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National Forest Week

Support Your National Forests

Plant Trees Now

Southern California Forest Fund

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National Forest Week

Support Your National Forests

Plant Trees Now

Southern California Forest Fund

Treasured Landscapes, Unforgettable Experiences

Rivers to Peaks on the Sawtooth Nat...

Featured: Bald Mountain Stewardship

The Bald Mountain Stewardship Project in an innovative landscape-level approach that aims to improve forest health, reduce fuels and associated fire risk, and preserve the recreational experience on and around Bald Mountain, home of the Sun Valley Ski Resort. This world-renowned recreational destination drives central Idaho’s economy and is the primary viewshed for the communities of Ketchum and Sun Valley.

Learn more about the Bald Mountain Stewardship Project here.

Download more information from the NFF about the project (PDF).

The Bald Mountain Stewardship Project is part of NFF’s five-year commitment to restoring forest health and aquatic habitat, improving recreational experiences, and supporting robust community involvement in projects happening across the Sawtooth National Forest.

Donate to the effort today.

Rivers to Peaks on the Sawtooth National Forest

The Sawtooth Rivers to Peaks site spans from Hailey to Stanley, Idaho and includes more than one million acres across the Ketchum Ranger District and Sawtooth National Recreation Area.

This vast Forest complex is home to more than 1,000 high alpine lakes and the headwaters of four major Idaho rivers: the Salmon, South Fork of the Payette, Boise, and Big Wood. Dramatic mountain ranges tower above the forest landscape. The Sawtooth, Boulder, White Clouds, Pioneer, and Smokey Mountain ranges provide scenic landscapes in every direction, with more than 50 major peaks over 10,000 feet. The area offers an incredible diversity of wildlife habitat and recreational experiences.

For the next five years, the NFF will be working with the local community and partners to restore rivers and wetlands, improve the resilience of native forest and plant communities, maintain and improve recreational infrastructure, and foster visitor stewardship.

Some of our current priorities include:

  • Adams Gulch Adaptive Sports Trail Enhancement Project: Improve overall recreational experience, restore riparian areas, and better accommodate adaptive sports users at this close-to-town trail system.
  • Big Wood River Recreation Corridor Projects: Improvement of trail and dispersed campsite conditions within the Sawtooth National Recreation Area amid growing recreational pressure. This effort will help to minimize adverse impacts on natural resources, especially along the river corridors.
  • Bald Mountain Stewardship Project: Continue ongoing large-scale restoration effort to address bark beetle mortality and associated forest health issues in and around Sun Valley Ski Resort. In 2020, approximately 30 acres were treated, including planting of 10,000 trees to encourage regrowth, diversity, and forest resiliency.
  • Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve: Development of interpretive and educational experiences to highlight the origin of the Dark Sky Reserve and the importance of preserving dark sky.
  • Whitebark Pine Restoration: Seed collection, replanting and monitoring efforts
  • Community Engagement: Supporting local engagement in forest management through the convening and facilitation of local collaborative efforts including the 5B Restoration Coalition and Sawtooth Valley Wildland Fire Collaborative.
Explore the StoryMap below to learn more about our project.
Or click here to view the StoryMap in a new window.

For the next five years, the NFF will be working with the local community and partners to restore rivers and wetlands, improve the resilience of native forest and plant communities, maintain and improve recreational infrastructure, and foster visitor stewardship.

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Contact

Dani Southard, Northern Rockies Program Manager, at 208.720.0957 or [email protected]