Soils formed from deep weathering of the Idaho Batholith make the lands immediately north and east of Boise subject to erosion while also serving as important recharge areas for the groundwater that serves users in the Treasure Valley, Idaho's largest population center.

The Front is also crucial winter range for thousands of mule deer, and two sensitive plant species - Aase's onion (Allium aaseae) and Mulford's milkvetch (Astragalus mulfordea) - also inhabit the area.  

Flooding and sediment damage in northeast Boise after a 1959 wildfire illustrated the effects that changes in the area's native vegetation could have.  The BLM manages surface-disturbing activities in the ACEC to avoid such changes while preserving the capacity of winter deer habitat.