Salmon–Challis National Forest is located in east central sections of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

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 W ...

. At 4,235,940

acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...

s (6,618.66 sq mi, or 17,142.24 km²) it is one of the largest national forests in the

lower 48 states The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii ...

and also has most of the land area of the Frank Church–River of No Return Wilderness, which is the largest wilderness area south of

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S ...

Borah Peak Borah Peak, also known as Mount Borah or Beauty Peak, is the highest mountain in the U.S. state of Idaho and one of the most prominent peaks in the contiguous United States. It is located in the central section of the Lost River Range, within ...

, the tallest mountain in Idaho, is also found here. The

Wild and Scenic The National Wild and Scenic Rivers System was created by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 (Public Law 90-542), enacted by United States Congress, the U.S. Congress to preserve certain rivers with outstanding natural, cultural, and recreat ...

Salmon River weaves through the rugged terrain of the Sawtooth Mountains and

Sawtooth National Recreation Area The Sawtooth National Recreation Area (SNRA) is a national recreation area in central Idaho, United States that is managed as part of Sawtooth National Forest. The recreation area, established on August 22, 1972, is managed by the U.S. Forest S ...

, while it flows for over through the forest. The

Big Lost River The Big Lost River is a major river in the U.S. state of Idaho, about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 4, 2011 Description The river starts in the Rocky Mountai ...

has its headwaters within the national forest. Challis National Forest, the more southerly of its two parts, lies primarily in Custer County, but also has major areas in Lemhi and

Butte __NOTOC__ In geomorphology, a butte () is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and table (landform), tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from a F ...

counties, as well as smaller areas in

Clark Clark is an English language surname, ultimately derived from the Latin with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educat ...

and Blaine counties. It has a total area of 2,463,471 acres (3,849.17 sq mi, or 9,969.31 km²). There are local

ranger A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...

district offices located in Challis, Clayton, and

Mackay Mackay may refer to: *Clan Mackay, the Scottish clan from which the surname "MacKay" derives Mackay may also refer to: Places Australia * Mackay Region, a local government area ** Mackay, Queensland, a city in the above region *** Mackay Airport ...

. Salmon National Forest, which lies to the north, is primarily located in Lemhi County, with spillover into

Valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

and

counties. It has a total area of 1,772,469 acres (2,769.48 sq mi, or 7,172.93 km²). There are local ranger district offices located in Leadore, North Fork, and

Salmon Salmon () is the common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of ...

. The combined forest headquarters are located in

Salmon, Idaho Salmon is a city in Lemhi County, Idaho. The population was 3,112 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Lemhi County. Located in the Lemhi River valley, Salmon is home to the Sacajawea Interpretive, Cultural and Education Center, wh ...

Wilderness areas

There are two officially designated

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 ...

s within Salmon–Challis National Forest that are part of the

National Wilderness Preservation System The National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) of the United States protects federally managed wilderness areas designated for preservation in their natural condition. Activity on formally designated wilderness areas is coordinated by the N ...

. Both extend into neighboring National Forests or onto lands of the Bureau of Land Management. * Frank Church—River of No Return Wilderness (partly in Payette NF, Boise NF, Bitterroot NF, Nez Perce NF, or BLM land). The Salmon–Challis NF is the largest component (39.59%) of this wilderness if they are considered as one forest; otherwise, if the Challis NF and the Salmon NF are considered separately, the Payette NF (33.45%) becomes the largest component. *

Jim McClure–Jerry Peak Wilderness The Jim McClure–Jerry Peak Wilderness is a protected area in Salmon-Challis National Forest and Bureau of Land Management land in Custer County, Idaho, United States. The wilderness directly adjoins the Hemingway–Boulders Wilderness on it ...

(most is managed by Salmon–Challis National Forest, while part is managed by the Bureau of Land Management) *

Sawtooth Wilderness The Sawtooth Wilderness is a federally- protected wilderness area that covers of the state of Idaho. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, it was designated the Sawtooth Primitive Area in 1937 to preserve ...

(only about 5.5% of this wilderness lies with Salmon–Challis NF; most of it lies within Boise NF; part of it lies within Sawtooth NF; all of it is managed by Sawtooth National Forest)Sawtooth Wilderness acreage breakdown, Wilderness.net
/ref>

References

External links

*
Salmon–Challis National Forest federal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salmon-Challis National Forest National Forests of Idaho National Forests of the Rocky Mountains Protected areas of Custer County, Idaho Protected areas of Lemhi County, Idaho Protected areas of Butte County, Idaho Protected areas of Clark County, Idaho Protected areas of Blaine County, Idaho Protected areas of Valley County, Idaho Protected areas of Idaho County, Idaho