Post Audit Evaluation of Methodology for Wild and Scenic River Development and Management the Clearwater River, Idaho: a Case Study

The passage of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, PL 90-542, in 1968 created a national wild and scenic rivers systems which preserved selected freeflowing rivers in their relatively natural state. The Middle Fork of the Clearwater River from Kooskia, Idaho, upstream including the Lochsa and Selway rivers was one of the eight instant rivers in the system. A management plan was formulated for the middle Fork System which included boundaries of the wild and scenic corridor to regulate land uses. Questions arose as to the economic effects the restrictions, imposed by the Act and the scenic easement program, would have on the area's resources including land values. To answer these questions, data was collected on the area's major resources which include agriculture, timber, mining, and the scenic easement program. The results of the analysis showed that the classification of the Middle Fork of the Clearwater has not had any significant effect on any of the area's resources, except for the value of land encumbered with scenic easements. The restrictions imposed on the agricultural, timber, and mining resources have not and will not curtail their productive services or limit their growth