Idaho · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Lower Salmon River
BLM found a natural system, a wildlife resource, a cultural value and a scenic value here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place 11 rights of way inside the line today, and 27 grazing allotments cover part of it. It covers 14,367 acres and was designated December 21, 2009, in the Cottonwood RMP 2009. In the plan's name, RMP stands for resource management plan.
One of the 1,120 places the Bureau of Land Management has designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern. This page shows its line, what BLM found there and what sits inside it.
The line
The rights of way
11 rights of way sit inside the line. BLM files 9 under non-energy facilities and 2 under other energy facilities.
- COEUR d'ALENE FIELD OFFICE3rights of way
- IDAHO COUNTY LIGHT & POWER2rights of way
- A private individual, name withheld by this site1right of way
- HORSESHOE BEND RANCH1right of way
- QWEST CORP DBA CENTURYLINK QC1right of way
- AVISTA CORPORATION1right of way
- ADJACENT LANDOWNER1right of way
- Holder not listed by BLM1right of way
Grazing allotments
27 grazing allotments cover part of this line. Their permittees aren't named here yet.
- Rattlesnake Ridge8,614acres
- Divide Creek2,302acres
- Wickiup Creek1,874acres
- Shuck Creek1,841acres
- Wildcat Creek1,784acres
- Pine Bar1,630acres
- Lyons Bar1,518acres
- Oxbow1,037acres
- Basin980acres
- Mahoney Creek696acres
- Packers Creek685acres
- Round Springs Creek657acres
- Whitehouse Bar652acres
- Airport482acres
- Telcher Creek464acres
- Maple Canyon444acres
- Deep Creek420acres
- Snowhole316acres
- Bug Slope315acres
- American Bar298acres
- Sheep Creek 1266acres
- Maloney Creek227acres
- Mader175acres
- Rice Creek Bridge87acres
- Lower Otto Creek57acres
- Hammer Creek33acres
- Otto Creek30acres
The nearest areas
- Wapshilla Ridge RNAIdaho · 402 acres · nothing placed inside13miles
- Skookumchuck RNAIdaho · 8.7 acres · a grazing allotment covering part of it18miles
- Captain John Creek RNAIdaho · 1,322 acres · nothing placed inside21miles
- Long Gulch RNAIdaho · 47 acres · a grazing allotment covering part of it25miles
- Joseph CreekOregon/Washington · 3,503 acres · 2 grazing allotments covering part of it27miles
More from BLM's Idaho office
Every area BLM's Idaho office holdsThe proposed rule
A proposed rule, RIN 1004-AF53, would change how BLM drafts every land use plan, and how it designates ACECs like Lower Salmon River. The comment window hasn't opened: the proposed rule wasn't in the Federal Register at our last check. The Watch sends one email the day it prints.
The rule's abstract
The purpose of this rulemaking is to establish in regulations an updated process for the approval of the development, revision, amendment, and maintenance of land use plans, as provided for by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, for public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Additionally, this rulemaking will provide clarification of the process the BLM uses for designating Areas of Critical Environmental Concern.Unified Agenda entry for RIN 1004-AF53, Publication ID 2026, reginfo.gov (OMB OIRA), read Oct 18, 2026