THE NATIONAL FORESTS OF IDAHO 25 



peaks known as the Sawteeth. The interior of the forest is broken 

 into rugged peaks and undulating ridges. The St. Joe River, often 

 referred to as *' the shadowy St. Joe," winds for miles between 

 precipitous canyon walls, and is one of the most picturesque streams 

 in the northern part of the State. 



The Palouse division, located between Potlatch and St. Maries, 

 is at a distance from the other divisions of the forest. It contains 

 about 200,000 acres and is western white pine land of the best 

 quality. Although much of the area supports only reproduction 

 and young growth, there are some excellent stands of virgin western 

 white pine, most of them under private ownership. The " North 

 and South Highway " makes the Palouse division readily accessible. 



The main division of the forest is entirely without roads, and 

 all travel must be on foot or by saddle horse. Because of this 

 relative inaccessibility there is very good fishing in the interior. 

 Deer and bear are plentiful, and small herds of elk are found in 

 the more remote regions. The" Sawteeth " are frequented by moun- 

 tain goats. 



The St. Joe Forest suffered severely from the great 1910 forest 

 fires, which destroyed some of the finest stands of western white 

 pine in Idaho. Fortunately much of this burned area is reforesting 

 naturally, and very extensive plantations have been made by the 

 Forest Service on the most severely burned slopes. There still 

 remains a large body of virgin western white pine timber in the 

 central parts of the forest, capable of producing a yearly cut of 

 •25,000,000 feet. Much of this timber is mature, and lumbering 

 operations are increasing. 



CLEARWATER NATIONAL FOREST 



The Clearwater National Forest lies between the St. Joe National 

 Forest on the north and the Selway National Forest on the south. 

 Its eastern boundary is the Idaho-Montana State line, which follows 

 the crest of the Bitterroot Mountains. 



The historic Lolo Trail, used by the Nez Perce Indians to reach 

 the buffalo hunting grounds, follows the divide between the North 

 Fork of the Clearwater River and the Lochsa River, and forms the 

 southern boundary of the forest. This old Indian trail was followed 

 in part by Lewis and Clark on their expedition to the Pacific coast 

 in 1805. It was later improved by the United States Army, under 

 Captain Bird and Major Truax. Over this old trail Chief Joseph 

 made part of his masterly retreat from General Howard during 

 the Nez Perce Indian War. The trail is now kept in repair by the 

 Forest Service and forms one of the main lines of travel through 

 the region. 



The country is rough and difficult of access, having practically 

 no automobile or wagon roads, and as in the St. Joe and Selway 

 Forests, practically all traveling has to be done on foot or horseback. 



There are approximately 4,441 million board feet of timber on 

 this forest, but because of its inaccessibility little is now being cut. 

 Exceptionally heavy losses of timber occurred on the Clearwater 

 Forest during the 1910 fires. Most of these areas are gradually 

 being restocked with tree growth, but some will probably require 

 planting. Some of the burned areas can be used for a few years for 



