The Idaho Panhandle National Forests are a jointly administered set of three
national forests
A state forest or national forest is a forest that is administered or protected by some agency of a sovereign state, sovereign or federated state, or territory (country subdivision), territory.
Background
The precise application of the terms va ...
located mostly in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...
. In 1973, major portions of the
Kaniksu,
Coeur d'Alene, and
St. Joe National Forests were combined to be administratively managed as the Idaho Panhandle National Forests (IPNF). The IPNF consists of more than 2.5 million acres (10,000 km
2) of public lands in the
panhandle
A salient (also known as a panhandle or bootheel) is an elongated protrusion of a geopolitical entity, such as a subnational entity or a sovereign state.
While similar to a peninsula in shape, a salient is most often not surrounded by water on ...
of north Idaho, with small areas extending into eastern
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
(4.7%) and western
Montana
Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...
(1.2%).
[U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 2013. ''Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Revised Land Management Plan - Idaho Panhandle National Forests.'' Missoula, MT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Region.] The northernmost portion of the IPNF share a boundary with
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. The Forest Supervisor's office is located in
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Coeur d'Alene ( ; french: Cœur d'Alène, lit=Heart of an stitching awl, Awl ) is a city and the county seat of Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. It is the largest city in North Idaho and the principal city of the Coeur d'Alene Metropolita ...
with district office's in
Bonners Ferry
Bonners Ferry (Kutenai language: ʔaq̓anqmi) is the largest city and the county seat of Boundary County, Idaho, United States. The population was 2,543 at the 2010 census.
History
When gold was discovered in the East Kootenays of British ...
,
Sandpoint,
Priest River (Priest Lake Ranger District), Fernan and
Smelterville (Coeur d'Alene River Ranger District), and
St. Maries and
Avery (St. Joe Ranger District).
Geography
Elevations on the IPNF range from 2,100 to 7,600 feet with as much as 80 inches of precipitation at high elevations. The IPNF is characterized by several mountain ranges including the
Selkirk Mountains
The Selkirk Mountains are a mountain range spanning the northern portion of the Idaho Panhandle, eastern Washington, and southeastern British Columbia which are part of a larger grouping of mountains, the Columbia Mountains. They begin at Mica Pe ...
,
Cabinet Mountains
The Cabinet Mountains are part of the Rocky Mountains, located in northwest Montana and the Idaho panhandle, in the United States. The mountains cover an area of 2,134 square miles (5,527 km2). The Cabinet Mountains lie south of the Purcell ...
,
Purcell Mountains
The Purcell Mountains are a mountain range in southeastern British Columbia, Canada. They are a subrange of the Columbia Mountains, which includes the Selkirk, Monashee, and Cariboo Mountains. They are located on the west side of the Rocky Mounta ...
,
Coeur d'Alene Mountains
The Coeur d'Alene Mountains are the northwesternmost portion of the Bitterroot Range, part of the Rocky Mountains, located in northern Idaho and westernmost Montana in the Western United States.
The mountain range spans an area of and its two ...
, and
Bitterroot Range
The Bitterroot Range is a mountain range and a subrange of the Rocky Mountains that runs along the border of Montana and Idaho in the northwestern United States. The range spans an area of and is named after the bitterroot (''Lewisia rediviva' ...
, interspersed with large lakes such as Lakes
Coeur d'Alene,
Pend Oreille, and the upper and lower
Priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
. Major river valleys consist of the
St. Joe,
Coeur d'Alene,
Priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
,
Pend Oreille,
Clark Fork, and
Kootenai
The Kutenai ( ), also known as the Ktunaxa ( ; ), Ksanka ( ), Kootenay (in Canada) and Kootenai (in the United States), are an indigenous people of Canada and the United States. Kutenai bands live in southeastern British Columbia, northern ...
.
Wildlife
The Idaho Panhandle National Forests contain a wide variety of wildlife.
White-tailed deer
The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...
,
mule deer
The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer.
Unlike the related whit ...
,
raccoon
The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of ...
s,
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 ...
,
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 ...
s,
moose
The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult mal ...
,
black bear
Black bear or Blackbear may refer to:
Animals
* American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species
* Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species
Music
* Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...
s,
coyote
The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecologica ...
s,
timber wolves,
skunk
Skunks are mammals in the family Mephitidae. They are known for their ability to spray a liquid with a strong, unpleasant scent from their anal glands. Different species of skunk vary in appearance from black-and-white to brown, cream or ginge ...
s,
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 ...
s,
marten
A marten is a weasel-like mammal in the genus ''Martes'' within the subfamily Guloninae, in the family Mustelidae. They have bushy tails and large paws with partially retractile claws. The fur varies from yellowish to dark brown, depending on t ...
,
beaver
Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...
s,
river otters,
bobcat
The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the red lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It ranges from southern Canada through most of the contiguous United States to Oaxaca in Mexico. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUC ...
s,
mink
Mink are dark-colored, semiaquatic, carnivorous mammals of the genera ''Neogale'' and '' Mustela'' and part of the family Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, otters, and ferrets. There are two extant species referred to as "mink": the A ...
s, and
wolverine
The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for "gluttony, glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is ...
s are often seen by visitors.
Bird species include
raven
A raven is any of several larger-bodied bird species of the genus ''Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between "crows" and "ravens", common names which are assigned t ...
s,
wild turkey
The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an Upland game bird, upland ground bird native to North America, one of two extant species of Turkey (bird), turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic ...
,
blue jay
The blue jay (''Cyanocitta cristata'') is a passerine bird in the family Corvidae, native to eastern North America. It lives in most of the eastern and central United States; some eastern populations may be migratory. Resident populations are a ...
s,
California quail
The California quail (''Callipepla californica''), also known as the California valley quail or Valley quail, is a small ground-dwelling bird in the New World quail family. These birds have a curving crest or '' plume'', made of six feathers, tha ...
, numerous species of
grouse
Grouse are a group of birds from the order Galliformes, in the family Phasianidae. Grouse are presently assigned to the tribe Tetraonini (formerly the subfamily Tetraoninae and the family Tetraonidae), a classification supported by mitochondr ...
,
osprey
The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...
,
golden eagle
The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of p ...
,
bald eagle
The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...
and numerous types of
owl
Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...
s. The rivers and lakes in the Panhandle hold some of the best fishing locations in the world.
Wilderness areas
There is one officially designated
wilderness area
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 ...
within the IPNF that is a 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 ...
. The
Salmo-Priest Wilderness
Salmo-Priest Wilderness is a 41,335 acre (167.28 km2) wilderness area located in the Selkirk Mountains in the northeast corner of Washington state, within the Colville National Forest and the Kaniksu National Forest.
Topography
The high-cou ...
lies partially within the Priest Lake Ranger District of the IPNF and extends into the neighboring
Colville National Forest
The Colville National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in northeastern Washington state. It is bordered on the west by the Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest and the Kaniksu National Forest to the east. The forest also borders Little Pe ...
. Four roadless areas are currently proposed for wilderness totaling 146,700 acres (590 km
2):
* Salmo-Priest Roadless Area (Idaho Portion)
* Selkirk Crest
* Scotchman Peaks
* Mallard-Larkins
Recreation
The IPNF manages for a diversity of recreational opportunities, and there are extensive trail networks for stock, OHVs, hiking, and winter snowmobile and cross country skiing. Over 1,400 miles (2,250 km) of trails are maintained for hiking and 800 (1,290 km) miles for ATV use. Notable trails include the
Pulaski Tunnel Trail, which explores the history of the
Great Fire of 1910
The Great Fire of 1910 (also commonly referred to as the Big Blowup, the Big Burn, or the Devil's Broom fire) was a wildfire in the Inland Northwest region of the United States that burned in North Idaho and Western Montana, with extensions into ...
and the firefighters who battled them, and the
Route of the Hiawatha, a 15-mile (24-km)
rails-to-trails
A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...
route which includes the 1.7 mile (2.7 km)
Taft Tunnel
Taft Tunnel is a railroad tunnel in the northeast United States, located in the southwest part of Lisbon, Connecticut. Completed in 1837, it was the first common carrier railroad tunnel built in the United States, though it was not used until 18 ...
. The Emerald Creek Garnet Area provides an opportunity to collect
star garnets and is one of only two places in the world where these gems can be found. The forests contain two groves of old growth ancient
Giant western red cedar, Settler's Grove of Ancient Cedars near
Murray, Idaho
Murray is an unincorporated community in Shoshone County, Idaho, United States. It is twenty miles from Wallace along Dobson Pass Road. Prichard Creek flows through the community, forming a thin and deep valley in the surrounding Coeur d'Alene M ...
and Roosevelt Grove of Ancient Cedars near Nordman, Idaho, both of which are popular hiking trails.
[https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/idaho/granite-falls-and-roosevelt-grove-trail ]
Photos
File:St Joe River at Red Ives.jpg, The St. Joe River at Red Ives
File:Winter on the North Fork of the Saint Joe River (25571248907).jpg, Winter on the North Fork of the St. Joe River
File:Little Guard Lookout on the Idaho Panhandle National Forest (38980645780).jpg, Little Guard Lookout in the Coeur d'Alene River area
File:Near Lookout Pass Ski Area (26572031068).jpg, Winter view from near the Lookout Pass Ski Area
File:2017 Inland Empire Dog Races (25571234437).jpg, 2017 Inland Empire dog races near Priest Lake
File:Settlers Grove of Ancient Cedars, Idaho (35578802825).jpg, Settlers Grove of Ancient Cedars
File:Stream running into Coal Creek, Coeur d' Alene National Forest, Idaho (27533929446).jpg, Stream running into Coal Creek
File:Shoshone Ridge from Pond Peak (36181764325).jpg, Shoshone Ridge from Pond Peak
References
Further reading
* Ferguson, D.E. and A.C. Zack. (2006). ''Establishment record for the Wellner Cliffs Research Natural Area: Priest River Experimental Forest, Idaho Panhandle National Forests, Bonner County, Idaho''
MRS General Technical Report GTR-170WWW Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station.
External links
*
*
{{National Forests of the United States
National Forests of Idaho
National Forests of Montana
National Forests of Washington (state)
Protected areas established in 1912
1912 establishments in Idaho
1912 establishments in Montana
1912 establishments in Washington (state)