Hells Canyon

Why should it be a National Park?

Many of America's most well-known natural attributes are famous because they had the tallest trees, largest thermal features, deepest lake, most petrified wood, biggest waterfalls, or several other incredible preeminent features. Therefore, you may assume that the Grand Canyon is the deepest canyon in the United States. However, that title belongs to the often ignored Hells Canyon on the border of Oregon and Idaho.

At its widest point, Hells Canyon is 10 miles across. The maximum depth is 7,913 feet compared to 6,093 feet for the Grand Canyon. A site of this scale and importance deserves to be a household name. However, its relative isolation in the undeveloped scrubland of the Pacific Northwest and its barren landscape make it difficult to visit without extensive planning. The closest major city is over 350 miles away, and neighboring communities have limited provisions and amenities for travelers.

The developed sections of the canyon consist mostly of long, steep, and difficult dirt roads. A high-clearance vehicle is recommended. Most of these roads lead to spectacular viewpoints that reward those willing to endure the journey. Unfortunately, many of the best views require at least half a day or overnight trips to experience.

This isolation is exactly why this site needs greater preservation. While it's easy to assume this distance from large populations would be good for its continued protection, the extraction of natural resources on public lands has been significantly expanding in recent years. The only chance a natural setting of this scale has to remain preserved into the future is to declare it off limits to industrial exploitation. When Yellowstone was preserved, there were also no large populations calling the neighboring areas home, but the wealth of minerals, natural gases, and animals would make it a site ripe for exploitation in an America without National Parks. A fate of exploitation and alteration is likely what lies ahead without the creation of a Hells Canyon National Park.

The Snake River started forming the canyon around 300-million-years-ago. The river also serves as the state border of Oregon and Idaho. Hells Canyon has been repeatedly considered for redesignation as a National Park, but none of these campaigns have been successful. This leaves the canyon at risk to industry influences that could cause the canyon being severely altered. Currently, the U.S. Forest Service provides the only land management of the area by overseeing roughly 650,000 acres of the canyon as a National Recreation Area, with roughly a third of that designated as wilderness. That leaves two-thirds of Hells Canyon at risk of having its natural splendor changed forever before most people even realize it exists.

Hells Canyon has flirted with National Park status for decades. Several organizations and politicians have looked at establishing a park here, like this 1993 study, but none have yet been successful.