Description: Find Solitude on an Idaho Wilderness #mypubliclandsroadtrip! In Idaho, BLM currently manages 541,812 acres of wilderness. The Owyhee Canyonlands is a huge and remote area of eastern Oregon, southwestern Idaho and northern Nevada. Hidden within this vast high desert plateau are deep canyons carved by the Owyhee, Bruneau and Jarbidge Rivers. The rivers of the Owyhee and Bruneau-Jarbidge systems offer something for nearly every level of boating experience. The Owyhee and Bruneau-Jarbidge river systems provide visitors with unsurpassed solitude in canyons of unique beauty and form. From placid pools to turbulent whitewater; from vertical cliffs to steep grassy slopes; and from wildlife, such as California bighorn sheep to wildflowers, including the Bruneau River flox, these rivers and their canyons present visitors with challenging and extraordinary experiences. Idaho is home to some of the newest Wilderness in the nation including the beautiful Boulder-White Clouds complex of central Idaho. These protected areas, designated in August 2015, preserve approximately 276,000 acres of high mountain backcountry with crystal lakes and abundant wildlife. The BLM manages 23,916 acres in the Jim McClure-Jerry Peak Wilderness. This mountainous and dry area features hiking, fishing, hunting, and equestrian use, as well as opportunities to just “get away” and enjoy some solitude. The Jim McClure-Jerry Peak Wilderness area also includes the upper Herd Creek watershed with one of the most intact native plant communities in the state. This patchwork of riparian willows, abundant bunch grasses, forbs, aspen and conifers provides critical habitat for fish and wildlife species in the wilderness area. A great way to get to the wilderness is to take a short hike from the end of the road to Herd Lake A hike to the top of Jerry Peak will greet you with great panoramic views of surrounding mountain ranges. Jim McClure-Jerry Peak is the least visited of the three new wilderness areas, so if you want to enjoy solitude, great vistas, and the natural environment with minimal impacts, this is a great place to visit. Photo by Bob Wick

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Description: The Fish Creek Rim Wilderness Study Area (WSA) is located immediately north of Adel, Oregon, and approximately 30 miles east of Lakeview, Oregon. Oregon State Highway 140 borders the WSA on the south. There are 16,070 acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land within the Fish Creek Rim WSA; 620 acres are split-estate land. The boundaries are defined by state and private lands on the north and east, mostly by a low standard dirt road on the west, and by powerline rights-of-way adjacent to State Highway 140 on the south. East of the WSA most land ownership is private; lands west of the WSA are mostly BLM. The east boundary roughly parallels the paved county road which runs between Adel and Plush. The WSA is approximately 10 miles from north to south and varies from 0.5 to 5.5 miles in width. The primary feature of the WSA is the east-facing scarp of Fish Creek Rim, which rises 1,500 to 2,000 feet above the Warner Valley. The area west of the rim is known as Monument Flat. This area is primarily a low sagebrush and juniper flat, sloping westward from the rim. The part of the WSA just west of the rim, in the central and north portions, contains minor broken rims tending northwest to southeast. South of this broken terrain the WSA is open, low sagebrush country. The southwest corner of the WSA contains Sweeney Canyon which drains southward into Deep Creek Canyon. Vegetation includes dense stands of mountain mahogany, small aspen groves, scattered junipers west of the rim, and considerable juniper cover on the east face. There are a few white firs growing on and just below the rim. The gently-sloping southwestern portion of the WSA is primarily low sagebrush/grassland, dotted with western juniper. The WSA was studied under Section 603 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and was included in the Oregon Wilderness Final Environmental Impact Statement filed in February of 1990. Hiking terrain varies from very easy to extremely rugged, with the most challenging opportunities on the east facing scarp. There are many good camping areas located above the rim in the mountain mahogany and aspen groves. The area offers excellent deer and antelope hunting. Opportunities for the observation and photography of wildlife, plants, geology, and rock art are outstanding. Sightseeing from the rim is spectacular, with views of the Warner Lakes below on the east, Hart Mountain to the northeast, and the Warner Mountains and Drakes Peak and the Fremont National Forest to the west. From the southern slopes, a view into Deep Canyon. www.blm.gov/programs/national-conservation-lands/oregon-w...

Image by BLM Oregon & Washington – CC BY 2.0 – Wikimedia

Description: The Fish Creek Rim Wilderness Study Area (WSA) is located immediately north of Adel, Oregon, and approximately 30 miles east of Lakeview, Oregon. Oregon State Highway 140 borders the WSA on the south. There are 16,070 acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land within the Fish Creek Rim WSA; 620 acres are split-estate land. The boundaries are defined by state and private lands on the north and east, mostly by a low standard dirt road on the west, and by powerline rights-of-way adjacent to State Highway 140 on the south. East of the WSA most land ownership is private; lands west of the WSA are mostly BLM. The east boundary roughly parallels the paved county road which runs between Adel and Plush. The WSA is approximately 10 miles from north to south and varies from 0.5 to 5.5 miles in width. The primary feature of the WSA is the east-facing scarp of Fish Creek Rim, which rises 1,500 to 2,000 feet above the Warner Valley. The area west of the rim is known as Monument Flat. This area is primarily a low sagebrush and juniper flat, sloping westward from the rim. The part of the WSA just west of the rim, in the central and north portions, contains minor broken rims tending northwest to southeast. South of this broken terrain the WSA is open, low sagebrush country. The southwest corner of the WSA contains Sweeney Canyon which drains southward into Deep Creek Canyon. Vegetation includes dense stands of mountain mahogany, small aspen groves, scattered junipers west of the rim, and considerable juniper cover on the east face. There are a few white firs growing on and just below the rim. The gently-sloping southwestern portion of the WSA is primarily low sagebrush/grassland, dotted with western juniper. The WSA was studied under Section 603 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and was included in the Oregon Wilderness Final Environmental Impact Statement filed in February of 1990. Hiking terrain varies from very easy to extremely rugged, with the most challenging opportunities on the east facing scarp. There are many good camping areas located above the rim in the mountain mahogany and aspen groves. The area offers excellent deer and antelope hunting. Opportunities for the observation and photography of wildlife, plants, geology, and rock art are outstanding. Sightseeing from the rim is spectacular, with views of the Warner Lakes below on the east, Hart Mountain to the northeast, and the Warner Mountains and Drakes Peak and the Fremont National Forest to the west. From the southern slopes, a view into Deep Canyon. www.blm.gov/programs/national-conservation-lands/oregon-w...

Image by BLM Oregon & Washington – CC BY 2.0 – Wikimedia

Description: The Slocum Creek Wilderness Study Area (WSA) is located east of Owyhee Reservoir in Malheur County, approximately 47 miles south of Vale. U.S. Highway 95 is approximately 30 miles to the southeast. The WSA includes 7,600 acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land. It is pear-shaped, approximately 5.5 miles long and 3 miles wide. It is bounded by high standard, gravel Leslie Gulch road on the north; by private land and maintained dirt roads on the east, south, and west; and by Bureau of Reclamation land on the northwest. It is adjacent to the Honeycombs and Upper Leslie Gulch WSAs and separated from them by high standard or maintained dirt roads. The WSA contains rugged topography formed by intermittent streams cutting through thick, volcanic deposits. The resulting land pattern is composed of steep-sided drainages separated by high, north-south oriented ridges. Over 85 percent of the WSA has gradients exceeding 25 percent. Natural vegetation consists mostly of sagebrush and bunchgrass. Western junipers are scattered throughout the WSA. A small, relict stand of ponderosa pine is located in the Dago Gulch drainage of the WSA. Approximately 200 California bighorn sheep occupy habitat east of the Owyhee Reservoir. The WSA accounts for about 75 of the herd. The WSA was studied under Section 603 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and was included in the Final Oregon Wilderness Environmental Impact Statement filed in February 1990. www.blm.gov/programs/national-conservation-lands/oregon-w...

Image by BLM Oregon & Washington – Public domain – Wikimedia

Description: The Slocum Creek Wilderness Study Area (WSA) is located east of Owyhee Reservoir in Malheur County, approximately 47 miles south of Vale. U.S. Highway 95 is approximately 30 miles to the southeast. The WSA includes 7,600 acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land. It is pear-shaped, approximately 5.5 miles long and 3 miles wide. It is bounded by high standard, gravel Leslie Gulch road on the north; by private land and maintained dirt roads on the east, south, and west; and by Bureau of Reclamation land on the northwest. It is adjacent to the Honeycombs and Upper Leslie Gulch WSAs and separated from them by high standard or maintained dirt roads. The WSA contains rugged topography formed by intermittent streams cutting through thick, volcanic deposits. The resulting land pattern is composed of steep-sided drainages separated by high, north-south oriented ridges. Over 85 percent of the WSA has gradients exceeding 25 percent. Natural vegetation consists mostly of sagebrush and bunchgrass. Western junipers are scattered throughout the WSA. A small, relict stand of ponderosa pine is located in the Dago Gulch drainage of the WSA. Approximately 200 California bighorn sheep occupy habitat east of the Owyhee Reservoir. The WSA accounts for about 75 of the herd. The WSA was studied under Section 603 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and was included in the Final Oregon Wilderness Environmental Impact Statement filed in February 1990. www.blm.gov/programs/national-conservation-lands/oregon-w...

Image by BLM Oregon & Washington – Public domain – Wikimedia