Wilderness, at 2.3 million acres the largest single federally designated wilderness in the lower 48. The Lemhi River Valley lies between the Continental Divide and the Lemhi Mountains.

Although the Salmon and many of its tributaries are important to anadramous chinook salmon and steelhead, the Lemhi is considered to be some of the West’s most remarkable inland habitat for chinook salmon.

Salmon Valley Stewardship is based in Salmon, Idaho, in a region some naturalists consider an oasis of hope because of its biodiversity.
Wildlife species that inhabit the Salmon and Lemhi River Valleys include moose, elk, mule and whitetail deer, antelope, black bear, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, wolf, coyote, raccoon, badger, river otter, and rabbits to name a few. Less frequently sighted animals that are known to be present in the area at least occasionally include Canada lynx, wolverine, and fisher.

Retired wildlife biologist Hadley Roberts has been recording bird sightings in this area since 1971. He has recorded more than 200 bird species! (Hadley’s book, Birds of East Central Idaho, is available for sale at the SVS office). While sandhill crane, great blue heron, bald eagle, golden eagle, peregrine, red-tailed hawk, osprey, and northern goshawk delight visitors, it is the greater sage-grouse that has been receiving the most attention lately as a candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act.
The squabbles over Endangered Species Act issues in the region frequently make the news. The constructive and cooperative stakeholder solutions that have taken hold in the valley often do not. Those include efforts such as:

The mighty Chinook Salmon, which migrates 800 miles inland to the Salmon River Region to spawn.  Experts are expecting a record-breaking (as in, numbers not seen since the 1930's!) in June of 2010.
The Salmon River portion of the Valley is cradled between the Continental Divide to the East and to the West, the Salmon River Mountains leading into the Frank Church River of No Return
The salmon are coming!

The Upper Salmon River near Ellis, Idaho will be open for chinook fishing on June 25th, and near town on July 2nd, 2011.

SVS Board Advisor Jerry Myers was recently featured in the PBS Nature documentary "Salmon: Running the Gauntlet".

Check out the short 2 minute video at left showing fish passage at the Bonneville Lock and Dam on the Columbia River.

Click below to read the Missoulian March 2010 article about local women steelhead fishing. click here