Monument at stake in central Idaho

Backers of a proposed national monument for the Boulder and White Cloud mountains east of Stanley and north of Sun Valley want to make sure it's the right size and has the right federal agency to give the region the focused "showcase management" it deserves. But as the Obama administration undertakes a review of a possible monument designation, just how much of the 500,000-acre roadless area in central Idaho would be included in the proposed monument and how it would be managed remain open questions. In a visit to Boise last month, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack pointed to Chimney Rock, a 4,700-acre archeological site in the San Juan National Forest in Colorado designated by Obama as a monument, as a model for decision-making that involves all stakeholders. Sawtooth National Forest Supervisor Becky Nourse pointed to Misty Fjords National Monument in Alaska as an example of how the U.S. Forest Service has addressed monument-management issues. Craig Gehrke, Wilderness Society regional representative in Boise, said Obama should consider including the entire 756,000-acre Sawtooth National Recreation Area in a new monument. Idaho Recreation Council Executive Director Sandra Mitchell doesn't see the need for any changes, but she knows the political reality: Whatever is chosen needs only President Obama's signature to become law under the 1906 Antiquities Act...more