White Clouds Wilderness, Wilderness area in Salmon-Challis National Forest, Idaho, US
The Cecil D. Andrus–White Clouds Wilderness is a 90,769-acre protected area in Custer County, Idaho, encompassing part of the White Cloud Mountains. The Sawtooth National Recreation Area manages most of it within the Sawtooth National Forest, while 450 acres along the East Fork Salmon River fall to the Bureau of Land Management. It lies north of the Hemingway–Boulders Wilderness and west of the Jim McClure–Jerry Peak Wilderness.
Native American tribes hunted and gathered across these lands for centuries before official protection arrived. The wilderness designation came in 2015, formally recognizing the region's ecological value.
The name honors Cecil Andrus, Idaho's governor from 1971 to 1977 and 1987 to 1995, added in 2018 over the objection of Senator Jim Risch. The area was first protected as White Clouds Wilderness in 2015. Visitors today find no roads or developed campgrounds, and the 450 acres along the East Fork Salmon River are managed by the Bureau of Land Management rather than the Forest Service.
The wilderness has no roads or developed campgrounds, so visitors must be self-sufficient and carry all supplies. The Sawtooth National Recreation Area manages most of the land, while 450 acres along the East Fork Salmon River at the eastern edge fall under the Bureau of Land Management.
The wilderness was renamed in 2018 for Cecil D. Andrus, Idaho's governor from 1971 to 1977 and 1987 to 1995, over the objection of Senator Jim Risch. The 2015 designation passed Congress without objection as part of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area and Jerry Peak Wilderness Additions Act, sponsored by Representative Mike Simpson of Blackfoot.
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