Sawtooth Wilderness
| Sawtooth Wilderness | |
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IUCN category Ib (wilderness area)
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Alice Lake in the Sawtooth Wilderness
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| Location | Blaine, Boise, Custer, and Elmore counties, Idaho, United States |
| Nearest city | Stanley, ID |
| Coordinates | 43°59′59″N 115°03′57″W / 43.999626°N 115.0659167°WCoordinates: 43°59′59″N 115°03′57″W / 43.999626°N 115.0659167°W |
| Area | 217,088 acres (878.52 km2) |
| Established | August 22, 1972 |
| Visitors | 32,500 (in 2005) |
| Governing body | U.S. Forest Service |
| Official website | |
The Sawtooth Wilderness (SAW-tooth) is a federally-protected wilderness area that covers 217,088 acres (87,852 ha) of the state of Idaho. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, it was designated the Sawtooth Primitive Area in 1937 to preserve the exceptional scenic beauty of the Sawtooth Mountains. On August 22, 1972 Public Law 22-400 designated the Primitive Area as the Sawtooth Wilderness and part of the newly created Sawtooth National Recreation Area. As part of the National Wilderness Preservation System, the Sawtooth Wilderness is an area where human development and use are restricted and people are to remain only visitors. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the Sawtooth Wilderness has some of the clearest air in the lower 48 states.
Sawtooth National Forest was created as the Sawtooth Forest Reserve in the U.S. Department of Agriculture by proclamation of President Theodore Roosevelt on May 29, 1905. It was named after the Sawtooth Mountains in the northwestern part of the forest. On October 12, 1937, the U.S. Forest Service established the Sawtooth Primitive Area in the Sawtooth Mountains. Subsequently, Sawtooth National Forest began to extensively develop recreation opportunities, including new campgrounds, trails, and roads.
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