ROCKY BARKER:

Declaring these mountains a national monument would have protected them but would have left many details unresolved. As a wildnerness area, the uses of the land are more strictly defined.

The Boulder-White Clouds Mountains have had some federal protection since 1972, when then-Governor Cecil Andrus stopped a molybendum mine from being built at the base of Castle Peak Mountain.

Andrus, who also served as Interior Secretary under President Carter, initially urged President Obama to use his executive authority to protect the Boulder-White Clouds by declaring them a national monument.

Craig Gehrke is the Idaho Director of the Wilderness Society.