A Quick Overview
The Boise National Forest includes about 2,612,000 acres of National Forest lands located north and east of the city of Boise, Idaho. Intermingled within the Forest are 348,000 acres of land either privately owned or administered of by the State of Idaho, or other federal agencies. The Supervisor’s Office is located in Boise, Idaho, with district offices located at Emmett, Garden Valley (Emmett RD), Boise (Mountain Home RD), Mountain Home, Lowman, Idaho City, and Cascade, Idaho.
Most of the land supports an evergreen forest that includes pure or mixed stands of ponderosa pine, grand fir, Douglas fir, Engelmann spruce, lodgepole pine and subalpine fir. The Forest contains large numbers of big game species, such as mule deer and Rocky Mountain elk. Trout are native to most streams and lakes, while anadramous salmon and steelhead inhabit the Salmon River and its many tributaries.
Much of the District lies within the Idaho Batholith, a large and highly erodible geologic formation. Through uplift, faulting, and subsequent dissection by hydrologic action, a mountainous landscape has developed. Elevations on the forest range from 2,600 to 9,800 feet. The major river systems on the Boise National Forest are the Boise and Payette Rivers and the South and Middle Fork drainages of the Salmon River. The average annual precipitation ranges from 15 inches at lower elevations to 70 inches at higher elevations.
Conifer forest covers most of the Boise National Forest. Tree species include ponderosa pine, Douglas-fir, Engelmann spruce, lodgepole pine, grand fir, subalpine fir, western larch and whitebark pine. Shrubs and grasses grow in the non-forested areas. Wildflowers splash color in both forests and shrub-land.
The Forest contains large expanses of summer range for big game species like mule deer and Rocky Mountain elk. Trout are native to most streams and lakes. Oceangoing salmon and steelhead inhabit tributaries of the Salmon River.
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ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW
The Boise National Forest has 6 offices: the Forest Supervisor's Office in Boise, and ranger district offices in Mountain Home, Idaho City, Cascade, Lowman and Emmett, Idaho. Additionally, there are guard stations located in Garden Valley and High Valley.
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HISTORY
The Boise National Forest was created in 1908 from portions of the Payette National and Sawtooth Forest Reserves. Emil Grandjean was the first Forest Supervisor.
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