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Boar-campers along IMe Unalakleel River in Alaslla, of SceniC River classificaTion in the vicinily 01 Dagger Falls. The lower 80 miles of the river IS within the Idaho Primillve Area There are ap- proximately 32,000 acreS within the Wild and Scenic River Area bound- ''Y. The Aecreation Management Plan for the Middle Fork 01 the Salmon River was approved In 1973 This is one of the most popular whilewater 1I0aling (Ivers In the UMed Slates. A permit and advance reservation are required for any floallnp, either commercial or non. commercial. There are occasional parcels of private land within the Wild and Scenic River Area Most of these are old homesteads The Forest Service IS currently m the process 01 obta1ning scemc easements on these parcels of private land so that their use will be compatlole WIth Wild River values A raff .'IlIth spr8ys/mtnegotiares rapids in the Middle Fork 01 tile Salmon RiVer. Twenty Alaskan rivers lotaling over 2,500 miles have been rec- ommended for designation in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System by lhe Secrelary of the tn- terior. The Alaska Native Claims Settle- ment Act (ANCSA) directed the Secretary of the Interior to withdraw from aU forms of appropriations un- der the publiC land laws up to 80 million acres of unreserved publiC lands in Alaska, to determine which of these lands are suitable fOf addi- tion to or crealion as units of the National Park, National Foresl, Wild. hfe Refuge, and Wild and Scenic River Systems, and to report his recommendations to Ihe Congress, The Wild and SceniC Rivers Act had not identified any rivers in Alaska for either lhe initial system or tor study Alaska, however, con- tains more than 365,000 miles of river, Virtually all of which meet the basic cflteria for mclusion in the system The Bureau of Outdoor ReCrea- tion solicited recommendations trom Federal and State agenCies, conservation groups, and others knowledgeable about Alaska and came up wllh 166 flvers Refmed cweria reduced the number 10 69 fivers. During the early summer of 1972 an aerial reconnaissance fur. ther reduced the number to 40 rivers which BOR recommended lor delailed conSIderation as potential UMS of the NatIonal Wild and Scenic Rivers System The 40 rivers were selected on their me fitS without regard to land ownership. To bflng recommenda- lions Within the scope of the Alaska Native Ctaims Se11lement Act no studies were made for fivers nol prtmarlly on Federal land Detailed ground studies were made on 29 rivers and 20 were recommended for inclUSion m the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Slxleen 01 the 20 are wlttlln the boundaries of proposed parks, refuges or forests Four lie outside any such proposal areas: Fortymile, Beaver, Birch, and Unalakleet. Region 2, PacifiC Southwest. San Francisco, CalJl. Only three rivers in the Pacific Southwest Region have been deSignated or selected for study_ These are the Middle Fork 01 the Feather River, North Fork of the American River, and lhe Tuol. umne River. All are in California. The MIddle FOlk 01 the Feather RiVef--Qne of the eight "instant" fivers in the National System-is sItuated on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada In east central Califolflia Wholly withm Bulle and Plumas Counties, the designated fiver segment IS approximately 80 miles long. It lraverses Plumas Na. Ilona I Forest for about 90 percent 01 lhls distance The entire MIddle Fork was an Imtial component 01 the National Wild and SceniC Rtvers System On October 12, 1976, the Congress amended the Wild and ScenIC Rivers ACI, dele\lng the up- pcr portion, above Beckwour1h. I i I 25