This in the twelfth diary in my Expanding the National Parks series. Last time, I was in Hawaii, this time I'm deep in the forests of Idaho. Idaho is a mountainous and rugged state and slightly more than half of it is owned by the feds- at 50.2%, Idaho is fifth in the country in terms of federally owned land. Idaho has one national park, 2 national monuments, 15 national forests, 7 wildlife refuges and 6 other NPS Units. But since there is no such thing as too much protected land, I will be proposing adding more monuments to Idahos tally, and they will be big ones too.
This in the twelfth diary in my Expanding the National Parks series. Last time, I was in Hawaii, this time I'm deep in the forests of Idaho. Idaho is a mountainous and rugged state and slightly more than half of it is owned by the feds- at 50.2%, Idaho is fifth in the country in terms of federally owned land. Idaho has one national park, 2 national monuments, 15 national forests, 7 wildlife refuges , 1 national preserve and 6 other NPS Units. But since there is no such thing as too much protected land, I will be proposing adding more monuments to Idahos tally, and they will be big ones too.
Idaho
Total Area 83 570 sq miles
Land Area 82 643 sq miles
Water Area 927 sq miles
Coastline 0 sq miles
Additional monuments -4
NATIONAL PARKS-1
* Yellowstone Established 1872 Covers 2,219,791 acres (in ID, MT and WY)
The oldest national park in the system, Yellowstone only covers a small portion of Idaho, the vast majority of the park lies in Wyoming. One of the most famous and visited of the national parks, Yellowstone is home to the Yellowstone supervolcano, which underlies the park, as well as half of the worlds geothermal features. the oldest herd of bison existing in the US today lives in the park, as well as gray wolves, lynx, black bears, mountain lions and up to 60 other species of animals.1700 species of trees and plants reside in Yellowstone, the largest intact megafauna region in the US outside Alaska. Forest fires are a regular occurrence, a large fire in 1988 burned nearly a third of the park. As the first park, Yellowstone set many precedents for future parks, and remains one of the largest parks. it was managed by the Army until 1918, when it was transferred to the then-new National Park Service . The CCC worked extensively in Yellowstone during the 1930s, doing projects like reforestation, firefighting, trail construction, and designing campgrounds. Nearly 3.4 million people visited the park in 2012.
NATIONAL MONUMENTS-2
* Craters of the Moon Established 1924 Covers 464 303 acres
Protected by President Coolidge in 1924, the monument protects the largest basalt volcanic lava field in the lower 48. the monument was gradually expanded until 2000, when President Clinton increased its size 13-fold. the addition of some 400000 acres was converted into a preserve in 2002. geologist Harold T Stearns came up with the name when petitioning Congress to make the area a monument in the 1920s. 43000 acres was sett aside as wilderness by Congress in 1970. the Apollo astronauts visited the monument as part of training for the moon missions. 375 species of plants live in the monument, most of which have adapted the dry arid conditions of the monument. most of the resident animals are nocturnal, to avoid the heat of the daytime in summer, where the soil can reach 150. There are over 50 camping sites in the monument and nearly 200000 people visited in 2011.
* Hagerman Fossil Beds Established 1988 Covers 4351 acres
This monument contains the largest collection of Hagerman horse fossils in North America. Named after the Idaho city where they were first discovered. the fossils are the oldest remains of horses found to date- dating back 3.5 million years. the fossil is now the state fossil of Idaho, and the area the monument covers includes the best preserved examples of animals and plant from the time period on earth. 21000 people visited in 2012
NATIONAL FORESTS-15
* Bitterroot Established 1898 Covers 1,587,000 acres( in ID and MT)
The oldest of Idahos 15 national Forests, most of the Forest- about 71%- lies in Montana. The Forest contains parts of three wilderness areas including the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, which will represent Idaho in the National Park quarter collection, it will be the fifth and final quarter released in 2019. the wilderness cover nearly 750000 acres or nearly half the forest.
* Boise Established 1908 Covers 2,267,000 acres
Managed in 5 districts-Cascade. Emmet, Idaho City, Lowman and Mountain Home- Boise is one of the largest national forests completely within Idaho. the Forest actually covers more than 2.65 million acres, but the Forest Service only manages 2.267 million . the forest contains parts of two wildernesses.
* Caribou-Targhee Established 1903 Covers 2,630,716 acres (in ID, UT and WY)
Once two separate Forests, the Caribou and Targhee, the forests were combined in 1903. Targhee is the larger and northern of the two covering nearly 1.65 million acres and extends from Idaho into Wyoming. Caribou covers almost 1 million acres and run into Utah and Wyoming from Idaho. two wildernesses, Winegar Hole and Jedediah Smith, lie in the forest.
* Clearwater Established 1908 Covers 2,612,000 acres
Located near the border with Montana, Clearwater contains part of the Selway-Bitterroot wilderness, and is bordered by the Idaho Panhandle and Nez Perce NFs. Lewis and Clark passed through the area on their journey west, and the forest is a popular destination due to the Weir Creek and Jerry Johnson hot springs, which lie in the forest.
* Coeur d' Alene Established 1906 Covers 726 362 acres
The smallest national forest in the state, Coeur D'Alene is located in the Idaho panhandle and comprises a portion of the Idaho Panhandle NF, along with St Joe and Kaniksu NFs.
* Idaho Panhandle Established 2000 Covers 3,224,739 acres(in ID, MT and WA)
Comprised of the Couer d'Alene, Kaniksu and St Joe NFs, Idaho Panhandle is the second largest NF in the state , at over 3 million acres. the forest contains two wildernesses- Cabinet Mountains and Salmo-Priest- and extends into Montana and Washington.
* Kaniksu Established 1908 Covers 1,627, 833 acres (in ID, MT, and WA)
Named for the Jesuit missionaries who came to the area to convert the local tribes - Kaniksu is Kalispel for 'back robe'- Kaniksu was created in 1908 and was incorporated into the Idaho Panhandle NF in 2000. nearly 56% of the forest is in Idaho, 28% in Montana, and the remaining 16% is in Washington. parts of two wildernesses lie in Kaniksu.
* Kootenai Established 1907 Covers 2,200,000 acres (in ID and MT)
The vast majority of the forest lies in Montana, only 3% is in Idaho. the forest contains part of the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trial as well as the Kootenai, Clark Fork Yaak, Fisher, Tobacco and Vermillion rivers. more than twice as much rain falls in the forest as in other areas of Montana.
* Nez Perce Established 1908 Covers 2, 224,091 acres
Named after the reservation where its headquarters are located, Nez Perce is one of six national forests in the country to lie entirely within one county. Four wildernesses lie all or partly in the forest, which is bordered by Montana to the east Clearwater NF to the west and the Palouse region to the north.
* Payette Established 1944 covers 2,327, 621 acres
Named after a fur trapper who was one of the first white settlers in the area,the Payette contains part of the Hells Canyon Wilderness and the Frank Church wilderness. the forest is surrounded by hells Canyon NRA to the West, Nez Perce to the north, Boise t the South, and Challis to the east.
* Salmon-Challis Established 1908 Covers 4,235,940 acres
Comprised of the the former Challis and Salmon forests, Salmon-Challis is the largest NF in the state and one of the largest in the country. Challis is the more southern and larger of the two, covering 2, 463,000 acres, while Salmon lies to the north and
covers 1,772,000 acres. the Salmon River and Sawtooth NRA are part of the forest as well.
* Sawtooth Established 1905 Covers 2,102,461 acres (in ID and UT)
The vast majority-96% of the forest, lies in Idaho, only 4% lies in Utah. the forest is managed as 4 units the Sawtooth NRA, and the Fairfield, Ketchum, and Minidoka districts. of the 3 ranger units Minidoka is the largest at 604000 acres, followed by Fairfield at 420000 aces and Ketchum at 321000 acres. the forest gets 1 million visitors a year and has over 80 campgrounds.
* St Joe Established 1908 Covers 867 882 acres
One of only two national forest in Idaho that cover less than 1 million acres- Couer d'Alene is the other-St Joe was incorporated into the Idaho Panhandle NF in 2000. while it is still counted as a separate forest, its area is counted as part of IPNF.
* Wallowa-Whitman Established 1905 Covers 2,2392,508 acres (in ID and OR)
Lying mostly in Oregon, the forest was the result of the merger of the Wallowa and Whitman NFs in 1954. the forest contains 4 wilderness areas which cover 600000 acres. the forest has 50 campsites, and is used for snowmobiling, dogsled races, canoeing, fishing and hunting.
* Wasatch-Cache Established 1906 Covers 1,607, 177 acres (In ID, UT and WY)
Lying mostly in Utah, about a sixth of the forest lies in Idaho. the Wasatch portion covers 905000 acres and lies in Utah ans Wyoming. the Cache portion covers 701000 acres, and includes the portion of the forest in Idaho. In 2007, the Unita Forest in Utah was merged with Wasatch-Cache, creating the Unita-Wasatch-Cache national forest and adding 880000 acres to the forests area, bringing it to nearly 2.5 million acres. in all 9 wilderness area lie within the new forest, covering nearly 500000 acres.
WILDLIFE REFUGES-7
* Bear Lake Established 1968 Covers 19000 acres
Protects Dingle Marsh a remnant of an ancient lake existed at the end of the last ice age. 500 sandhill cranes and 1000 geese are regularly seen in the refuge, which is one of Idaho's newest.
* Camas Established 1937 Covers 10578 acres
named after the creek that flows through it, Camas is home to large numbers of geese and duck during migration periods. the Work Progress Administration built the refuge headquarters, water control structures and bridges. the controls include a series of canals, dikes and other water control structures that run throughout the refuge.
* Deer Flat Established 1909 Covers 10548 acres(in ID and OR)
The oldest refuge in the state, Deer Flat was created by Theodore Roosevelt in 1909 as one of a number of Bureau of Reclamation projects. During the Depression the CCC and WPA worked in the refuge, restoring the dam and building the refuge's infrastructure. the refuge lies on the Pacific Flyway and is listed as an "Important Bird Area' by the American Bird Conservatory.
* Grays Lake Established 1965 Covers 19400 acres
The second largest WR in the state, Grays Lake is home to trumpeter swans and greater sandhill cranes as well as 200 species of animals. located near the Idaho border with Wyoming.
* Kootenai Established 1964 Covers 2774 acres
The smallest WR in the state, Kootenai is named after the river that borders it. located close to the Canadian border, the refuge is home to over 300 species of animals, including bald eagles, and ranges from wetlands to hardwood forests.
* Minidoka Established 1909 Covers 20751 acres
The largest WR in the state, Minidka was established in 1909, and includes most of Lake Walcott. the region is arid and the refuge provides a rare place of open water where birds can gather. part of the refuge includes sand dunes which provide habitat for the Idaho Dunes dung beetle.
* Oxford Slough WPA Established 1985 covers 1878 acres
managed by Bear Lake WR, the waterfowl production area was established to conserve habitat for red ducks. part of the land within the refuge is pricvartely owbed, so that land is left alone.
NATIONAL PRESERVES-1
* Craters of the Moon Established 2002 Covers 408000 acres
Created out of the expansion of Craters of the Moon NM in 2000, the preserve allows hunting, fishing and other activities not permitted within national monuments or parks.the preserve applies to the portion of the monument owned by the nPDS, not the BLM.
HISTORIC SITES AND OTHER NPS UNITS- 6
* Curlew NG Established 1934 Covers 47790 acres
Set aside to improve soil and vegetation in the area, Curlew is managed by the NFS in coordination with Caribou-Targhee NF, and managed to provide habitat for wildlife as well as agriculture.
* Hells Canyon NRA Established 1975 covers 652 488 acres (in ID and OR)
Protects the deepest portion of Hells Canyon, the deepest point of any canyon in the US. 215000 acres of the NRA is wilderness. the NRA is managed by the Forest Service as part of the Wallowa-Whitman NF.
* Minidoka NHS Established 2001 covers 210 acres
Originally established as a national monument. Minidoka preserves one of 10 concentration camps built to house people of Japanese descent during World war II. The Wild Skys Act in 2008 changed its designation from a monuments to an historic site. internees included Newton Wesley, who pioneered the contact lens, and Minoru Yasui, who challenged the constitutionality of curfews in the US in Yasui vs US. Yasui lost the case at the Supreme Court, who ruled Yasui had forfeited his citizenship by working at the Japanese consulate. Yasuis conviction was later vacated.
* Nez Perce NHP Established 1965 Covers 4561 acres (in ID , MT, OR and WA)
Protects 38 sites connected with the history and culture of the Nez Perce tribe. Unlike most national parks the sites are not connected to each other, but are Spread out across Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington.most of the sites-26 lie on the Nez Perce reservation and several are part of the Nez Perce Historic Trial.
* Sawtooth NRA Established 1972 Covers 778000 acres
straddling the Boise Challis and Sawtooth NFs, the recreational area was set aside by Congress in 1972. activities permitted in the NRA include rock climbing, whitewater rafting, hunting, mountain bike riding and fishing.
* Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey NCA Established 1993 Covers 484873 acres
Protects the largest number of raptors (over 700) in the lower 48. Renamed in 2009 after raptor expert Morley Nelson, who had pushed for the creation of the NCA. managed by the BLM, the refuge is home to golden eagles, prairie falcons, badgers and jackrabbits.
ADDITIONAL MONUMENTS-4
* Hells Canyon Expands and upgrades the existing NRA to monument status. Estimated area 1 million acres
* Sawtooth upgrades existing area to monument status and expands area Estimated area 750000 acres
* Scotchman Peaks protects the peaks and their surroundings as a monument Estimated area 200000 acres
* Payette Upgrades existing national forest to monument. Estimated area 1.2 million acres
There it is folks my latest diary is complete. Next time I'll be in Illinois headed dow the Mississippi River. As always Comments, conerns and imput are welcome.