Idaho's vanishing wild lands: a status report on roadless areas in Idaho's national forests

Call Number:

Abstract:

This report on the status and future of Idaho's wild lands presents the results of a two-year study by The Wilderness Society (TWS). The study was conducted primarily by personnel in TWS' Center for Landscape Analysis in Seattle, and Idaho Regional Office in Boise. A primary objective of the study was to determine the current amount and location of roadless areas in Idaho's national forests. The last time the Forest Service inventoried its roadless areas was during the mid-1980s, when the agency was developing land and resource management plans for each national forest. To update that 10- to 15-year-old inventory, TWS staff examined the most recent maps available from local Forest service offices and corrected the forest plan roadless area maps. We then entered the map data into the geographic information system (GIS) operated by our Center for Landscape Analysis. Besides providing an accurate, up-to-date inventory of Idaho's roadless areas, our study also utilized GIS resource data from ICBEMP scientific assessment and other sources to analyze the roadless areas. Our analysis focused on three issues: the current status of roadless areas, the relationship between roadless areas and fish habitat, and the potential for landslides in roadless areas based on slope steepness.

Notes:

Reference Code: U97AND02IDUS

Full Citation: Anderson, M. 1997. Idaho's vanishing wild lands: a status report on roadless areas in Idaho's national forests. The Wilderness Society, Washington, DC. 29 pp. plus maps.

Location: