From the White Clouds to the White House
Editor's Note: August 7, 2025 marks the 10-year anniversary of the passage of the Boulder-White Clouds Wilderness Act. The fight to protect Idaho's wild heart took ICL, our partners, Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson, and thousands of Idahoans decades to achieve. ICL is celebrating through a series of blogs honoring stories of the Boulder-White Clouds. This article is the first in the series. This piece is authored by Rick Johnson, ICL's public lands director from 1985-1987 and executive director from 1995-2019. It originally appeared in May 2023 in ICL's 50th anniversary publication, An Enduring Love for Wild Idaho, and includes references to ICL's 50th celebration.
Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson stood next to me in the Oval Office of the White House, the presidential seal embossed in the floor at our feet. President Obama had just signed into law legislation that protected the Boulder, White Cloud, and Jerry Peak areas as Wilderness.“So, Congressman, you’ve been working on this for 15 years,” the president said.“Yes,” Rep. Simpson said. Then, looking at me he added, “Rick has been working on it for 30 years.”The president took my hand, and said, “Well, this must be a very special day for you.”You have no idea, I thought, thinking of all the Idahoans who had pushed to make this day happen. “Yes,” I managed to gasp, as Obama kept hold of my hand. “It’s a special day for a lot of people.” It was a special day, and a special story, indeed.
It’s tempting to open this story with my first glance of Castle Peak up close as amber sunset fell over the granite peak on a week-long backcountry ski across the White Clouds. Or how we developed a relationship with Rep. Mike Simpson, a true and to many unlikely hero for Idaho conservation. Or by reflecting on the many, many people who worked so hard on a seemingly endless campaign – people who just never gave up.But here, on ICL’s 50th, the most important story to tell goes well beyond the Boulder-White Clouds. This story exists because of the wisdom of the founders of the Wilderness Act of 1964 – including Idaho’s own Frank Church who carried the bill creating the wilderness system in the Senate.Wild country and rivers are core to what Idaho is, literally defining what Idaho means to many of us. It defines Idaho so completely that many Idahoans simply take wild places for granted. Not ICL. Keeping these places wild has always been one of ICL’s core purposes.The formal designation of Wilderness is one of the most protective land designations in our country, a rare circumstance where federal public land is designated by a majority vote in the U.S. Congress. It is very hard to pass a bill in the U.S. Congress. In Idaho, a state famous for being suspicious of the federal government, it’s even harder. ICL’s path in getting this bill through Congress involved political and organizational strategy, and a very intentionally traveled path.
The effort to protect the Boulder-White Clouds predates even ICL itself. It started with the fight against an open-pit mine in the late ‘60s. That escalated into the 1970 governor’s race, which brought Cecil Andrus to office. That was followed by creation of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area.In the 1980s, I got involved by helping build a statewide wilderness effort. That work evolved into my career, something I’m deeply grateful for. In the 1990s, we created a site-specific wilderness campaign for the Boulder and White Cloud Mountains.To pass a bill, you need a member of Congress to lead the effort. A champion. Mike Simpson seemed unlikely at first, but doing something other Idaho leaders had failed to do intrigued him. After his first multi-day trip into the majestic peaks, he was hooked. Mike Simpson became a champion of the White Clouds and never gave up. Neither did ICL.With Simpson’s support, the campaign endured a political roller coaster ride for more than a decade. It’s easy to talk to folks who agree with you, but we needed more. ICL spoke to opponents and those who didn’t know us but were curious and open to listening. And ICL listened back. Ultimately, together, we sought a center and tried to find compromise.
After many challenging years, the campaign intentionally evolved into a difficult but powerfully catalytic proposal to declare the area as a national monument. This shift brought in new resources and allies and was national in scale, a strategy that had been used before and has been used since. But as the monument effort gained momentum, we shifted back to our original goal – a Congressionally designated wilderness area.After so many decades, the political stars were finally aligned. Success came in a blinding flash.Simpson and others adroitly moved from the voice-vote unanimous passage in the House on a Thursday, to unanimous passage in the Senate the following Tuesday. That Friday, I found myself standing alongside Rep. Simpson and President Barack Obama, as the bill was signed into law. The Boulder-White Clouds were officially Wilderness. Protected Wilderness.Today, ICL is 50 years old, the legacy of the Boulder-White Clouds lives on, and Mike Simpson is fighting for Idaho’s salmon and the first member of Congress to call for removal of the four lower Snake River dams. Together, we will accomplish that too.