Selway–Bitterroot Wilderness

Protected natural area in Idaho and Montana, United States

46°12′N 114°30′W / 46.2°N 114.5°W / 46.2; -114.5Area1,340,460 acres (5,424.6 km²)EstablishedJanuary 1, 1964Governing bodyU.S. Forest Service

The Selway–Bitterroot Wilderness is a protected wilderness area in the states of Idaho and Montana, in the northwestern United States.^[1]^[2] At 1.3 million acres (5,300 km²), it is one of the largest designated wilderness areas in the United States (14th overall, but third-largest outside Alaska).

The Selway–Bitterroot Wilderness spans the Bitterroot Mountain Range, on the border between Idaho and Montana, and covers parts of Bitterroot National Forest, Clearwater National Forest, Lolo National Forest, and the Nez Perce National Forest. The Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness Area is immediately to its south, separated from it only by a dirt road (the Magruder Corridor). Together with adjoining public land, the two wilderness areas form a five million-acre (20,000 km²) wild region.

It is here that the Lochsa and Selway rivers form and flow westward to their confluence at Lowell, Idaho (outside the wilderness along U.S. Route 12) to form the Middle Fork of the Clearwater River. The land ranges in elevation from 1,700 feet (520 m) on the Lochsa River to 10,157 feet (3,096 m) at Trapper Peak in the Bitterroot Mountains.

One of the largest elk herds in the United States calls the wilderness home, and it also boasts a healthy population of bighorn sheep. This wilderness is one of the areas being used to reintroduce wild packs of the grey wolf. The high-elevation areas around the Bitterroot peaks are rugged alpine parkland. Lower areas are covered by dense coniferous forest.

References

^ "Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Area proclaimed". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. January 12, 1963. p. 1.
^ "Largest wilderness area in nation". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). January 13, 1963. p. 18.

External links

Media related to Selway–Bitterroot Wilderness at Wikimedia Commons
Selway–Bitterroot Wilderness Information & Maps
Selway–Bitterroot Wilderness—Information from the Bitterroot National Forest
Wilderness.net
TopoQuest
National Public Radio report on the Wilderness Act from the Selway–Bitterroot Wilderness]

Protected areas of Montana

Federal

National parks	Glacier Yellowstone
National monuments	Little Bighorn Battlefield Pompeys Pillar (BLM) Upper Missouri River Breaks (BLM)
National battlefield	Big Hole
National historical parks and historic sites	Grant–Kohrs Ranch NHS Nez Perce NHP
National historic and scenic trails	Lewis and Clark NHT Nez Perce NHT Continental Divide NST Pacific Northwest NST
National recreation area	Bighorn Canyon
National Wildlife Refuges	Benton Lake Black Coulee Bowdoin Charles M. Russell Creedman Coulee Grass Lake Hailstone Hewitt Lake Lake Mason Lake Thibadeau Lamesteer Lee Metcalf Lost Trail Medicine Lake Ninepipe Pablo Red Rock Lakes Swan River UL Bend War Horse
National Forests	Beaverhead–Deerlodge Bitterroot Custer Flathead Gallatin Helena Kootenai Lewis and Clark Lolo
National Wilderness	Absaroka–Beartooth Anaconda–Pintler Bear Trap Canyon Bob Marshall Cabinet Mountains Gates of the Mountains Great Bear Lee Metcalf Medicine Lake Mission Mountains Rattlesnake Red Rock Lakes Scapegoat Selway–Bitterroot UL Bend Welcome Creek
National wild and scenic rivers	East Rosebud Creek Flathead Missouri

State

State parks	Ackley Lake Anaconda Smoke Stack Bannack Beaverhead Rock Beavertail Hill Big Arm Black Sandy Brush Lake Chief Plenty Coups Clark's Lookout Cooney Council Grove Elkhorn Finley First Peoples Buffalo Jump Fort Owen Frenchtown Pond Giant Springs Granite Ghost Town Greycliff Prairie Dog Town Hell Creek Lake Elmo Lake Mary Ronan Lewis and Clark Caverns Logan Lone Pine Lost Creek Madison Buffalo Jump Makoshika Medicine Rocks Missouri Headwaters Painted Rocks Parker Homestead Pictograph Cave Pirogue Island Placid Lake Rosebud Battlefield Salmon Lake Sluice Boxes Smith River Somers Beach Spring Meadow Lake Thompson Falls Tongue River Reservoir Tower Rock Travelers' Rest Wayfarers West Shore Whitefish Lake Wild Horse Island Yellow Bay
State forests	Clearwater Coal Creek Lincoln Lubrecht Experimental Stillwater Sula Swan River Thompson River
Wildlife Management Areas	Amelia Island Aunt Molly Badlands Beartooth Beckman Big Lake Blackfoot-Clearwater Blackleaf Blue Eyed Nellie Bowdoin Buffalo Head Park Bull River Calf Creek Canyon Creek Canyon Ferry Dodson Creek Dodson Dam Dome Mountain Ear Mountain Elk Island F Island Flathead Lake Flathead River Fleecer Mountain Fox Lake Freezout Lake Fresno Reservoir Fresno Tailwater Gallatin Garrity Mountain Grant Marsh Gravelly-Blacktail Haymaker Hinsdale Horseshoe Lake Howard Valley Isaac Homestead Judith River Kootenai/Falls Kootenai/West Kootenai/Woods Ranch Lake Helena Lost Creek Lower Stillwater Lake Madison-Bear Creek Madison-Wall Creek Milk River Mount Haggin Mount Jumbo Mount Silcox Nevada Lake Ninepipe North Swan Valley CE Pablo Ray Kuhns Robb-Ledford Rookery Roundhom Sanders Seven Sisters Silver Gate Silver Run Smith River Sun River Swan Lake Thompson-Fisher CE Three Mile Threemile Vandalia War Dance Island Warm Springs

Other

Nonprofit	American Prairie
Tribal	CSKT Bison Range

Protected areas of Idaho

Federal

National Parks	Yellowstone
National Historic Sites & Historical Parks	Minidoka NHS Nez Perce NHP
National Monuments	Craters of the Moon Hagerman Fossil Beds
National Forests	Bitterroot Boise Caribou-Targhee Clearwater Coeur d'Alene Idaho Panhandle Kaniksu Kootenai Nez Perce Payette Salmon-Challis Sawtooth St. Joe Wallowa–Whitman Wasatch-Cache
National Grasslands	Curlew
National Recreation Areas	Hells Canyon Sawtooth
National Wildlife Refuges	Bear Lake Camas Deer Flat Grays Lake Kootenai Minidoka Oxford Slough Waterfowl Production Area
National Conservation Areas	Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey
Wilderness Areas	Big Jacks Creek Bruneau–Jarbidge Rivers Craters of the Moon Frank Church–River of No Return Gospel Hump Hells Canyon Hemingway–Boulders Jim McClure–Jerry Peak Little Jacks Creek North Fork Owyhee Owyhee River Pole Creek Sawtooth Selway–Bitterroot Cecil D. Andrus–White Clouds
National Wild and Scenic Rivers	Battle Creek Big Jacks Creek Bruneau Bruneau (West Fork) Clearwater (Middle Fork) Cottonwood Creek Deep Creek Dickshooter Creek Duncan Creek Jarbidge Little Jacks Creek Lochsa Owyhee Owyhee (North Fork) Owyhee (South Fork) Rapid Red Canyon Saint Joe Salmon Salmon (Middle Fork) Selway Sheep Creek Snake Wickahoney Creek