Supervisor's Office
370 American Ave
Jerome, ID 83338
208-423-7500
TDD: 800-877-8339
Forest Supervisor: Jim DeMaagd
Fairfield Ranger District Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 189, Fairfield, ID 83327 Physical Address:
102 First Street East
Fairfield, ID 83327
208-764-3202
Fax: 208-764-3211
District Ranger: Marty Gmelin
Ketchum Ranger District Mailing Address:
PO Box 2356 Ketchum, ID 83340 Physical Address:
206 Sun Valley Rd Sun Valley, ID 83353
208-622-5371
Fax: 208-622-3923
The Sawtooth National Forest asks the public to please recreate responsibly. Law enforcement and/or search and rescue operations may be limited due to COVID-19 issues. High-risk activities such as rock climbing, etc. or backcountry activities that increase your chance of injury or distress should be avoided. We also encourage you to follow public health guidelines regarding social distancing while you recreate in National Forests. For more information about how the Forest Service is responding to COVID-19, visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/about-agency/covid19-updates.
In accordance with the Governor of Idaho's Stay-at-Home directive, Sawtooth National Forest Offices are closed in order to promote social distancing. Customer service representatives will be staffing our phone lines to provide information about the Forest or to assist your needs in ways besides face-to-face. You can reach the Supervisors Office at 208-423-7500, the Ketchum Ranger District at 208-622-0090, the Fairfield Ranger District at 208-764-3202, the Stanley Ranger Station at 208-774-3000, the Sawtooth National Recreation Area Headquarters at 208-727-5000 and the Minidoka Ranger District at 208-678-0430.
SAWTOOTH NATIONAL RECREATION AREA TO OPEN DEVELOPED RECREATION SITES
Ketchum, ID‐June 3, 2020
On June 5, 2020, Sawtooth National Forest will open more developed recreation sites, in addition to the 26 sites that were opened earlier in May. For a full list of open areas and up‐to‐date information on re‐openings, visit the Sawtooth forest website at https://www.fs.usda.gov/sawtooth/
The Forest Service is reopening its sites in a phased approach, allowing the agency to remain responsive to local conditions. The agency is committed to maximizing public access to the national forests and grasslands while ensuring physical, emotional, and psychological safety and well‐being of its employees.
“While we understand there may be some excitement to return to these recreation areas, there may be limited services or spaces available,” said Forest Supervisor Jim DeMaagd. “We ask that visitors please continue to follow local, state and federal guidelines on staying safe and practice good hygiene and social distancing wherever they choose to visit.”
Visitors are asked to stay as local as possible when choosing a site to visit and to pack out everything they bring, especially trash. Visitors are also urged to take the precautions recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) along with local health and safety guidance. For tips from the CDC on preventing illnesses like the coronavirus, go to: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019‐ncov/about/prevention.html.
Responsible recreation will help expand access to facilities, services and other opportunities. Certain services may still be unavailable, so visitors are asked to plan accordingly and to remain flexible. Conditions at lower elevations are suitable to support vehicle traffic on many roads and some trails without causing resource damage. Users should stay on designated travel routes and use good judgment regarding travel on roads and trails not yet sufficiently dry to prevent resource damage. Avoid leaving ruts in the roads or trails and do not drive off‐road to avoid snowdrifts. Contact information for the Sawtooth National Forest is available at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/sawtooth/
The Sawtooth National Forest is preparing to gradually open campgrounds for forest visitors to enjoy the outdoors and are aligning with state orders and stages for reopening. A number of developed recreation sites will begin to open on May 20th. As weather warms and crews can safely access the sites, maintenance operations will commence. Hazard trees will be removed, water systems turned on and tested, campsites cleaned, and vault toilets pumped and cleaned.
COVID‐19 has brought certain challenges the Forest is working to overcome. Challenges include procuring necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) and obtaining an adequate amount of cleaning supplies. The Forest is targeting to have approximately 26 developed recreations site partially open or open and available for use by Memorial Day Weekend. The Forest is planning to open sites close to local communities or popular with local communities to encourage local travel.
“More and more locations are opening across the forest as the weather warms,” said Jim DeMaagd, Sawtooth
National Forest Supervisor. “We will monitor the conditions on the ground and re‐evaluate as new information
becomes available.” Dispersed camping, hiking and trail use, and other dispersed activities are occurring all across the Forest.
Trails and trailheads are open. Conditions at lower elevations are suitable to support vehicle traffic on many roads and some trails without causing resource damage. Users should stay on designated travel routes and use good judgment regarding travel on roads and trails not yet sufficiently dry to prevent resource damage. Avoid leaving ruts in the roads or trails and do not drive off‐road to avoid snowdrifts
Some maintenance services are limited at this time, so we ask everyone to practice Leave No Trace etiquette and
adhere to Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines:
Prepare for limited or no services, such as restroom facilities and garbage collection (pack it in pack it out)
Bears are emerging so remember to store food properly and carry bear spray
Avoid gathering with others in parking lots, trails, scenic overlooks, and other areas
Stay close to home to keep other communities safe
To prevent illnesses like COVID‐19 wash hands often, stick to group sizes of 10 or less, and practice social
distancing.
Please visit our website https://www.fs.usda.gov/snf for more information and recreation opportunities.
It’s All Yours - Go. Play. Spring
These lands are a gift. Congress began conserving these lands back in 1891 for all of us. More than 100 years later, this gift continues to inspire, restore, and provide. From offering nearly endless ways to play to providing water, clean air, and resources for millions, each of the 174 forests and grasslands highlights the best of America’s public lands heritage. The U.S. Forest Service and the National Forest Foundation work to steward these lands on your behalf. So pick a spot, choose an activity, and go. play. Visit itsallyours.us for more information.
The Sawtooth National Forest is a very special place here in the heart of Idaho. We hope you will take the time to learn about this "working/producing" National Forest. Managing and protecting your land is most challenging - not only because of the vastness of this land, but because of the varied, and sometimes conflicting, interests and values that you the owners of this land hold near and dear. Managing and protecting this land, for today and as well as future generations, means listening and working with other agencies, implementing the laws mandated by Congress, exercising our best professional judgment and working with you, the shareholders of this National Forest. We sincerely hope that you will always feel free to question what and how we are doing, and more importantly become involved in our processes as we plan and make decisions regarding the management of this National Forest. We are the stewards of your land - a job that we take a great deal of pride and satisfaction in. If at any time there is anything we can do to help make your time here more enjoyable our employees are here to serve you.
Intermountain Region Welcomes Acting Regional Forester
The USDA Forest Service Intermountain Region has announced that Frank Beum will serve as acting regional forester, following the retirement of current regional forester Nora Rasure.
Beum currently serves as deputy regional forester for natural resources for the Forest Service Southern Region in Atlanta, Georgia. Beum is responsible for development and delivery of natural resource policy for national forests in 13 southern states and Puerto Rico.
Beum has worked across the Forest Service on seven national forests and five ranger districts in the Rocky Mountain and Southern Regions, as well as in the Southern Regional Office and the Washington Office. He recently served as acting associate deputy chief of the National Forest System, and previously served as the director of forest management for the Southern Region and acting national director of forest management. Beum served as legislative specialist in both the Washington Office and the Southern Region, as forest supervisor on the Daniel Boone National Forest, and as district ranger on the New Castle Ranger District of the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. Read the News Release
The Sawtooth National Forest has published its Biennial Monitoring Evaluation Report
The Intermountain and Rocky Mountain Regions of the Forests Service incorporated standards and guidelines for the conservation of greater sage-grouse into forest plans in 2015. As plans have been implemented, potential inefficiencies and difficulties were identified. Comments were requested on an initial Notice of Intent (NOI), and a supplemental NOI to revise the 2015 plans in 2017 and 2018. Those comments were used to create a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) to amend forest plans. The public comment period for the DEIS ended on January 3, 2019. The comments received have been summarized into a Report.
View the latest news about the Forest Service’s Greater Sage-Grouse conservation efforts.
For information about wildfires and fire restrictions on the Sawtooth National Forest visit:
The USDA Forest Service Intermountain Region has announced that Frank Beum will serve as acting regional forester, following the retirement of current regional forester Nora Rasure.
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