Idaho Conservation League

08/24/2026

🌲 The Roadless Roller Coaster is back.

Roadless areas make up roughly half of Idaho’s National Forests—and they provide clean water, critical wildlife habitat, and some of our best places to hunt, fish, hike, camp, and explore.

With the administration proposing to rescind the 2001 National Roadless Conservation Rule, the future of these special places is once again uncertain. Idaho has its own Roadless Rule, but we also need strong protections for roadless lands across the country.

We break down what’s happening, why it matters, and how you can take action to protect these irreplaceable public lands. 🌲🏔️

Read the blog and make your voice heard: https://idahoconservation.org/blog/the-roadless-roller-coaster-what-does-it-mean-for-idaho-dych8

08/24/2026

"These roadless areas are undisturbed, undeveloped, and they provide sources for our drinking water," said John Robison, public lands and wildlife director for the Idaho Conservation League. "They provide amazing habitat for fish and wildlife, incredible recreation opportunities."

Read/watch more about the potential appeal of the National Roadless Rule and what it means for Idaho:

The Trump administration is proposing to repeal the national Roadless Rule, but Idaho’s separate rule governing its national forests would remain in place.

08/21/2026

For the fourth year in a row, invasive quagga mussels are back in the Snake River. ⚠️🦪

Earlier this week, the Idaho State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) announced that quagga mussels were once again detected in the Mid-Snake River near Shoshone Falls and Twin Falls.

This is a no-win situation. Quagga mussels may be tiny, but their impacts are enormous. If quaggas become established in the Mid-Snake River, there is little doubt they would significantly disrupt the aquatic ecosystem while also causing widespread economic damage by clogging irrigation systems, impairing hydropower facilities, and affecting other critical infrastructure. ⚓️

Unfortunately, the eradication effort itself carries significant environmental costs. The copper-based aquatic pesticide being used to eliminate quagga mussels does not selectively target mussels; it kills a broad range of aquatic organisms within the treated stretch of river. 🐟💧

Whether or not this ambitious eradication effort succeeds, one thing is clear: prevention is critical. We cannot afford to let quaggas spread to other waterways in our state.That means Idaho needs stronger measures.

Learn more about the return of quagga mussels and how to prevent the spread at the link below. 🔗🤝

https://idahoconservation.org/blog/quaggas-are-still-in-the-snake-river-heres-what-you-need-to-know

08/20/2026

In a recent guest opinion shared by the Idaho Statesman, Roy Atkins discusses life in Riggins, and how declining salmon populations have greatly impacted rural river towns in Idaho.

"For decades, the federal government has told Idaho communities that the Columbia and Snake River hydropower system could operate while maintaining healthy, harvestable salmon runs. Billions have been spent modifying dams, transporting juvenile fish, producing hatchery salmon, controlling predators and studying the same problems." Atkins says. "Yet here we are again: fewer fish, shorter seasons and rural communities absorbing the consequences."

Read more at the link below:

A guide loses work. A motel loses a reservation. A restaurant loses a table. A gas station sells less fuel. | Opinion

08/20/2026

URGENT ACTION FOR GRIZZLIES 🐻🚨

The Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC), a leadership team from federal and state agencies, is seeking public comment on a draft Conservation Strategy plan for reproduction, habitat, and mortality benchmarks in the Selkirk Cabinet-Yaak Ecosystem (SCYE) in parts of Idaho, Montana and Washington. 🗣️

⚠️Current levels of human-caused grizzly mortality in the SCYE threaten to reverse recovery gains. Scientific monitoring budgets have been slashed and Idaho’s hostile predator policies don’t ensure a healthy future should Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections get lifted. 🌲

Unless recent court challenges successfully overturn new federal rulings to rescind the National Roadless Rule and critical habitat protections in the ESA, core areas for Selkirk Cabinet-Yaak grizzlies would likely no longer be off-limits to development, resource extraction and harmful recreational pressures. 🚧⛏️

🔗🐻 Take action today! Learn more and access our comment guide at the link below.

https://idahoconservation.org/blog/urgent-opportunity-to-take-action-for-north-idaho-grizzlies

08/17/2026

🚨Idaho’s salmon are once again in hot water. But we are not heading toward a crisis. We are in one. 🐟⚠️

Fish returns are dangerously low, but we have already known that for years—facts fish biologists have shared for decades and knowledge Tribes have carried since time immemorial.

👀Make no mistake: this “new norm” is anything but normal, and it is not a reality we can or should accept. Despite decades of emergency interventions, and trying everything except dam removal, Idaho’s salmon and steelhead remain dangerously close to extinction.

We should not have to keep asking Judges for emergency measures to mitigate a system that is fundamentally broken. 🪦🐟

We know hope is not a salmon recovery strategy. Idaho’s salmon do not need another year of hoping for the best. 💔

🔗Read more about the reality of salmon recovery and take action at the link below.

https://linktr.ee/idahoconservationleague

08/13/2026

Reservoirs along the Snake River are cooking up some toxic algae outbreaks this summer👩‍🍳🤢🦠

Many portions of the river, particularly the Middle and Lower Snake, have excess
nitrogen and phosphorus–primarily from large-scale agriculture and concentrated animal feeding operations. Combined with warm water temperatures and slow-moving or stagnant water, these conditions come together to create a perfect recipe for harmful toxic algae outbreaks.💧😷

🚨These outbreaks pose escalating and potentially fatal risks to human and animal health while also degrading aquatic ecosystems. In order to make the Snake River once again swimmable, fishable, and capable of supporting both communities and a healthy ecosystem, more must be done.

This report calls for a coordinated, large-scale effort to clean up the Snake River—bringing together farmers, tribes, government agencies, businesses, and communities.

🔗Read more about toxic algae and the future of the Snake River at the link below.

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/67dc85385e35aa4eb80c4e56/t/6a4293a1c1c1cf497932fda5/1782748068097/2026-SotS-Report-FINAL.pdf

08/12/2026

The data center boom is upon us, and many developers are eying Idaho. 👀⚡️

Bannock County, home to the city of Pocatello, recently passed a 180-day emergency moratorium on accepting or processing data center permit applications. The pause allows county staff to have needed time to research and draft a standalone data center ordinance—one aimed at safeguarding utility ratepayers, natural resources, and energy infrastructure while preserving the county's quality of life despite continuing development. ✍️

🏛️Bannock County is only the first local government to grapple with this issue and implement a moratorium. Until meaningful statewide policy is passed to guide—or limit—data center construction, that decision falls to local governments. Each county and city is left to decide for itself how to respond to developer interest, with no statewide framework yet established.

🔗Click the link below to read more about the moratorium, data centers, and the impact on Idaho.

https://idahoconservation.org/blog/bannock-county-sets-a-180-day-data-center-moratorium

08/11/2026

The Department of Interior is reviewing management policies for wilderness-worthy areas in Idaho that are still awaiting Congressional review and potential Wilderness designation. These are some of the best unprotected places in Idaho for camping, hiking, hunting and fishing. Depending on the direction of this review, these special places could be at increased risk for development or outright sale.

Read the full story from the Idaho Capital Sun: https://idahocapitalsun.com/2026/08/07/wilderness-in-idaho-the-west-is-subject-to-review-by-trump-administration-wilderness-society-says/

Take action to defend America's Wilderness: https://actnowforpubliclands.org/take-action

Originally published Aug. 7 on IdahoCapitalSun.com.