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talk about theiscores of rivers along which highways and major developments have 

 been constructed, precluding the opportunity for a backcountry, camping experience 

 in a natural, scenic place. We might talk about polluted waters where even 

 swimming is precluded. 



And where would we stop? Would we be speaking about rivers in Idaho only, in 

 the Pacific Northwest, or in America, nationwide? How do we draw that line? The 

 fact of the matter is, we are talking about Hells Canyon and the Snake Wild and 

 Scenic River. 



Nonetheless, we would like to respond in more detail to the misleading contentions 

 raised by the jet boat lobby that: 1) There are plenty of rivers where floaters can find 

 a nonmotorized wilderness experience, and; 2) there are few other rivers where one 

 can enjoy jet boating on a free-flowing river. 



This information was compiled by HCPC. Most was obtained through 

 correspondence with agencies that manage these and other rivers. 



1) The wilderness experience is distinguished by the ability of floaters to enjoy a 

 camping trip on a river that is free of the trappings of civilization, i.e.; roads and 

 modem developments, and is free of motorized rivercraft use. This would include 

 rivers that are large enough to be navigable by float boat every year (with the 

 possible exception of extreme low snowpack years) for at least two months. 



There are only six rivers in the Pacific Northwest (Oregon, Idaho, and Washington) 

 that offer a substantial reach of wild, nonmotorized and undeveloped river section 

 providing a multi-day, or at least overnight wilderness river experience, wherein 

 motorized use is specifically precluded by rule or law. (See the chart below.) 



There are other rivers where motorized use is precluded, but these rivers do not 

 offer a wilderness experience either because they are short river sections offering 

 only one-day trips (South Fork Payette, for example) or because they are bordered by 

 roads (upper Deschutes and Lochsa, for example) and thus do not offer a viable 

 camping experience. Jet boats are precluded on most or all of these rivers primarily 

 because they are not navigable due to their lack of water volume. 



The ability of nonmotorized boaters to run even the few wilderness rivers is limited 

 by two important factors: 



• Four of these rivers operate under a strict permit system. Obtaining a permit to 

 run them is an accomplishment in itself. One might apply for a permit for the 

 Middle Fork Salmon River, for example, for twenty years or more and never 

 succeed in obtaining one. 



• Most of these rivers are seasonal, virtually unrunnable at lower flows. In many 

 years, they are only runnable between the first of May and the end of June. 



Tesbmony of HCPC on River Management 



