View of McFadden Mountain from the southern end of the Big Creek Airstrip - c.1958 and 2019

One of the biggest changes to the Big Creek airstrip has been the amount of use it gets. Today, the amount of people flying into the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness exceeds the numbers of the past. Whether stakeholders view this is a negative or a positive change is dependent on their personal values and experiences. Some folks who have spent decades in Big Creek remark on the noise pollution and how the increased number of planes overhead has affected their experience in the wilderness. Others realize that landing a plane along Big Creek is no easy task, and fear for those flying into the Idaho backcountry without the necessary skills and experience. And some remember when casting your fly rod at Cabin Creek meant you had spent hours on the trail to get there in the first place.

Location: Payette National Forest, ID

Latitude & Longitude: 45.1282, -115.3236