Bruneau – Jarbidge Rivers Wilderness, Wilderness area in Owyhee County, Idaho, United States.
The Bruneau–Jarbidge Rivers Wilderness covers the canyons of the Bruneau and Jarbidge Rivers on basalt plateaus in Owyhee County, southwestern Idaho. The Bruneau runs through it from about five miles above the Jarbidge confluence to near Hot Creek, and the Jarbidge along its whole length from the West and East Forks to the Bruneau. A small road at Indian Hot Springs splits the area into two units.
The Bruneau–Jarbidge Rivers Wilderness was created by the Omnibus Public Land Management Act, signed by President Barack Obama on March 30, 2009. The same law established five other wilderness areas in Owyhee County, together known as the Owyhee Canyonlands Wilderness Areas, and added 517,025 acres of wilderness in Idaho. A small road at Indian Hot Springs, just north of the Bruneau–Jarbidge confluence, divides the area into two units.
The wilderness lies within the Owyhee Desert, part of the northern Basin and Range ecoregion, though its waters drain to the Snake and Columbia rivers. Hunting is allowed in season under the 1964 Wilderness Act, as on other Bureau of Land Management wilderness areas. Motorized and mechanical equipment, bicycles included, are not permitted.
The wilderness is split into two units by a small road at Indian Hot Springs, just north of the Bruneau-Jarbidge confluence. No roads or buildings are constructed, and motorized or mechanical equipment, including bicycles, is not allowed. Camping and fishing require a proper permit, and hunting is allowed in season.
The wilderness holds a small population of threatened bull trout, alongside Great Basin redband trout, bobcat, river otter and bighorn sheep. It lies in the Owyhee Desert, part of the northern Basin and Range ecoregion, yet drains to the Snake and Columbia rivers.
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