Allowed
Clearwater River (BLM, Orofino Area)
Idaho, Clearwater·Gold panning
Hand panning is allowed along the BLM-managed Clearwater River near Orofino with no permit. The moment you bring a suction dredge or power sluice, Idaho requires two separate state permits — and roughly 50 miles south on the South Fork Clearwater, a third layer of permitting applies because of critical salmon and steelhead habitat.
- Hand panning with a pan, classifier, or hand sluice requires no permit anywhere on open BLM river frontage near Orofino under Idaho's casual-use policy
- Any motorized equipment — a suction dredge or power sluice — triggers two separate state permits: an IDWR Small-Scale Mining (Stream Channel Alteration) Letter Permit and a general IDEQ discharge permit