Caribou–Targhee National Forest is located in the states of Idaho and Wyoming, with a small section in Utah in the United States. The forest is broken into several separate sections and extends over . To the east the forest borders Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park and

Bridger–Teton National Forest Bridger–Teton National Forest is located in western Wyoming, United States. The forest consists of , making it the third largest National Forest outside Alaska. The forest stretches from Yellowstone National Park, along the eastern boundary ...

. Most of the forest is a part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

Description

Caribou and Targhee National Forests were combined from original forest lands created in 1891. Two designated

wilderness Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

areas are located in the easternmost sections of the forest, bordering on National Park lands. The

Jedediah Smith Wilderness The Jedediah Smith Wilderness is located in the U.S. state of Wyoming. Designated wilderness by Congress in 1984, Jedediah Smith Wilderness is within Caribou-Targhee National Forest and borders Grand Teton National Park. Spanning along the wester ...

is adjacent to Grand Teton National Park on the western slope of the Teton Range. Known for karst limestone formations, the wilderness has many caves and provides excellent views of the less often seen west face of the Teton peaks. The smaller Winegar Hole Wilderness borders Yellowstone National Park and the

John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway is a scenic road and protected area that connects Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park in the U.S. state of Wyoming. It is federally owned and managed by the National Park Service by G ...

, and was set aside primarily to protect prime

grizzly bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...

habitat. While western sections of the forest have a mixture of sagebrush and grasses, the higher elevations in the east support lodgepole pine, and numerous species of

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfami ...

and

fir Firs (''Abies'') are a genus of 48–56 species of evergreen coniferous trees in the family (biology), family Pinaceae. They are found on mountains throughout much of North America, North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The ...

. In addition to grizzlies most of the major

megafauna In terrestrial zoology, the megafauna (from Greek μέγας ''megas'' "large" and New Latin ''fauna'' "animal life") comprises the large or giant animals of an area, habitat, or geological period, extinct and/or extant. The most common threshold ...

associated with Yellowstone National Park can be found in Caribou–Targhee National Forest. Mammalian species of black bear, wolf,

elk The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...

, moose, mule deer,

bison Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North Ame ...

cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large Felidae, cat native to the Americas. Its Species distribution, range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mamm ...

, and pronghorn have all been seen by visitors on forest lands. An active

peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (Bird of prey, raptor) in the family (biology), family Falco ...

recovery program was begun to return this bird species to some of their ancestral range.

Cutthroat trout The cutthroat trout is a fish species of the family Salmonidae native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean, Rocky Mountains, and Great Basin in North America. As a member of the genus '' Oncorhynchus'', it is one of the Pacific tro ...

brook trout The brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus ''Salvelinus'' of the salmon family Salmonidae. It is native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada, but has been introduced elsewhere ...

and

pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...

are found in the

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...

s and lakes and the forest is considered one of the best fishing areas in the world for cutthroat trout. Minnetonka Cave

Dozens of

campground A campsite, also known as a campground or camping pitch, is a place used for camping, overnight stay in an outdoor area. In British English, a ''campsite'' is an area, usually divided into a number of pitches, where people can camp overnight u ...

s and 1,600 miles (2,500 km) of trails allow access to much of the forest. There are two trails that access the high altitude Alaska Basin immediately west of the main Teton Range peaks and allow access to trails in Grand Teton National Park. Caribou National Forest, the smaller and more southerly of the two, is located in southeastern Idaho, western Wyoming, and northern Utah, and has a total area of . There are local ranger district offices located in Malad City, Montpelier, Pocatello, and Soda Springs in Idaho. The larger and more northerly Targhee National Forest is located in eastern Idaho and northwestern Wyoming, and has an area of .Table 6 - NFS Acreage by State, Congressional District and County
- United States Forest Service - September 30, 2007 There are local ranger district offices located in

Ashton Ashton may refer to: Names *Ashton (given name) *Ashton (surname) Places Australia * Ashton, Elizabeth Bay, a heritage-listed house in Sydney, New South Wales *Ashton, South Australia Canada *Ashton, Ontario New Zealand * Ashton, New Zealand ...

, Driggs, Dubois, and Island Park in Idaho. In Island Park is Big Springs, a first-magnitude spring that is the source of the South Fork of Henrys Fork. Linkage of limited habitat, through ecological corridors, is the current, most favored, method of effectively restoring native wildlife communities. Many such corridors have been identified where wildlife conservation is a concern. The montane nature of the Caribou National Forest and its juxtaposition make it a very important, fragile and unique link between the northern and southern Rocky Mountains. If restoration of native species is to be achieved throughout the wildlands of the American West, the Caribou will play an important role. The combined Caribou–Targhee National Forest is managed by the Forest Service from offices in Idaho Falls, Idaho.

Wilderness areas

There are two officially designated wilderness areas within the Caribou–Targhee National Forest that are part of the

National Wilderness Preservation System The National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) of the United States protects federally managed wilderness areas designated for preservation in their natural condition. Activity on formally designated wilderness areas is coordinated by the Na ...

. Both lie just south of Yellowstone National Park, in the Targhee National Forest section. *

* Winegar Hole Wilderness

Counties

Counties are listed in descending order of forestland area, by forest.

Caribou National Forest

* Caribou County, Idaho * Bonneville County, Idaho *

Bannock County, Idaho Bannock County is a county in the southeastern part of Idaho. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 87,018, making it the sixth-most populous county in Idaho. The county seat and largest city is Pocatello. The county was established in 1893 ...

* Bear Lake County, Idaho *

Oneida County, Idaho Oneida County is a county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2010 Census the county had a population of 4,286. The county seat and largest city is Malad City. Most of the county's population lives in Malad City and the surrounding M ...

* Franklin County, Idaho *

Lincoln County, Wyoming Lincoln County is a county in the U.S. state of Wyoming. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 19,581. Its county seat is Kemmerer. Its western border abuts the eastern borders of the states of Idaho and Utah. History Lincoln ...

Power County, Idaho Power County is a county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2010 Census, the county had a population of 7,817. The county seat and largest city is American Falls. The county was created by the Idaho Legislature on January 30, 1913, b ...

* Box Elder County, Utah *

Cache County, Utah Cache County ( ) is a county located in the Wasatch Front region of Utah. As of the 2020 United States Census the population was 133,154. Its county seat and largest city is Logan. Cache County is included in Logan metropolitan area. History ...

Targhee National Forest

* Fremont County, Idaho * Clark County, Idaho * Teton County, Wyoming * Bonneville County, Idaho * Teton County, Idaho * Lemhi County, Idaho *

* Butte County, Idaho * Madison County, Idaho *

Jefferson County, Idaho Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 Census, the county's population was 30,891. In the 2010 census, the population was 26,140. The county seat and largest city is Rigby. The county was established i ...

References

External links

"Caribou National Forest-Montpelier Ranger District-Montpelier Watershed Analysis"

"Lumber, Stone & Concrete", Administrative Facilities of the Caribou–Targhee National Forests, 1891-1955
*
Map of Caribou–Targhee National Forest

Official Twitter feed of Caribou–Targhee National Forest
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