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The Importance of Wilderness and Roadless Lands for Fish and Game Habitat and Fishing and Hunting Opportunities

In the first of a state-by-state series to be completed within the next three years Trout Unlimited (TU) released two state reports in 2004 that demonstrate graphically the link between remaining roadless public lands -- Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Forest Service (FS) wilderness areas, BLM roadless areas, and FS inventoried roadless areas -- and the best coldwater fish and wildlife habitat and the best fishing and hunting opportunities. These first-of-their-kind reports, in Idaho and Oregon, combine the latest geographic information systems (GIS) roadless area boundaries with the most up-to-date fish habitat and big game harvest statistics from both state and federal agencies.

IDAHO

Currently, 7 percent of Idaho's 52 million acres is protected as congressionally designated wilderness. However, TU's report reveals that vast proportions of salmon, trout, elk, deer and bighorn sheep habitat, as well as the state's best quality hunting and longest hunting seasons lie in Idaho's roughly 17 million acres of roadless areas. The report uses color maps detailing quality fish habitat and hunting experience overlaid with the state's roadless lands to demonstrate the close correlation between the two. For example:

• 74 percent of current chinook and steelhead habitat is roadless.
• 88 percent of the land in units yielding more than 90 percent branch bull elk hunting success is roadless.
• 72 percent of the land in units yielding more than 40 percent four-plus-point mule deer hunting success is roadless.

Download the full report for Idaho (5.3 MB)

OREGON

Of Oregon's 62 million acres 2 million acres - 3.6 percent - are congressionally designated as wilderness. Another 2 million Forest Service acres without wilderness protection are designated as roadless. But these relatively small areas protect a huge portion of our last native fish. Among the reports findings:

• Westslope Cutthroat are reduced to 41 percent of their historical range. Of the 20 sub-watersheds where they remain, 18 are roadless.
• Lahontan Cutthroat historically occurred in eight Oregon watersheds. Today they occur in two - both predominantly roadless.
• Bull Trout are reduced to a fraction of their historic range. 83 percent of their present range is found within roadless areas.

Download the full report for Oregon (1.8 MB)

Source: Scott Stouder, Western Field Coordinator, Trout Unlimited, Email: sstouder@tu.org, Website: http://www.tu.org

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Although these reports focus on BLM and National Forest lands, their conclusions are relevant to Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service wilderness and roadless lands as well. Through the use of maps, TU has conveyed the important connections between wildlands, game species habitat and recreational opportunities. It is clear that both wilderness and un-roaded lands are important, not only to preserve fish and wildlife habitat and protect remaining threatened species populations, but to preserve opportunities for fishing and hunting that many Americans enjoy. The Wilderness Act articulates the need to preserve "... outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation..." (Section 2(c)). However, such opportunities are not simply important for retaining our present-day enjoyment of and relationship with the land. Many of today's recreational activities have historically been part of the landscape, and the Act also speaks to the importance of recognizing historical uses and values. In essence, wilderness and un-roaded lands provide both the natural conditions which support habitat for fish and wildlife and the opportunities for primitive recreation and continued traditions which include hunting and fishing.

Click on the maps in the right-hand column to begin exploring selections from the TU reports.