The Kaniksu National Forest (pronounced "Kuh-NICK-su") is a U.S. National Forest located in northeastern

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 o ...

, the

Idaho Panhandle The Idaho Panhandle—locally known as North Idaho—is a salient region of the U.S. state of Idaho encompassing the state's 10 northernmost counties: Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Clearwater, Idaho, Kootenai, Latah, Lewis, Nez Perce, and Shosh ...

, and northwestern

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 ...

. It is one of three forests that are aggregated into the Idaho Panhandle National Forests, along with the

Coeur d'Alene National Forest The Coeur d'Alene is a U.S. National Forest located in the Idaho panhandle and is one of three forests that are aggregated into the Idaho Panhandle National Forests (the other two are the Kaniksu and St. Joe National Forests). Coeur d'Alene Natio ...

and St. Joe National Forest. Kaniksu National Forest has a total area of . About 55.7% is in Idaho, 27.9% in Montana, and 16.4% in Washington. The name ''Kaniksu'' is from a Kalispel Indian word which means "black robe." It was used to refer to the

Jesuit missionaries , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

who brought their faith to

North Idaho The Idaho Panhandle—locally known as North Idaho—is a salient region of the U.S. state of Idaho encompassing the state's 10 northernmost counties: Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Clearwater, Idaho, Kootenai, Latah, Lewis, Nez Perce, and S ...

and

Eastern Washington Eastern Washington is the region of the U.S. state of Washington located east of the Cascade Range. It contains the city of Spokane (the second largest city in the state), the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the Hanfor ...

History

Kaniksu National Forest was established on July 1, 1908, from a portion of

Priest River National Forest Priest River National Forest was established as the Priest River Forest Reserve by the General Land Office in Idaho and Washington on February 22, 1897 with . After the transfer of federal forests to the U.S. Forest Service in 1905,it became a Nat ...

. On September 30, 1933, a portion of

Pend Oreille National Forest Pend Oreille National Forest was established by the U.S. Forest Service in Idaho on May 6, 1910 with by the renaming of Pend d'Oreille National Forest, which in turn had been established on July 1, 1908 with from Cabinet, Coeur d'Alene, Kootena ...

was added, and on July 1, 1954, part of

Cabinet National Forest Cabinet National Forest was established in Idaho and Montana by the U.S. Forest Service on March 2, 1907 with , mostly in Montana. On July 1, 1954 it was divided among Kaniksu, Kootenai and Lolo National Forests. See also * List of forests in ...

was added. Kaniksu was administratively combined with Coeur d'Alene and St. Joe National Forests on July 1, 1973. The forest headquarters are 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 ...

. There are local

ranger A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...

district offices located 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 ...

Priest Lake Priest Lake is a lake in Idaho, United States, in the northernmost portion of the Idaho Panhandle, 80 miles northeast of Spokane, Washington. The northern end of the lake extending to within 15 miles (24 km) of the Canada–US border. The ...

, and Sandpoint (all in Idaho). A portion of 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 within Kaniksu National Forest; however, most of it lies within 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 P ...

, to the west. Also, a portion (47%) of the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness lies within Kaniksu, with most of it (53%) lying within

Kootenai National Forest The Kootenai National Forest is a national forest located in the far northwestern section of Montana and the northeasternmost lands in the Idaho panhandle in the United States, along the Canada–US border. Of the administered by the forest, le ...

to its north.

Counties

In descending order of land area *

Boundary County, Idaho Boundary County is the northernmost county of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,056. The county seat and largest city is Bonners Ferry. Boundary County was created by the Idaho Legislature on January 23, 1 ...

Sanders County, Montana Sanders County is a county in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,400. Its county seat is Thompson Falls. The county was founded in 1905. It has an annual county fair with rodeo at Plains. Geography Acc ...

Bonner County, Idaho Bonner County is a county in the northern part of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, the population was 47,110. The county seat and largest city is Sandpoint. Partitioned from Kootenai County and established in 1907, it was named ...

Pend Oreille County, Washington Pend Oreille County ( ) is a county located in the northeast corner of the U.S. state of Washington, along the Canada–US border. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,401. The county seat and largest city is Newport. The county was c ...

Lincoln County, Montana Lincoln County is a county located in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,677. Its county seat is Libby. The county was founded in 1909 and named for President Abraham Lincoln. The county lies on Montana's n ...

Stevens County, Washington Stevens County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington along the Canada–US border. At the 2020 census, its population was 46,445. As of July 2021, the population was estimated to be 47,426. The county seat and largest city is Co ...

Kootenai County, Idaho Kootenai County ( ) is located in the U.S. state of Idaho. In 2020, the United States Census Bureau estimated the county's population at 171,362, making it the third-most populous county in Idaho and by far the largest in North Idaho, the count ...

References

External links

US Forest Service - Idaho Panhandle National Forests
{{authority control National Forests of Idaho National Forests of Montana National Forests of Washington (state) National Forests of the Rocky Mountains Protected areas established in 1908 Protected areas of Pend Oreille County, Washington Protected areas of Stevens County, Washington Protected areas of Boundary County, Idaho Protected areas of Sanders County, Montana Protected areas of Lincoln County, Montana Protected areas of Kootenai County, Idaho Idaho Panhandle National Forest 1908 establishments in Montana 1908 establishments in Idaho 1908 establishments in Washington (state)