg record high F = 62.4

|Dec avg record high F = 55.0

|year avg record high F = 93.4

|Jan high F = 42.0

|Feb high F = 45.2

|Mar high F = 50.9

|Apr high F = 55.2

|May high F = 61.8

|Jun high F = 69.3

|Jul high F = 81.0

|Aug high F = 80.6

|Sep high F = 71.5

|Oct high F = 57.5

|Nov high F = 45.5

|Dec high F = 39.7

|year high F =

|Jan mean F = 25.2

|Feb mean F = 27.6

|Mar mean F = 33.6

|Apr mean F = 39.1

|May mean F = 46.3

|Jun mean F = 52.3

|Jul mean F = 60.0

|Aug mean F = 59.1

|Sep mean F = 51.8

|Oct mean F = 41.3

|Nov mean F = 31.0

|Dec mean F = 24.0

|year mean F =

|Jan low F = 8.3

|Feb low F = 9.9

|Mar low F = 16.3

|Apr low F = 22.9

|May low F = 30.7

|Jun low F = 35.1

|Jul low F = 39.0

|Aug low F = 37.5

|Sep low F = 31.8

|Oct low F = 25.1

|Nov low F = 16.5

|Dec low F = 8.3

|year low F =

|Jan avg record low F = -15.9

|Feb avg record low F = -11.3

|Mar avg record low F = -3.9

|Apr avg record low F = 8.1

|May avg record low F = 20.0

|Jun avg record low F = 26.0

|Jul avg record low F = 30.5

|Aug avg record low F = 28.3

|Sep avg record low F = 20.7

|Oct avg record low F = 10.5

|Nov avg record low F = -5.5

|Dec avg record low F = -13.8

|year avg record low F = -19.7

|Jan record low F = -29

|Feb record low F = -29

|Mar record low F = -18

|Apr record low F = -6

|May record low F = 12

|Jun record low F = 20

|Jul record low F = 24

|Aug record low F = 14

|Sep record low F = 8

|Oct record low F = -9

|Nov record low F = -21

|Dec record low F = -39

|year record low F =

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation inch = 4.47

|Feb precipitation inch = 3.31

|Mar precipitation inch = 3.22

|Apr precipitation inch = 2.69

|May precipitation inch = 2.25

|Jun precipitation inch = 1.71

|Jul precipitation inch = 0.54

|Aug precipitation inch = 0.52

|Sep precipitation inch = 1.04

|Oct precipitation inch = 2.38

|Nov precipitation inch = 3.89

|Dec precipitation inch = 4.95

|year precipitation inch =

|source 1 = XMACIS2

{{cite web

|url = https://xmacis.rcc-acis.org/

|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

|title = xmACIS2

|access-date = November 25, 2023

}}

|source 2 = NOAA (precipitation)

{{cite web

|url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USS0015F14S&format=pdf

|title= Graham Guard Station, Idaho 1991-2020 Monthly Normals

|access-date = November 25, 2023

}}

}}

{{See also|Ecology of the Rocky Mountains}}

File:Parks Peak.JPG below Parks Peak]]

{{See also|Sawtooth National Forest#Flora}}

Land cover types in the Sawtooth Wilderness include pine and spruce-fir forests, meadows, and alpine tundra. Lodgepole pine forms nearly monotypic forests in lower elevations of the wilderness, while douglas fir and quaking aspen can also be found. Higher elevations contain whitebark pine, Engelmann spruce, subalpine fir, and limber pine.{{cite web |title=Sawtooth National Forest Visitor Guide |publisher=U.S. Forest Service |url=http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5370806.pdf |access-date=May 9, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524071811/http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5370806.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 24, 2013 }}{{cite book |last1=Kershner |first1=Bruce |last2=Mathews |first2=Daniel |last3=Nelson |first3=Gil |last4=Spellenberg |first4=Richard |last5=Purinton |first5=Terry |last6=Block |first6=Andrew |last7=Moore |first7=Gerry |last8=Thieret |first8=John W. |title=National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Trees of North America |publisher=Sterling Publishing Company |year=2008 |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-1-4027-3875-3}} There are no known threatened or endangered plant species in the wilderness.

{{main|List of animals of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area|List of birds of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area}}

Most of the area's native mammal species are present in the wilderness, with the exception of grizzly bears, which have become locally extinct. Gray wolves were reintroduced to the SNRA amidst controversy in the mid-1990s and now occupy most of the forest except for the Minidoka District. They were reintroduced to restore the ecosystem stability that they provide as top predators, including managing high elk populations, which had inhibited new vegetation growth. Opponents to the reintroduction included hunters concerned that wolves would inhibit their ability to hunt the highest number of game species possible, ranchers concerned for the welfare of their animals, and land developers concerned that a species listed under the Endangered Species Act may restrict what they can do to their land. Plans for the reintroduction of grizzly bears to central Idaho have been proposed since the 1990s, but have not progressed because of concerns similar to those with the wolf reintroduction but also concerns for personal safety.{{cite journal |last1=Merrill |first1=Troy |last2=Mattson |first2=David J. |last3=Wright |first3=R. Gerald |last4=Quigley |first4=Howard B. |title=Defining landscapes suitable for restoration of grizzly bears Ursus arctos in Idaho |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=87 |issue=2 |pages=231–248 |publisher=Elsevier |date=February 1999 |issn=0006-3207 |doi=10.1016/S0006-3207(98)00057-3 |url=http://www.panthera.org/sites/default/files/Merrill_Mattson_Wright_Quigley_1999_Defining_Landscapes_Grizzly_Bears.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017003252/http://www.panthera.org/sites/default/files/Merrill_Mattson_Wright_Quigley_1999_Defining_Landscapes_Grizzly_Bears.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 17, 2013}}{{cite journal |last=Smith |first=Rob Roy |title=Unbearable? Bitterroot Grizzly Bear Reintroduction & the George W. Bush Administration |journal=Golden Gate University Law Review |volume=33 |issue=3 |publisher=Berkeley Electronic Press |location=Berkeley, CA |year=2003 |url=http://digitalcommons.law.ggu.edu/ggulrev/vol33/iss3/3 |access-date=May 11, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305221715/http://digitalcommons.law.ggu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1862&context=ggulrev |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 5, 2016 }}{{cite web |title=Grizzly Bears Will Not Be Reintroduced into U.S. West |publisher=Environment News Service |date=June 21, 2001 |url=http://ens-newswire.com/ens/jun2001/2001-06-21-03.asp |access-date=May 11, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060514083027/http://ens-newswire.com/ens/jun2001/2001-06-21-03.asp |url-status=live |archive-date=May 14, 2006}}{{cite web |title=Nature final plan afoot to reintroduce grizzly bears |publisher=CNN |date=15 March 2000 |url=http://articles.cnn.com/2000-03-15/nature/grizzlies.enn_1_selwaybitterroot-wilderness-tom-france-citizen-management?_s=PM:NATURE |access-date=May 11, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324182130/http://articles.cnn.com/2000-03-15/nature/grizzlies.enn_1_selwaybitterroot-wilderness-tom-france-citizen-management?_s=PM:NATURE |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 24, 2012}} The wilderness contains habitat for wolverines and the endangered Canada lynx, but no recent sightings of these species have been reported.

Other large mammals found in the wilderness include mule deer, elk, moose, mountain goats, mountain lions, and black bears. Bull trout are the management indicator species for Sawtooth National Forest, and they can be found in some of the streams in the wilderness. Population monitoring efforts are undertaken every year to provide an assessment of forest health.{{cite web |last1=Isaak |first1=Dan |last2=Rieman |first2=Bruce |last3=Horan |first3=Dona |title=A watershed-scale monitoring protocoal for bull trout |publisher=Rocky Mountain Research Station, U.S. Forest Service |location=Fort Collins, CO |date=April 2009 |url=http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_gtr224.pdf |access-date=May 21, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111026122810/http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_gtr224.pdf |url-status=live |archive-date=October 26, 2011}}{{cite web |title=Focus: Bull Trout Monitoring |publisher=Rocky Mountain Research Station |url=http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/boise/AWAE/briefing/Isaak_BullTrout_Monitoring.pdf|

access-date=May 11, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111017132457/http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/boise/AWAE/briefing/Isaak_BullTrout_Monitoring.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 17, 2011}} They were selected because they are dependent upon specific habitat conditions and sensitive to habitat changes.{{ITIS |id=162004 |taxon=Salvelinus confluentus |access-date=May 12, 2012}}{{FishBase | genus = Salvelinus |species = confluentus | year = 2012 | month = May}}{{cite web |title=Bull Trout Facts (Salvelinus confluentus) |publisher=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |date=May 1998 |url=http://library.fws.gov/Pubs1/bulltrout.pdf |access-date=May 21, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080916012746/http://library.fws.gov/Pubs1/bulltrout.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 16, 2008 }}

• List of peaks of the Sawtooth Range (Idaho)
• List of mountains of Idaho
• List of mountain peaks of Idaho
• List of mountain ranges in Idaho

{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

{{commons category|Sawtooth Wilderness}}

• [http://www.sawtoothwilderness.com/ Inventory of all lakes in the Sawtooth Wilderness]

{{Protected areas of Idaho}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Boise National Forest

Category:Protected areas established in 1972

Category:Protected areas of Blaine County, Idaho

Category:Protected areas of Boise County, Idaho

Category:Protected areas of Custer County, Idaho

Category:Protected areas of Elmore County, Idaho

Category:Salmon-Challis National Forest

Category:Sawtooth National Forest

Category:Wilderness areas of Idaho