An 87-year-old man was found alive after spending three days missing in central Idaho’s rugged mountains.
Eddie Ellis Baker of Clayton became disoriented during a trip on his four-wheeled all-terrain vehicle last week.

He was unable to find his way home and may have run out of gas. Rather than abandoning his ATV, Baker opted to remain with the vehicle, where search and rescue teams following a nearly three-day search spotted him from a helicopter flying over Jim Creek in the Livingston Mine Area along the East Fork of the Salmon River.

Baker was taken by medical helicopter to a Boise hospital where he was expected to be released after observation and treatment. (AP)

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday gave approval to the Owyhee Initiative, federal legislation sponsored by Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo to settle land management issues and create new wilderness in Southwest Idaho.

The measure creates 517,000 acres of new wilderness and releases 199,000 acres of wilderness study areas in some of Idaho’s most rugged and scenic back country. It also provides certainty for continued ranching and economic activity, and ensures continued access for back country users and preservation for Native American cultural resources in the area through local management agreements.

Wilderness advocates, ranching representatives and Senators testified favorably about the initiative during a hearing last month. Its provisions were hammered out through an eight-year effort in Idaho begun by the Owyhee County Commissioners, who requested that Crapo assist with the collaborative process.

The legislation passed on a voice vote, and will likely be included in a package of other land management bills that will be considered together by the full Senate as early as next month.