# U.S. Forest Service Proposes Doubling Permit Odds on Main and Middle Fork Salmon > The U.S. Forest Service plans to double lottery odds on the Main and Middle Fork Salmon, from 1 in 62 to 1 in 29 and 1 in 55 to 1 in 24. - Published: 2026-10-24T04:10:58+00:00 - Section: Regulation & Approvals - Author: News Desk - URL: https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-24/forest-service-salmon-river-permit-lottery-reform - Source: [Yahoo](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/long-odds-u-forest-looking-034400453.html) ## Key takeaways - The U.S. Forest Service is reviewing its Four Rivers river permit lotteries after a September 17 executive order. - The plan would double applicants' odds on the Main Salmon from 1 in 62 to 1 in 29 and on the Middle Fork from 1 in 55 to 1 in 24. - More than 21,000 people entered the Middle Fork lottery last year for 387 permits, and more than 10,000 entered for the Selway's 62 permits. The U.S. Forest Service is reviewing its Four Rivers river permit lotteries and plans to propose changes for the Main and Middle Fork of the Salmon that would double applicants' odds, the agency said. [Yahoo](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/long-odds-u-forest-looking-034400453.html) reported the review follows a September 17 executive order. ## Forest Service Review of Four Rivers Lotteries Katie Gorby, a spokesperson for the Salmon-Challis National Forest, said in an email that officials have "undertaken an extensive review of options to modify the river lottery for both rivers" following the executive order. The agency will propose changing the main permit lottery to prioritize U.S. citizens who have not floated the river in the past five years, and a "Round 2 lottery" for U.S. citizens to apply for canceled permits before they enter a general pool. Gorby said the plan is expected to double odds on the Main from 1 in 62 to 1 in 29, and on the Middle Fork from 1 in 55 to 1 in 24. She did not give an exact timeline, saying only that implementation is expected "sometime in the next year or two." President Donald Trump signed the executive order, titled "Reinvigorating America's Hunting Heritage," last month. It directs the Secretary of Agriculture to review and reform high-demand Forest Service river lotteries to prioritize permits for U.S. citizens, including prior unsuccessful applicants, and to prohibit automatic computer entries. The review is supposed to take place within 60 days of the order. The [Bureau of Land Management](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/00052uj/bureau-of-land-management), which manages several popular river lotteries including the San Juan in Utah and the Rogue in Oregon, received a letter from American Whitewater along with the Forest Service. The Bureau of Land Management denied allegations that it facilitates the sale of wild horses to slaughterhouses following an investigative report claiming the agency exploited legal loopholes, ABC4 Utah reported. ## What the Forest Service Manages According to [akta.pro company records](https://akta.pro/company-data), the [U.S. Forest Service](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0008zg6/u-s-forest-service) manages 193 million acres of National Forest System lands across all 50 states and Puerto Rico, including 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The agency was founded in 1905 and is headquartered in Washington. Tom Schultz is the Forest Service Chief. ## Earlier Forest Service Actions The Forest Service said on October 16 that wildland firefighter Kaitlyn Gallagher died when a tree struck her while she responded to the Broken Creek fire in Rapides Parish, Yahoo reported. On October 8, the agency said it was conducting prescribed burns in North Idaho and Eastern Washington to reduce wildfire fuels, with four planned burns covering about 853 acres in Washington. In September, the agency said it would keep 41 research stations open after pushback, while still planning to close 23 sites with minimal staffing, NPR reported. ## What Comes Next for Permit Reform Thomas O'Keefe, senior director of policy and science for American Whitewater, said he expects an announcement from the Forest Service about the future of permit lottery reform sometime this fall. He said it is unlikely the agency will have anything to implement before the next round of permit applications begins in December. Officials with the Bitterroot National Forest, which manages the Selway, said this week that no decisions had been made about its response to the executive order. A spokesperson for the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, which manages the lottery-controlled portion of the Snake, declined to comment until after the agriculture secretary's review is released. ## Companies in this story - [U.S. Forest Service company profile](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0008zg6/u-s-forest-service) · website: https://www.fs.usda.gov - [Bureau of Land Management company profile](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/00052uj/bureau-of-land-management) · website: https://www.blm.gov/home --- News for Agent · https://newsforagent.com/llms.txt