Central Idaho Wilderness Act of 1979
PL 96-312 (S.2009), enacted 07/23/1980

94 STAT. 948 
PUBLIC LAW 96-312—JULY 23, 1980 
Public Law 96-312 
96th Congress 
July 23. 1980 
[S. 2009] 
Central Idaho 
Wilderness Act 
of 1980. 
River of No 
Return 
Wilderness, area 
description and 
designation. 
16 u s e 1132 
note. 
An Act 
To designate certain public lands in central Idaho as the River of No Return 
Wilderness, to designate a segment of the Salmon River as a component of the 
National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of R^resentatives of the 
United States of 
America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be 
cited as the "Central Idaho Wilderness Act of 1980". 
SEC. 2. (a) The Congress finds that— 
(1) certain wildlands in central Idaho lying within the water-
shed of the Salmon River—the famous "River of No Return"— 
constitute the largest block of primitive and undeveloped land in 
the conterminous United States and are of immense national 
significance; 
(2) these wildlands and a segment of the Salmon River should 
be incorporated within the National Wilderness Preservation 
System and the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System in order 
to provide statutory protection for the lands and waters and the 
wilderness-dependent wildlife and the resident and anadromous 
fish which thrive within this undisturbed ecosystem; and 
(3) such protection can be provided without conflicting with 
established uses. 
(b) The purposes of 
this Act are to— 
(1) provide a comprehensive, statutory framework for the 
protection, administration, and management of the wildlands of 
the central Idaho region and a portion of the Salmon River 
through— 
(A) the designation of the River of No Return Wilderness; 
(B) the addition of certain lands in the "Magruder Corri-
dor" to the existing Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness; and 
(C) the incorporation of one hundred and twenty-five miles 
of the Salmon River as a component of the National Wild 
and Scenic Rivers System; 
(2) end the controversy over which lands within the central 
Idaho region will be designated wilderness—thereby assuring 
that certain adjacent lands better suited for multiple uses other 
than wilderness will be managed by the Forest Service under 
existing laws and applicable land management plans; and 
(3) make a comprehensive land allocation decision for the 
national forest roadless areas of the central Idaho region. 
SEC. 3. In furtherance of the purposes of the Wilderness Act of 1964 
(78 Stat. 890; 16 U.S.C. 1131), certain lands in the Boise, Challis, 
Payette, Salmon, Bitterroot, and Nezperce National Forests, Idaho, 
situated north and south of the Salmon River which comprise 
approximately two million two hundred and thirty-nine thousand 
acres, as generally depicted on a map entitled "River of No Return 
Wilderness, Proposed , dated June 1980, are hereby designated as 
wilderness and, therefore, as a component of 
the National Wilderness 
Preservation System, and shall be known as the River of No Return 
PUBLIC LAW 96-312—JULY 23, 1980 
94 STAT. 949 
Wilderness. The previous classifications of the Idaho and Salmon 
River Breaks Primitive Areas are hereby abolished. 
SEC. 4. In furtherance of the purposes of the Wilderness Act, 
certain lands in the Bitterroot National Forest, Idaho, which com-
prise approximately one hundred and five thousand six hundred 
acres as generally depicted on a map entitled "Magruder Corridor 
Proposed Additions, Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness", dated November 
1979, are hereby incorporated in, and shall be deemed to be a part of, 
the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness as designated by Public Law 
88-577, and, therefore a component of the National Wilderness 
Preservation System. 
SEC. 5. (a)(1) Within three years of the date of 
enactment of 
this Act, 
the Secretary of Agriculture (hereinafter referred to as "the Secre-
tary") shall develop and submit to the Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources of the United States Senate and the Committee on 
Interior and Insular Affairs of the House of Representatives a 
comprehensive wilderness management plan (hereinafter referred to 
as "the management plan") for the River of No Return Wilderness 
which shall consider a broad range of land uses and recreation 
opportunities. 
(2) The management plan shall be prepared in coordination with 
the relevant national forest plans required by section 6 of the 
National Forest Management Act of 1976 (Public Law 94-588). 
(3) The management plan shall include the cultural resources 
management plan required by section 8(a)(3) of 
this Act. 
(4) In preparing the management plan, the Secretary shall provide 
for full public participation as required under section 6 of the 
National Forest Management Act. 
(5) The management plan shall, among other things, address the 
need for, and alternative means of, access to the wilderness. 
(b) In administering the River of No Return Wilderness, the 
Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, consistent with 
the management plan required by this section, clear obstructions 
from all of the national forest trails within or adjacent to the 
wilderness on at least an annual basis. 
(c) Subject to valid existing rights, the River of No Return Wilder-
ness designated by this Act shall be administered by the Secretary in 
accordance with the provisions of the Wilderness Act: Provided, That 
any reference in such provisions to the effective date of the Wilder-
ness Act shall be deemed to be a reference to the effective date of this 
Act. 
(d)(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of the Wilderness Act of 1964 
(78 Stat. 890; 16 U.S.C. 1131), including section 4(dX3), closing wilder-
ness areas after December 31,1983, to the United States mining laws, 
and the designation of the River of No Return Wilderness by this Act, 
within that portion of the wilderness depicted on a map entitled 
"Special Mining Management Zone—Clear Creek", (hereinafter 
referred to in this section as the "Special Management Zone"), dated 
June 1980, all prospecting and exploration for, and development or 
mining of cobalt and associated minerals shall be considered a 
dominant use of such land and shall be subject to such laws and 
regulations as are generally applicable to National Forest System 
lands not designated as wilderness or other special management 
areas, including such laws and regulations which relate to the right 
of access to valid mining claims and private property: Provided, That: 
(A) all mining locations and associated access roads shall be 
held and used solely for mining or mineral processing operations 
and uses reasonably incident thereto, except that the Secretary 
Abolishments. 
Selway-
Bitterroot 
Wilderness, 
incorporated 
lands. 
16 u s e 1131. 
Comprehensive 
management 
plan, submittal 
to congressional 
committees. 
16 u s e 1604. 
16 u s e 1608. 
16 u s e 1604. 
Effective date. 
16 u s e 1131 
note. 
Special 
Management 
Zone, mining. 
16 u s e 1133. 
94 STAT. 950 
PUBLIC LAW 96-312—JULY 23, 1980 
Mineral 
deposits, 
patents. 
Report to 
Congress. 
Map and legal 
description, 
filing with 
congressional 
committees. 
Permitted land 
uses, 
continuation. 
Aircraft landing. 
may permit such access roads to be utilized by the State of Idaho 
to facilitate the management of the bighorn sheep in the Special 
Management Zone; 
(B) after the date of enactment of this Act, subject to valid 
existing rights, all patents issued under the mining laws of the 
United States for claims within the Special Management Zone 
shall convey title to the mineral deposits within such claims, but 
each such patent shall reserve to the United States all title in or 
to the surface of the lands and products thereof, and no use of the 
surface of the claim or the resources therefrom not reasonably 
required for carrying on mining and prospecting shall be 
allowed: Provided, That the patentee shall have the right to cut 
and use as much of the mature timber therefrom as may be 
needed in the extraction, removal and beneficiation of the 
mineral deposits, if such needed timber is not otherwise reason-
ably available, and if such timber is cut under sound principles of 
forest management as defined by National Forest System rules 
and regulations: Provided further, That the patentee shall have 
the right to use as much of the surface as reasonably necessary 
for the mining, removal, extraction, or beneficiation of the 
mineral deposits located therein; and 
(C) consistent with the other provisions of this subsection the 
Secretary may take all reasonable measures to see that the 
mining or processing of cobalt and associated minerals within 
the Special Management Zone does not significantly impair the 
overall habitat of the bighorn sheep located within, or adjacent 
to, such Zone. 
(2) Within three years from the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of Defense, after consultation with the Secretaries of the 
Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Transportation, and State and the 
Federal Emergency Management Agency, shall report to Congress on 
the strategic significance of the materials and minerals found in the 
Special Management Zone. 
SEC. 6. As soon as practicable after enactment of this Act, a map 
and legal description of the River of No Return Wilderness and a map 
and legal description of the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness additions 
shall be filed with the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 
of the United States Senate and the Committee on Interior and 
Insular Affairs of the United States House of Representatives, and 
each such map and legal description shall have the same force and 
effect as if included in this Act: Provided, That correction of clerical 
and typographical errors in each such legal description and map may 
be made. Each such map and legal description shall be on file and 
available for public inspection in the Office of the Chief of the Forest 
Service, Department of Agriculture. 
SEC. 7. (a) Within the River of No Return Wilderness and the 
Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness additions designated by this Act— 
(1) the landing of aircraft, where this use has become estab-
lished prior to the date of enactment of this Act shall be 
permitted to continue subject to such restrictions as the Secre-
tary deems desirable: Provided, That the Secretary shall not 
permanently close or render unserviceable any aircraft landing 
strip in regular use on national forest lands on the date of 
enactment of this Act for reasons other than extreme danger to 
aircraft, and in any case not without the express written concur-
rence of the agency of the State of Idaho charged with evaluating 
the safety of backcountry airstrips; 
PUBLIC LAW 96-312—JULY 23, 1980 
94 STAT. 951 
(2) the grazing of livestock were established prior to the date of 
enactment of this Act, shall be permitted to continue subject to 
such reasonable regulations as the Secretary deems necessary, as 
provided in paragraph 4(d)(4) of the Wilderness Act; 
(3) commercial services may be performed to the extent neces-
sary for activities which are proper for reeilizing the recreational 
or other wilderness purposes of the areas as provided in para-
graph 4(d)(6) of the Wilderness Act; and 
(4) the future construction and maintenance of small hydro-
electric generators, domestic water facilities, and related facili-
ties shall be permitted in the Threemile and Jersey Creek 
drainages along the Salmon River upstream from Mackay Bar. 
(b) As provided in paragraph 4(d)(7) of the Wilderness Act, nothing 
in this Act shall constitute an express or implied claim or denial on 
the part of the Federal Government as to exemption from State water 
laws. 
(c) As provided in paragraph 4(d)(8) of the Wilderness Act, nothing 
in this Act shall be construed as affecting the jurisdiction or responsi-
bilities of the State of Idaho with respect to wildlife and fish in the 
national forests in Idaho. 
SEC. 8. (a)(1) In furtherance of the purposes of the Wilderness Act, 
the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, section 6 of the National Forest 
Management Act, the Archaeological Resources Protection Act, and 
the Historic Preservation Act, the Secretary shall cooperate with the 
Secretary of the Interior and with agencies and institutions of the 
State of Idaho, in conducting a cultural resource management pro-
gram within the River of No Return Wilderness and within the 
Salmon River component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers 
System as designated in section 9 of 
this Act. 
(2) Such program shall have as its purposes the protection of 
archaeological sites and interpretation of such sites for the public 
benefit and knowledge insofar as these activities are compatible with 
the preservation of the values for which the wilderness and wild and 
scenic river were designated to protect. 
(3) To carry out the cultural resource management program 
required by paragraph (1) of this section, the Secretary shall, as part 
of the comprehensive management plan required under subsection 5 
(a) of this Act, develop a cultural resources management plan for the 
wilderness and the river. Such plan shall— 
(A) encourage scientific research into man's past use of the 
River of No Return Wilderness and the Salmon River corridor; 
(B) provide an outline for the protection of significant cultural 
resources, including protection from vandalism and looting as 
well as destruction from natural deterioration; 
(C) be based on adequate inventory data, supplemented by test 
excavation data where appropriate; 
(D) include a public interpretation program; and 
(E) comply with all Federal and State historic and cultural 
preservation statutes, regulations, guidelines, and standards. 
(b)(1) Within two years from the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary shall cooperate with the Secretary of the Interior and with 
agencies and institutions of the State of Idaho in conducting an 
inventory of the ranch, homestead, trapper and other cabins, and 
structures within the River of No Return Wilderness and within the 
Salmon River component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers 
System designated by section 9 of this Act and submit to the 
Conunittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the United States 
16 u s e 1133. 
Cultural 
resource 
management 
progrsun. 
16 u s e 1131 
note. 
16 u s e 1271 
note. 
16 u s e 1604. 
16 u s e 470aa 
note. 
16 u s e 470 note. 
Inventory, 
report to 
congressional 
committees. 
94 STAT. 952 
PUBLIC LAW 96-312—JULY 23, 1980 
16 u s e 1274. 
River 
designation. 
Administration. 
Mining, 
prohibition. 
Senate and the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs of the 
United States House of Representatives a report on— 
(A) the location of these structures; 
(B) their historic significance, if any; 
(C) their present condition; 
(D) recommendations as to which of these structures should be: 
(i) stabilized; 
(ii) restored; 
(iii) maintained; or 
(iv) removed; 
(E) the estimated cost of such stabilization, restoration, mainte-
nance, or removal; and 
(F) the suitability of any of these structures for inclusion in the 
National Register of Historic Places. 
(2) Until such time as the study under this subsection is completed 
and the required report submitted to the Committees, the Secretary 
shall not knowingly permit the destruction or significant alteration 
of any historic cabin or other structure on national forest land within 
the River of No Return Wilderness or the Salmon River component of 
the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System designated in section 9 
of this Act. 
SEC. 9. (a) The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (82 Stat. 906, as amended; 
16 U.S.C. 1271 et seq.), is further amended as follows: In section 3(a) 
after paragraph (23) insert the following new paragraph: 
"(24)(A) SALMON, IDAHO.—The segment of the main river from the 
mouth of the North Fork of the Salmon River downstream to Long 
Tom Bar in the following classes: 
"(i) the forty-six-mile segment from the mouth of the North 
Fork of the Salmon River to Corn Creek as a recreational river; 
and 
"(ii) the seventy-nine-mile segment from Corn Creek to Long 
Tom Bar as a wild river; all as generally depicted on a map 
entitled "Salmon River" dated November 1979, which is on file 
and available for public inspection in the Office of the Chief, 
Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture. 
"(B) This segment shall be administered by the Secretary of 
Agriculture: Provided, That after consultation with State and local 
governments and the interested public, the Secretary shall take such 
action as is required by subsection (b) of this section within one year 
from the date of enactment of this paragraph. 
"(C) The use of motorboats (including motorized jetboats) within 
this segment of the Salmon River shall be permitted to continue at a 
level not less than the level of use which occurred during calendar 
year 1978. 
"(D) Subject to existing rights of the State of Idaho, including the 
right of access, with respect to the beds of navigable streams, 
tributaries or rivers, dredge and placer mining in any form including 
any use of machinery for the removal of sand and gravel for mining 
purposes shall be prohibited within the segment of the Salmon River 
designated as a component of the Wild and Scenic Rivers System by 
this paragraph; within the fifty-three-mile segment of the Salmon 
River from Hammer Creek downstream to the confluence of the 
Snake River; and within the Middle Fork of the Salmon River; and its 
tributary streams in their entirety: Provided, That nothing in this 
paragraph shall be deemed to prohibit the removal of sand and 
gravel, outside the boundaries of the River of No Return Wilderness 
or the Gospel-Hump Wilderness, above the high water mark of the 
Salmon River or the Middle Fork and its tributaries for the purposes 
PUBLIC LAW 96-312—JULY 23, 1980 
94 STAT. 953 
of construction or maintenance of public roads: Provided 
further, 
That this paragraph shall not apply to any written mineral leases 
approved by the Board of Land Commissioners of the State of Idaho 
prior to January 1,1980. 
"(E) The provisions of section 7(a) of this Act with respect to the 
licensing of dams, water conduits, reservoirs, powerhouses, transmis-
sion lines or other project works, shall apply to the fifty-three-mile 
segment of the Salmon River from Hammer Creek downstream to the 
confluence of the Snake River. 
"(F) For the purposes of the segment of the Salmon River desig-
nated as a component of the Wild and Scenic Rivers System by this 
paragraph, there is hereby authorized to be appropriated from the 
Land and Water Conservation Fund, after October 1,1980, not more 
than $6,200,000 for the acquisition of lands and interests in lands.". 
(b) That segment of the main Salmon River designated as a 
component of the Wild and Scenic Rivers System by this Act, which 
lies within the River of No Return Wilderness or the Gospel-Hump 
Wilderness designated by Public Law 95-237, shall be managed under 
the provisions of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, as amended, and the 
regulations promulgated pursuant thereto, notwithstanding section 
10(b) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act or any provisions of the 
Wilderness Act to the contrary. 
SEC. 10, (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
Secretary shall render, within 30 days from the date of enactment of 
this Act, a final administrative decision on any and all administrative 
appeals pending before him or any other official of the Department of 
Agriculture on the date of enactment of this Act with regard to the 
following land management plans and corresponding environmental 
statements (hereinafter referred to in this section as "the plans and 
environmental statements"): 
(1) The Warren Planning Unit Land Management Plan and 
Final Environmental Statement, Payette National Forest, Idaho, 
dated May 9,1979; and 
(2) The Landmark Planning Unit Land Management Plan and 
Final Environmental Statement, Boise National Forest, Idaho, 
dated May 17,1979. 
(b)(1) Any petition for review of the decision of the Secretary with 
regard to any of the plans and environmental statements referenced 
in this section, shall be filed in the United States District Court for 
the District of Idaho (hereinafter referred to as "the court") within 
thirty days after the final administrative decision of the Secretary 
required by this section, or the petition shall be barred. Such court 
shall have exclusive jurisdiction to determine such proceeding in 
accordance with standard procedures as supplemented by procedures 
hereinafter provided and no other district court of the United States 
shall have jurisdiction over any such challenge in any proceeding 
instituted prior to, on, or after the date of enactment of this Act. 
(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the court may set 
rules governing the procedures of any such proceeding which set page 
limits on briefs and time limits for filing briefs and motions and other 
actions which are shorter than the limits specified in the Federal 
Rules of Civil or Appellate Procedure. 
(3) Any such proceeding before the court shall be assigned for 
hearing and completed at the earliest possible date, and shall be 
expedited in every way. The court shall render its final decision 
relative to any challenge within one hundred and eighty days from 
the date such challenge is brought unless the court determines that a 
Appropriation 
authorization. 
16 u s e 1281 
note. 
16 u s e 1132 
note. 
16 u s e 1271 
note. 
16 u s e 1281. 
16 u s e 1131 
note. 
Administration. 
Review, petition 
filing. 
eourt 
procedures. 
94 STAT. 954 
PUBLIC LAW 96-312—JULY 23, 1980 
longer period of time is required to satisfy the requirements of the 
United States Constitution. 
Review. 
(c) Any review of any decision of the United States District Court 
for the District of Idaho shall be made by the Ninth Circuit Court of 
Appeals of the United States and shall be assigned for hearing and 
completed at the earliest possible date, and shall be expedited in 
every possible way. 
Approved July 23, 1980. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 
HOUSE REPORTS: No. 96-838, Pt. 1 (Comm. on Interior and Insular Affairs) and No. 
96-1126 (Comm. of Conference). 
SENATE REPORT No. 96-414 (Comm. on Energy and Natural Resources). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD: 
Vol. 125 (1979): Nov. 20, considered and passed Senate. 
Vol. 126 (1980): Apr. 16, considered and passed House, amended. 
June 26, Senate agreed to conference report. 
June 30, July 1, House agreed to conference report. 
WEEKLY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS: 
Vol. 16, No. 30 (1980): July 23, Presidential statement.