The Bruneau – Jarbidge Rivers Wilderness is located on the high

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...

s of

Owyhee County Owyhee County ( ) is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,133. The county seat is Murphy, and its largest city is Homedale. In area it is the second-largest county in Ida ...

in southwestern

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

in the western

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The

wilderness area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

is named after and protects much of the Bruneau and Jarbidge Rivers and their canyons. Whitewater

rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

is a popular recreational activity in this wilderness area, which has rivers up to Class V. About of the

Bruneau River The Bruneau River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. tributary of the Snake River, in the U.S. states of Idaho and Nevada. It runs through a narrow canyon cut into ancient lava flows in sout ...

and about of the Jarbidge River are classified as a

wild river A wild river (United States, Australia, & New Zealand) or heritage river (Canada) is a :river or a river system designated by a government to be protected and kept "relatively untouched by development and are therefore in near natural conditi ...

Geography

The wilderness area includes the Bruneau River from about five miles upstream of the Jarbidge confluence down nearly to the confluence with Hot Creek, as well as portions of

Sheep Creek Sheep Creek is a geographical place name. With variations, the name is given to hundreds of bodies of water, roads, canals, reservoirs and populated areas in the United States and other countries. It is the name of a tributary to Lockyear Creek in ...

and Clover Creek. On the Jarbidge River, the wilderness spans the entire length from the confluence of the West and East Forks of the Jarbidge to the Bruneau confluence. In places the wilderness boundary is defined by the rim of the river canyon; elsewhere it includes some plateau country beyond the rim in addition to the river canyon. The wilderness area is bisected into two units by a small road at Indian Hot Springs, just north of the Bruneau-Jarbidge confluence.

Legislative history

The Bruneau – Jarbidge Rivers Wilderness was created by the

Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (, ) is a land management law passed in the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 30, 2009. The bill designates millions of acres in the US as protected a ...

and signed into law by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

on March 30, 2009. Also created in the Omnibus Land Act were five additional southwestern Idaho wilderness areas in Owyhee County, collectively known as the Owyhee Canyonlands Wilderness Areas: *

Big Jacks Creek Wilderness The Big Jacks Creek Wilderness is located on the high basalt plateaus of Owyhee County in southwestern Idaho in the western United States. Little Jacks Creek Wilderness is on its northwest border. About of Big Jacks Creek is classified as a wi ...

- * Little Jacks Creek Wilderness - * North Fork Owyhee Wilderness - * Owyhee River Wilderness - * Pole Creek Wilderness - The Act of 2009 added of wilderness within the state of Idaho. Wilderness areas do not allow motorized or

mechanical Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations of ...

equipment including bicycles. Although

camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more na ...

and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

are allowed with proper permit, no roads or buildings are constructed and there is also no logging or

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...

, in compliance with the 1964

Wilderness Act The Wilderness Act of 1964 () was written by Howard Zahniser of The Wilderness Society. It created the legal definition of wilderness in the United States, and protected 9.1 million acres (37,000 km²) of federal land. The result of a lon ...

Wilderness areas Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

within National Forests and Bureau of Land Management areas also allow

hunting Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, ...

in season.

Natural history

The Bruneau – Jarbidge Rivers Wilderness lies within the

Owyhee Desert The Owyhee Desert ecoregion, within the deserts and xeric shrublands biome, is in the Northwestern United States. The Owyhee Uplands Byway passes through the desert. Geography An arid region of canyons, volcanic rock, sagebrush and grass makes u ...

, part of the

northern Basin and Range ecoregion The Northern Basin and Range ecoregion is a Level III ecoregion designated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. states of Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and California. It contains dissected lava plains, rolling ...

, although

hydrologically Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is call ...

the wilderness area is within the Snake River – Columbia River drainage. The wilderness area is home to a small population of threatened

bull trout The bull trout (''Salvelinus confluentus'') is a char of the family Salmonidae native to northwestern North America. Historically, ''S. confluentus'' has been known as the " Dolly Varden" (''S. malma''), but was reclassified as a separate speci ...

, as well as

Great Basin redband trout The Great Basin redband trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss newberrii'') is one of three redband trout subspecies of the rainbow trout in the western United States. The Great Basin redband trout is native to drainages in south central Oregon east of t ...

, bobcat, river otter, and

bighorn sheep The bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') is a species of sheep native to North America. It is named for its large horns. A pair of horns might weigh up to ; the sheep typically weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates three distinct subspec ...

References

External links

Owyhee Uplands Backcountry Byway
- Bureau of Land Management {{DEFAULTSORT:Bruneau - Jarbidge Rivers Wilderness Wilderness areas of Idaho Protected areas of Owyhee County, Idaho Protected areas established in 2009 Bureau of Land Management areas in Idaho

Geography

Legislative history

Natural history

See also

References

External links