In 1960, Democratic Senator Frank Church of Idaho introduced legislation for a feasibility study to survey the area for national park status. While Church allowed the 1960 feasibility study legislation to die, he introduced a bill in 1963 to create Sawtooth Wilderness National Park, which would primarily encompass the existing Sawtooth Primitive Area. Although the 1963 bill also was not voted on, Church admitted that it was not designed to pass but rather to encourage thorough feasibility studies by both the Forest Service and National Park Service. A 1965 joint report by the two agencies recommended either a national park administered by the National Park Service or a national recreation area managed by the Forest Service. In April 1966, Church introduced two bills, one to establish Sawtooth National Park and another to establish the Sawtooth National Recreation Area (SNRA). The SNRA bill was cosponsored by Republican Senator Len Jordan, a former governor and sheep rancher, because it preserved the area while also permitting traditional uses such as logging, hunting, and grazing. The legislation was not supported by Idaho's two members of the House; Republican congressman George Hansen of the second district introduced a separate bill in the House in April 1967.