We are very excited to announce a new partnership (and Brewshed Partner)! Meriwether Cider, a staff-favorite of the Idaho Rivers United crew, launched a new non-profit partnership program this month called “Let’s Do Good,” and IRU was chosen as the inaugural partner of this innovative new program.

Use your voice to help protect the South Fork Salmon River! Submit public comment on the Stibnite Mine Project by Oct 28th to the USFS.

This summer, 10 Barrel Brewing Company in Boise, Maravia-Cascade River Gear and McU Sports teamed up to create a fundraiser for Idaho Rivers United! The idea began with all things summer in mind - beer, boats, and rivers!

SEATTLE—Conservation organizations throughout the Pacific Northwest today praised an Agreement issued by Governors Brad Little of Idaho, Kate Brown of Oregon, Jay Inslee of Washington and Steve Bullock of Montana outlining goals for a regional initiative to restore salmon in the Columbia-Snake River basin.

After 30 miles of winding dirt road past cliffs and through canyons, the road curved right to follow Johnson’s Creek. The cold, clean scent of mountain waters cut through the dust and hot air. Swallows darted over the water and trout swam up from the deep pools to snag unsuspecting insects.

Published in The Star News

CEO Laurel Sayer recently announced that Midas Gold Corporation took “a necessary step to protect Midas Gold from being held responsible for alleged water pollution from lands owned and managed by the U.S. Forest Service”, referring to the lawsuit filed by Midas against the U.S. Forest Service on August 18th, 2020…

Without a doubt, our greatest strength is our members and partners. These supporters make our conservation efforts go farther and allow our work to continue by sharing our mission, working with others, and helping to make IRU’s events and fundraisers successful.

IRU is excited to introduce our first ever Graduate Fellow, Tess McEnroe! Tess will be focused on developing and enhancing IRU’s Guide Educaiton program by developing an online certificate program. The Wild & Scenic Stewardship Guide Education Program will provide guides with a comprehensive opportunity to learn more about salmon, steelhead, and the Middle Fork Salmon River through a virtual platform.

I was eager to share my knowledge from my Nez Perce National Forest and Nez Perce Tribe experiences protecting the watersheds from excessive and careless logging and road building. The Forest Management Team changed the extractive resource models to new holistic approaches that favored water quality and adramous habitat.

IRU allowed me to share that experience first hand.

A few weeks ago, I drove up the windy South Fork Salmon road, following the curve of the river to a campsite on the riverbank, nestled in the pines. My colleagues and I waded in the cool water, chatted around a quiet campfire, and checked out the Neowise comet in the astonishingly dark sky.

Big thanks to all who participated in our inaugural IRU River Run! Twenty-five eager river-supporters registered to walk, run, hike, paddle, bike (and in one instance, boogie board!) their way to fundraising victory for our rivers. We were blown away by the over $4,000 they raised in their fundraisers.

The DEIS for this massive, open-pit gold mine is so inadequate that it precludes meaningful analysis. This DEIS, put simply, does nothing to alleviate our concerns about the myriad risks Midas would pose to the watershed of the South Fork, the recreational values of the area, and the public lands that it will impact.

Today, The Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, and Bonneville Power Administration released the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Columbia River System Operations, a critical document in the review process for the Lower Snake River dams’ operations and for the fate of salmon and steelhead in Idaho.

A 28,000 acre swath of State-managed lands surrounding Payette Lake is in jeopardy of falling into private hands. Trident Holdings LLC is proposing a land exchange with the State of Idaho in order to acquire these forestlands, which provide important public recreation opportunities, wildlife habitat, and clean water benefits for the area.

Idaho is the best place in the world for people who love wild rivers. But, when Idaho Rivers United was founded in 1990, no one knew how successful it would be or how many friendships would be made along the way.

I became a member of Idaho Rivers United in 1992 after a Selway River trip with IRU's first Executive Director Wendy Wilson. It was 2 years after IRU's founding, and not long after it's genesis as the ‘Friends of the Payette’ with the sole mission…

A couple of days ago I woke up and read the newly released Final EIS on the proposed Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay, Alaska. The FEIS, which contradicts the findings of the previous administration, identifies almost 200 miles of streams and more than 4,600 acres of wetlands that would be impacted…by Phase 1 of the project….

SEATTLE—Citing breathtaking levels of overreach, conservation, fishing, and paddling advocates today filed a complaint in federal court challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) final rule effectively sidelining the role the states and the public have long played in permitting decisions affecting clean water.

Newcrest Resources Inc, an Australian mining corporation, recently submitted a plan to conduct exploratory drilling for gold in the upper watershed of the Jarbidge River. IRU and other conservation non-profits are working to protect water quality, reduce the size of the site, and protect endangered Bull Trout.

Idaho Rivers United, alongside partners Idaho Sierra Club and Idaho Conservation League, secured additional protections for the headwaters of the Wild & Scenic Jarbidge River that would be impacted by a gold mining exploration project along the Nevada-Idaho border.