1931-36 The Forest Service administratively designates the lands surrounding the Salmon River as the Idaho Primitive Area and Salmon River Breaks Primitive Area. Primitive Area regulations provide that "there shall be no... occupancy under special use permits for hotels, stores, resorts, summer homes, organizational camps, hunting and fishing lodges or similar uses."

1964 Wilderness Act passes. Among other provisions, the act gives statutory status to primitive area regulations.

1968 Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (WSRA) passes, creating a three-tiered classification system for qualifying rivers - wild, scenic, or recreational. Wild rivers receive the highest level of protection as "vestiges of primitive America," and with "shorelines essentially primitive." Salmon River designated as a study river.

1971 Regional Foresters issue orders requiring that all permanent camps be removed from the Salmon River corridor to comply with Primitive Area regulations and the Wilderness Act. Five of the 8 camps are removed or burned.

1980 The Central Idaho Wilderness Act (CIWA) designates 2.4 million acres in central Idaho as the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness. It also designates the 79-mile stretch of the Salmon River within the Wilderness as a Wild River under the Wild and Scenic River's Act. CIWA requires that the river corridor be administered under the provisions of the WSRA.

1988 The Forest Service allows outfitter Norm Guth to construct a lodge and several cabins at Smith Gulch on the Wild Salmon River. By the time Salmon National Forest supervisor Richard Hauff signs the environmental assessment and notifies the public of the decision, construction is at least 75% complete.

1988 Bill Worf, a retired Forest Service employee, Roberta Hoe, a Univ. of Montana law school student and Five Valleys Audubon file administrative appeals challenging the decision allowing the Guth Resort at Smith Gulch.

1988-89 Administrative appeals denied, first by Regional Forester Stan Tixier, then by Forest Service Chief Dale Robertson.

1989 Wilderness Watch established as a citizens' organization to fight for the protection and proper stewardship of the National Wilderness Preservation System and Wild and Scenic River System.

1991 Wilderness Watch Five Valleys Audubon and William Worf file a lawsuit seeking review of the decision allowing the Guth Resort. The Forest Service admits that procedural errors were made and agrees to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.

1992 Scope of the EIS is expanded to include the Arctic Creek and Stub Creek camps, both of which had developed into permanent lodge / cabin camps even though their permits allowed temporary outfitter camps only.

1995 Salmon National Forest supervisor George Matejko signs the EIS and Record of Decision. Fifteen-year permits are issued to the outfitters at Smith Gulch, Stub Creek and Arctic Creek.

1995 Wilderness Watch files an administrative appeal challenging the EIS and Record of Decision. Appeal denied by Regional Forester Gray Reynolds.

1996 Wilderness Watch files an amended complaint with the Court challenging the presence of permanent structures at all three camps. The case was held for 4 years by the district judge without a ruling.

2000 Case is reassigned to Ninth Circuit Judge Sidney R. Thomas, sitting by designation, in July 2000.

2000 On September 19, 2000, Judge Thomas issues his ruling that the resorts violate the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and must be removed.

2002 Wilderness Watch files Motion for Civil Contempt against the Forest Service for failing to set and enforce a removal date for the resorts.

2003 Forest Service releases decision requiring that lodges and cabins be removed and the sites rehabilitated by December 31, 2005.

2003 Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) introduces S.1003