Sawtooth NRA at 30 Years - Some History
From the Idaho Environmental Council newsletter. August 2002
By Gerald Jayne
The major impetus for designation of the Sawtooth NRA started with the White Clouds in 1968, when hikers discovered that American Smelting and Refining Company (ASARCO) had plans for a major open pit mine at the base of Castle Peak, the highest peak in the range, and for a huge tailings pond and dam to cover the meadows below Castle Peak. People were upset that the Forest Service had not said anything about this. There was strong public opposition and the proposed mine became the top news story in the state.
Some conservation-minded individuals from Idaho Falls, Pocatello, and Boise, including several from the Idaho Alpine Club, formed the Greater Sawtooth Preservation Council (GSPC) and took on the difficult task of stopping the mine and gaining protection for the White Clouds. The eastern Idaho GSPC elected Dr. John Merriam, economics professor from ISU, as president, and other board members included Russ Brown, Boyd Norton, Cyril Slansky, Ed Anderson, and Art McClure. The Boise GSPC board included Tom Davis, Ernie Day, Bruce Bowler, and several others.
In the spring of 1969 the Forest Service held hearings in Boise, Idaho Falls, and Challis. Several hundred people came and most who spoke were adamant in their opposition to the mine in this beautiful area of public national forest, and angry that the Forest Service had not involved the public. The newspapers continued to carry numerous stories and editorials about the running battle between mine opponents and the mining industry and its supporters, like Idaho Governor Samuelson. Editors Ken Robison and Dick Hronek at the Statesman, and editor Robb Brady at the Post Register, were immensely helpful. In addition to the immediate task of informing people what was at stake and fighting the brush fires, GSPC also formulated a plan for lasting protection. It was for a Sawtooth-White Cloud-Boulder-Pioneer National Park/NRA; the higher mountains to be National Park and the lower areas to be National Recreation Area where hunting would still be allowed.
In August, 1970, the National Parks & Recreation Subcommittee of the House Interior & Insular Committee held a hearing in Sun Valley on 2 bills. One was for most of the GSPC proposal (Pioneers were lacking), which GSPC and other conservation groups had persuaded our Idaho delegation to introduce. The other bill was for a Sawtooth National Recreation Area, to be administered by the Forest Service. With well over 300 people speaking, the hearing was a bit of a circus, with most people given only 60 seconds to speak and in 2 parallel sessions. Proponents of the Park/NRA were clearly in the majority. Mining and logging interests supported the NRA bill or neither bill. The Forest Service continued to lobby vigorously, overtly and covertly, for the NRA bill, viewing the idea of losing some of its empire to the National Park Service as anathema.
In November, 1970, Cecil Andrus defeated incumbent Don Samuelson to become the first Democratic Governor in 25 years, in large part because of the White Clouds issue.
But in the spring of 1971, the Idaho Delegation pulled the rug out from under the Sawtooth Park/NRA proposal. They announced their introduction of the FS Sawtooth/White Cloud NRA bill - and no Park bill. This in spite of the strong support for the National Park/NRA complex at the Sun Valley hearing last year, and in spite of the election of pro-Park/NRA Andrus as Governor. Conservationists felt betrayed. The House Subcommittee on Parks & Recreation held a hearing in June in Washington, DC. To his credit, Senator Church favored stronger protection, but Congressman James McClure opposed the Park, and as a full Interior Committee member had a lot of crank. And it seems that our other Idaho Congressman, Orval Hansen, had pressured White House to sit on the Park Service, so that their testimony at the hearing actually favored the FS NRA bill!
Further, their FS NRA bill would have handed over the White Clouds to ASARCO. It had a provision for an ASARCO mill site entry, which would probably have made the mine viable. It also had no provision for mineral entry withdrawal, without which mining exploration could continue anywhere in the White Clouds and Boulders. Not many Idaho conservationists could afford the trip to Washington DC. One who did was Russ Brown, then President of the GSPC. It was by pressure from GSPC, and largely from Russ, aided by Senator Church, that these 2 deficiencies of the NRA bill were removed.
The bill was passed and became law in 1972. At the same time, the Sawtooth Primitive Area, was designated as Wilderness in the National Wilderness Preservation System.