# Regulations on the Selway River



## squeakyboater (Apr 14, 2008)

Hi all,

What are the exact details about requirements for permits on the Selway river? I would like to run the section above the Paradise put in the day before putting on. Is the river permitted in its entirety or just Paradise down? Is there somewhere that I can look up the regulations that govern the permit system?


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## idahofloater (Feb 23, 2011)

You are golden above Paradise and below Selway falls. 

*Contact Information*

West Fork Ranger District
Bitterroot National Forest
6735 West Fork Road
Darby MT 59829
Phone: 406-821-3269


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## Duckins (Nov 7, 2008)

We ran the few miles above Paradise the evening before we launched in 2010. I don't think that section is restricted in any way. It's pretty desolate, so you won't be runing into many other people out there.


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## squeakyboater (Apr 14, 2008)

That is what I would think, but I had a friend call in and the rangers said that the permit covered the entire river. Is there anyway to look up the actual regulations that the forest service are enforcing?


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## idahofloater (Feb 23, 2011)

WOW, not a easy as I thought it would be. Google has failed me.. Its almost like the selway starts at Paradise. But I've been there and ran it. Anyway, I'd call the shuttle companies and ask them as you are getting quotes. I'll bet one of them can point you in the right direction. Now, Selway falls down is listed in AW and other areas as the "non permit" section of the selway. Its been my experience that permited section of Idaho rivers is only controlled from listed put in to take out. 

The lower selway in 100% not permitted. I do it all the time, ya, ya... ;-)


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## idahofloater (Feb 23, 2011)

Cascade Outfitters Whitewater Rafting Equipment: Idaho and the Northern Rockies; Selway River

*On this site I found this paragraph???*


*Other Runs* Above and below the run described in this chapter, boaters can float short sections of the Selway without a permit. The upper river is boatable for about a dozen miles above Paradise Launch Site, with rocky, technical rapids and a short season. A road follows the right bank, allowing easy scouting and access. It is more common for boaters to run the lower river from below Selway Falls to the Lochsa River confluence at Lowell. The Lower Selway's 13 ft./mi. gradient produces Class II to easy Class III rapids, though some big waves develop at high flows. The canyon is lush and scenic, much like the end of the main run. This 15-mile lower stretch enjoys a longer season than the main Selway run. USFS Road 223 follows the right bank, providing easy scouting and access. Floating begins as far up as Gedney Creek Campground, a half mile below the falls. Among the intermediate accesses is Boyd Creek Campground, about halfway through the run. For more information, see the Idaho guide books listed below.

*But still looking for something more offical*


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## Rich (Sep 14, 2006)

idahofloater said:


> WOW, not a easy as I thought it would be. Google has failed me.. Its almost like the selway starts at Paradise. But I've been there and ran it. Anyway, I'd call the shuttle companies and ask them as you are getting quotes. I'll bet one of them can point you in the right direction. Now, Selway falls down is listed in AW and other areas as the "non permit" section of the selway. Its been my experience that permited section of Idaho rivers is only controlled from listed put in to take out.
> 
> *The lower selway in 100% not permitted. I do it all the time, ya, ya..*. ;-)


I've never done this section and was thinking about doing it around Memorial Day when I will be on the Lochsa. I'll be in a cat and was wondering if the whole stretch down to Three Rivers was a good run?


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## idahofloater (Feb 23, 2011)

Rich said:


> I've never done this section and was thinking about doing it around Memorial Day when I will be on the Lochsa. I'll be in a cat and was wondering if the whole stretch down to Three Rivers was a good run?


Not so much. There are a couple drops just below the falls and then real mellow after that. Its a prime late summer fishing float. If ya got the time, I'd think about the SF Clearwater.


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## lhowemt (Apr 5, 2007)

I know some folks that have run that upper section, but I can't remember if was on launch day or before. The Selway rules are somewhat elusive, nowhere do they say that the permit season applies to being on the river at all. This means you have to be OFF the permitted section before May 15, not just launching before May 15. At least as of 2 years ago when I did a pre-permit trip, this wasn't in writing but people on the trip had encountered this interpretation by the Ranger on another pre-permit trip.

That's so weird, I'd say just go do it. Does the launch day apply specifically to launching from Paradise, so you'd have to run that upper section and go by in the same day? but, it would suck to run into a roadblock before you launched on the main section. I'd post on the Idaho Whitewater group, and probably more likely the Idaho kayaking forum since more kayakers have tended to do that run.


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## Dave Frank (Oct 14, 2003)

I'm pretty sure you could run the stretch above paradise anytime you wanted, but it is a pretty long drive for a 12 mile section. 

The one time i ran the selway, we launched above paradise at Raven creek, I believe. At just shy of three feet at paradise, it was easy for self support kayaks. It would have kept rafts on their toes looking for the right channel and avoiding wood. There were a few spots that looked like they would have enormous holes at higher water. It probably added >3 hours to our launch day float.

Selway falls looked horrific at that level, I can't even imagine it at big water.


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## Rich (Sep 14, 2006)

idahofloater said:


> Not so much. There are a couple drops just below the falls and then real mellow after that. Its a prime late summer fishing float. If ya got the time, I'd think about the SF Clearwater.


Thanks, the SF Clearwater is on my list to check out on this years trip.


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## squeakyboater (Apr 14, 2008)

From everything I see online, yes, it seems that Selway starts at Paradise. When in fact it starts some 50 miles upriver.

I am assuming that there is some sort of written document that outlines and delineates the specifics of the permit system. I have tried searching for it online, but no luck.


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## Wiggins (Sep 26, 2009)

Here are the regs: http://www.recreation.gov/marketing.do?goto=/permitgeneralrules_75535.html&backLink

They don't get very specific on which part of the river you need the permit for, but they do say you have to be off the river May 14th if you don't have a permit.

Kyle


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## lhowemt (Apr 5, 2007)

That's good they got it in writing now, a lot of people still don't know about it. The recreation.gov site talks about 47 miles, put in as Paradise and takeout as Racecreek. They even show a map with "trip starts here" and "trip ends here" at those two locations. I bet you got someone on the phone that didn't know much about the area, or river, or actual permit process. As the process moved to recreation.gov, I bet the office knowledge regarding the permit process is declining.


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## squeakyboater (Apr 14, 2008)

See, that is my worry. That someone was just giving their best guess as to the actual regulations. Are they allowed to enforce whatever they want?


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