Growing Recreation Support for Boulder-White Clouds

The Conservation Alliance, the Adventure Cycling Association and the American Alpine Club joined Outdoor Alliance in supporting a National Monument designation for the Boulder-White Clouds.

As national-level organizations, we cited important milestones for public support in a letter sent to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Interior Secretary Sally Jewell. We are encouraged by a Blaine County resolution in favor of the designation, as well as the historic, trail-by-trail agreement reached between wilderness advocates and mountain bike interests.

With the recent designation of the Organ Mountains – Desert Peaks National Monument, many people are looking at the growing support from Idahoans and national organizations, and hoping the Boulder-White Clouds will be next.

In February, the Adventure Cycling Association released the Idaho Hot Springs Mountain Bike Route, a 518-mile dirt tour through the state, which starts in Boise and includes over 50 hot spring stops and options for additional singletrack trails. The route travels through part of the proposed Boulder-White Clouds National Monument. Ginny Sullivan, the Director of Travel Initiatives, is hopeful the route can gain additional protections:

“We are pleased to be able join forces with the Outdoor Alliance and support this National Monument Designation. It is through a careful and cooperative effort that includes recognition of Adventure Cycling's Idaho Hot Springs Mountain Bike Route that more people will have the opportunity to experience these grand landscapes now and in the future. We congratulate all those involved on finding a path forward that includes a balance between recreation and conservation.”