Little Jacks Creek Wilderness

Little Jacks Creek Wilderness
IUCN category Ib (wilderness area)
Map showing the location of Little Jacks Creek Wilderness
Location Owyhee County, Idaho, USA
Nearest city Boise, Idaho
Coordinates 42°41′40″N 116°13′49″W / 42.69444°N 116.23028°WCoordinates: 42°41′40″N 116°13′49″W / 42.69444°N 116.23028°W
Area 50,929 acres (20,610 ha)
Established 2009
Governing body Bureau of Land Management

The Little Jacks Creek Wilderness is located on the high basalt plateaus of Owyhee County in southwestern Idaho in the western United States.[1][2] Big Jacks Creek Wilderness is on its southeast border.[1] About 12.4 miles (20.0 km) miles of Little Jacks Creek is classified as a wild river.[3][4]

Geography

The Little Jacks Creek Wilderness has rugged canyons, streams, and plateaus. It has red rhyollite and a large brown basalt dome covered with grass and sagebrush. There are several spots where river canyons are 1,000 feet (300 m) deep.[1][3][5]

Legislative history

The Little Jacks Creek Wilderness was created by the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 and signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 30, 2009. Also created in the Omnibus Land Act were five additional southwestern Idaho wilderness areas in Owyhee County, collectively known as the Owyhee Canyonlands Wilderness Areas:[6][7]

The Act of 2009 added 517,025 acres (209,233 ha) of wilderness within the state of Idaho.[6][7]

Wilderness areas do not allow motorized or mechanical equipment including bicycles. Although camping and fishing are allowed with proper permit, no roads or buildings are constructed and there is also no logging or mining, in compliance with the 1964 Wilderness Act. Wilderness areas within National Forests and Bureau of Land Management areas also allow hunting in season.[8][9]

Natural history

The Little Jacks Creek Wilderness lies within the Owyhee Desert, part of the northern Basin and Range ecoregion, although hydrologically the wilderness area is within the Snake River – Columbia River drainage.[1][10] The area is home to mountain quail, mule deer, Columbia River redband trout, and sage grouse.[1]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Little Jacks Creek Wilderness - General". Wilderness.net. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  2. ↑ "Little Jacks Creek Wilderness, Idaho". Public Lands. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Little Jacks Creek". Bureau of Land Management. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Wild & Scenic Rivers". Bureau of Land Management. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  5. ↑ "Little Jacks Creek Trail". Bureau of Land Management. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Owyhee Canyonlands Wilderness Areas". Bureau of Land Management. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Owhyhee Canyonlands Wilderness". Idaho Public TV. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Forestwide Standards and Guidelines". United States Forest Service. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Little Jacks Creek Wilderness - Area Management". Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  10. ↑  This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Geological Survey document: McGrath, C.L., Woods, A.J., Omernik, J.M., et al. "Ecoregions of Idaho". (color poster with map, descriptive text, summary tables, and photographs; with a Reverse side).

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Owhyhee Canyonlands Wilderness Areas.