At the September 3rd Board of Directors approved the following resolution concerning the possibility of guiding on the SF Boise River. Stay tuned for additional information.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS OFFICIAL POSITION & POLICY RESOLUTION
Subject: Opposition to Commercial Outfitting on the South Fork Boise River
Boise Valley Fly Fishers (BVFF) is the oldest fly-fishing organization in Idaho, founded in 1971, and represents more than 300 active members. We have been engaged on the South Fork Boise River for many years and have a direct and long-standing stake in how this river is managed. The BVFF Board is writing to state our position clearly: we oppose allowing commercial whitewater rafting or fly-fishing guiding on any part of the South Fork Boise River, below Anderson Ranch Dam.
The South Fork of the Boise River below Anderson Ranch Dam is known throughout Idaho’s angling community as the “Governor’s River”. This special designation was intended to prevent commercialization and preserve a high-quality experience for anglers and outdoorsmen. Prohibiting commercial guiding was an intentional, foundational policy choice designed to guarantee that everyday citizens retain unencumbered access to a premier tailwater without competing against commercial guiding. The Boise National Forest's management standard for the Lower South Fork Boise River makes that intent explicit, stating that the Forest Service will not issue special use permits for commercial whitewater rafting or fly-fishing outfitters and guides "in order to maintain the current river related recreation experiences" (Forest Plan, p. III-107). This is the codification of a management philosophy that has shaped the South Fork of the Boise River for decades. The self-guided character of this river is not incidental to its value; for many anglers, it is the value.
We understand that the Forest Service is now reaching out to the South Fork Boise Watershed Collaborative to gauge interest in a Forest Plan amendment that would let two companies begin exercising commercial licenses, starting with a limited stretch of the lower river. We take that proposal seriously, and we want to be direct about why we oppose it even in this narrow form: once the door is open on any part of this river, there is every reason to expect pressure to widen it to the entire river. We say this because of a repeated pattern of management restrictions on public land expanding once a precedent has been set. We believe that an amendment scoped to "the lower river only" today does not bind future proposals from asking for more tomorrow.
There is also a practical concern that stands on its own, independent of precedent. The South Fork Boise already sees substantial and growing recreational pressure. Adding commercial guiding increases competition for the same access points. BVFF helped fund the construction of public boat access ramps at both Tailwaters and Danskin Bridge. These facilities were funded specifically to facilitate self-directed public access — not to serve as commercial staging areas for private commercial enterprise.
For these reasons, the Board of Directors of Boise Valley Fly Fishers has adopted the following position:
We oppose any Forest Plan amendment or other administrative action that would authorize commercial whitewater rafting or fly-fishing outfitter and guide services on any portion of the South Fork Boise River below Anderson Ranch Dam. We will participate actively in the Collaborative process to advocate for keeping the existing no-guiding standard in place across the entire river corridor, not just the reach currently under discussion. We will share this position with our membership and with allied conservation and angling organizations who share an interest in this special place.
Adopted by a unanimous vote of the Directors present, constituting a quorum of the Board of Directors of Boise Valley Fly Fishers, this 3rd day of September 2026.
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Prescott O Lieberg, III, President
Boise Valley Fly Fishers
