Jim McClure–Jerry Peak Wilderness, Protected wilderness area in central Idaho, United States.
Jim McClure–Jerry Peak Wilderness is a 116,898-acre (47,307 ha) protected area in Salmon-Challis National Forest and Bureau of Land Management land in Custer County, Idaho. It adjoins the Hemingway–Boulders Wilderness on its southwest side and lies east of the Cecil D. Andrus–White Clouds Wilderness, which it does not directly touch.
The area entered the National Wilderness Preservation System on August 7, 2015, when President Barack Obama signed the Sawtooth National Recreation Area and Jerry Peak Wilderness Additions Act. Sponsored by Representative Mike Simpson, the bill passed Congress without objection. The wilderness is named for Jim McClure, a former U.S. Senator from Idaho.
The wilderness is named for Jim McClure, a U.S. Senator from Idaho, while the Jerry Peak name comes from the peak inside the area. The 2015 designation was sponsored by Representative Mike Simpson and passed Congress without objection before President Barack Obama signed it into law.
Access to the area is available through several trailheads starting from Herd Lake Road, offering routes for different skill levels. Visitors should prepare for mountainous terrain, elevation changes, and weather that can shift quickly, especially at higher elevations.
The East Fork of the Salmon River runs through this land and carries one of North America's longest salmon migrations each summer. This yearly journey brings hundreds of salmon back to these mountain waterways.
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