HomeMy Public PortalAboutChallis National ForestHISTORY OF THE CHALLIS NATIONAL FOREST
A Compilation
USDA Forest Service
Intermountain Region
Introduction
This is a transcription of the Challis National Forest history cataloged in the R4 History
Collection as R4- 1680 - 2006 -0238. It is apparent that various people added to the original
compilation over a period of several years. Forest Service retiree LeAnn Tracy retyped the
document so it could be available to and searchable by a wider audience. We have taken the
liberty of correcting spelling and typographical errors, reformatting to improve readability
(including the addition of headers), relocating some additions to their relevant sections, and
generating a table of contents.
The original compilation referred to appendices in a "separate folder" but we do not have these.
They are:
1. Proclamations
2. Newspaper clippings
3. Progress reports
4. Challis fact sheets
5. Bibliography of historical books
6. Miscellaneous publications, periodicals, etc.
7. Old History File Folder
8. Charlie Langer Memorial
9. Photographs (see photo file for additional pictures)
10. Sawtooth Mountains Study Area
Richa Wilson, Regional Architectural Historian
October 2009
Cover: Supervisor's Office & Ranger Station compound in Challis, Idaho.
Idaho, he went to the Salmon River Reserve and came to the Challis as Supervisor when it came
into being by Presidential Proclamation in 1908. From the Challis, Mr. Laing went to the Boise
National Forest.
Ernest A. Renner, became Supervisor of the Challis National Forest in the spring of 1923, being
transferred from the Salmon National Forest where he was Assistant Supervisor. Mr. Renner
started his Forest Service career on the Targhee as a Forest Guard. Mr. Renner was transferred
to the Lemhi at Mackay as Supervisor in April 1931 which position he occupied until his death
in April 1934.
James W. Farrell became Supervisor of the Challis National Forest in April 1931, coming to the
forest from the Idaho National Forest where he had held the position of Assistant Supervisor.
Mr. Farrell remained on the Challis National Forest until the spring of 1935 when he was
transferred to the Regional Office at Ogden.
From 1934 through 1936 the position of Supervisor on the Challis National Forest was
something of a puzzle. In June 1934, Floyd W. Godden was appointed Supervisor of the Challis
National Forest. At the same time, Supervisor Farrell was appointed Supervisor of the Targhee
National Forest. Supervisor Godden spent four days on the forest and was then detailed to the
Targhee National Forest retaining his title as Supervisor of the Challis National Forest.
Supervisor Farrell remained on the Challis National Forest on detail although officially
Supervisor of the Targhee National Forest. On January 16, 1935, Floyd Godden was appointed
Supervisor of the Targhee National forest.
Supervisor Farrell remained on the Challis National Forest until March 11, 1935, when he was
detailed to Ogden although paid as the Challis National Forest Supervisor to July 31, 1935. No
Supervisor was then appointed to the Challis National Forest until January 16, 1936, when Henry
M. Shank was appointed. This appointment was in force until February 28th. Mr. Shank did not
take over during that time.
On March 1, 1936, Supervisor Godden was transferred back to the Challis National Forest.
Records show that he was then on detail to the Targhee National Forest until March 11, was on
the Challis National Forest from the l 11h to the 26th, was detailed to the Salmon National Forest
from the 27th to May 16th, on which date he was formally transferred to the Salmon National
Forest as Supervisor.
Effective May 16, 1936, Arthur G. Nord became Supervisor and was on the Forest until June 30,
1936, when he was transferred to the Cache National Forest. On December 1, 1936, Ernest E.
McKee officially became Supervisor by promotion from Assistant Supervisor.
From June 1934 to January 1937, the Supervisor -ship changed hands five times with only two of
the incumbents actually spending enough time in the position to take an active part in forest
affairs. These were Supervisor Farrell and Supervisor McKee. Supervisor Godden spent four
days in 1934 and sixteen days in 1936, Supervisor Nord was on the forest about one month, and
Supervisor Shank spent no time at all. Supervisor Farrell was actually on the forest from April
1931 until March 1935. Mr. McKee was actively in charge after March 1935 the other men not
118
having time enough to get into the job. The sequence reads like a multiple baseball play —
tp Godden to Shank to Godden to Nord to McKee.
During this period, 1934 through 1936, the work load on the Challis National Forest was
exceedingly heavy. In addition to the CCC, ERA, NRA, and other emergency programs, which
were shared to a greater or lesser degree by other forests, the consolidation of the Lemhi and
Challis National Forests took place. This was a considerable job in itself as the business of the
two forests was handled separately making it necessary to keep two sets of accounts and all the
attendant time - consuming details.
This extra work was handled with no increase in the Supervisor's Staff and only minor increased
clerical aid. From the time Supervisor Farrell left in the spring of 1935, the two forests were
handled by Assistant Supervisor McKee and Executive Assistant Smith. In June 1936, a ranger
was called in to assist in handling the fire organization (M. G. Markle, Stanley District Ranger).
This organization carried the load until January 1937 when an Assistant Supervisor was
appointed. However, the load was not appreciably lightened by the appointment of Assistant
Supervisor Johnson as he was on detail elsewhere on AAA work during most of 1937.
In 1934, the Challis - Lemhi National Forests had several NIRA Camps and one CCC Camp.
In 1935, they had three CCC Camps and several ERA Camps.
In 1936, they had four CCC Camps and several ERA Camps.
Thus, from May 1934 until July 1938 the forest actually functioned as two separate units but
with the supervisory and clerical staff of one ordinary sized forest, no additional personnel being
furnished to assist in carrying the load.
On April 30, 1948, Supervisor McKee retired.
May 2, 1948, Andrew L. Bunch was appointed Supervisor of the Challis National Forest and
served in this capacity until December 31, 1957, when he retired.
On December 29, 1957, John W. Deinema was appointed Supervisor of the Challis National
Forest. Supervisor Deinema transferred to the Challis National Forest in August, 1950, from the
Payette National Forest and served as Assistant Ranger on two Districts, Ranger on two Districts,
then transferred to the Teton National Forest. In October 1955, he was appointed Assistant
Supervisor of the Challis National Forest and Supervisor in 1957.
P. Max Rees transferred to the Challis as Supervisor on 10/30/60. At the time Rees was Staff
Officer on the Uinta National Forest. He was reassigned as Supervisor of the Sawtooth National
Forest 12/1/63.
G. Wesley Carlson was promoted to Supervisor on 1/5/64 from the Regional Office, Division of
Watershed and Multiple Use. On 9/18/71, Carlson was promoted and transferred to the Division
of Watershed, Washington, D.C.
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A History of the Salmon National Forest (Table of Contents)
A History of the Salmon National Forest
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Cover
Preface
Dedication
PART 1 - EARLY DAYS, PRE- NATIONAL FOREST
A. Geology of the Salmon River Area
B. Indians in the Area
C. Lewis & Clark Expedition 1805
D. Fur Trappers, Traders and Missionaries
E. Mining
F. Chinese
G. Charcoal Kilns
H. Settlement and Development
I. Early Transportation
PART 2 - SALMON NATIONAL FOREST, ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT
A. Creation of the Salmon National Forest
B. Personnel
C. Administration of the Salmon National Forest
1. Administrative Sites and Improvements
2. Communications
3. Transportation
4. Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
PART 3 - NATURAL RESOURCES AND FUNCTIONS
A. Watershed Management
B. Timber Management
C. Range Management
D. Wildlife Management
E. Recreation and Land Use
F. Fire Control
PART 4 - MISCELLANEOUS
A. Hermits in the Salmon National Forest
B. Graves in the Salmon National Forest
APPENDIX
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A History of the Salmon National Forest (Table of Contents)
A. Place Names
B. Early Mining Methods
C. Personnel Statistics
D. Road Inventory
E. Bridge Inventory
F. Grazing Statistics
G. Recreation Area and Use Statistics
H. Large Fire Statistics
I. Legislation
J. Bibliography
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A History of the Salmon National Forest (Part 2)
4. Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps came into being during the depression of the 1930's when hundreds of
thousands of people were without work. A New Deal plan of D. F. Roosevelt, it became a program of self -
sustaining public work. Most of the camps worked on projects in national, state, or private forests. CCC
boys planted trees, fought forest fires, built roads and trails, thinned overcrowded timber stands, fought
diseases of the forest such as bark beetles, gypsy moth, and pine blister rust. They re- seeded thousands of
acres of grazing lands within western National Forests, and built recreational facilities still in use in many
forests. The CCC program lasted from 1933 until 1942. 2,500,000 young Americans took part in it. At its
peak between 1935 and 1937 there were 1500 camps with a top enrollment of 500,000.1
1 Orville Freeman, Secretary of Agriculture and Michael Frome, The National Forests of
America (New York: G. P. Putman's Sons. In association with Country Beautiful
Foundation, Inc., Waukesha, Wisconsin, 1968), pp. 88 -90.
The camp activities of the enrollees were supervised by military personnel, while the field activities were
supervised by civilians hired and directed by the agency responsible for the work.
There were four CCC Camps in the Salmon Forest, with another CCC Camp on Haynes Creek under the
Department of Grazing, a department dealing with non - forest public land. Those on the Salmon Forest were
F -92 at Squaw Creek with Emmett Steeples, Superintendent; F -103 at Shoup; F -176 at the mouth of
Panther Creek with Frank B. Bradley, Superintendent; and F -401 at Ebenezer Bar with Herbert St. Clair,
Superintendent. About 200 men at a time were sent to each camp, plus their Army officers. They worked
under direction of the district rangers on various projects in the Salmon Forest.
Remembered most by the public was their work in building roads and recreational facilities. The CCC work
extended the road from Shoup down the rugged Salmon River canyon to the Middle Fork, finished the road
over Williams Creek summit, built the road up Panther Creek from the Salmon River, the Spring Creek
road, and Anderson Mountain road along the Continental Divide. Recreational facilities included building
the original facilities at Twin Creek, Cougar Point, Long Tom, Deep Creek, and Wagonhammer Spring. In
addition they built telephone lines, bridges, a landing field, maintained roads and trails, and fought fire
when needed. In the period from June 1, 1933 to January 1, 1936, they spent 11,054 man days fighting fire.
The boys came from all over the United States. Some were from southern Idaho. Retired District Ranger
Neale Poynor remembers that some of the boys from New York had never walked on ground except in a
city park. Others with rural background could not write their names. The minimum age for the CCC
program was 18 years, but there were older men also, who had wives and children left at home. The boys
were not frightened or hostile, but were inexperienced, and in strange surroundings, and some did not know
how to take care of themselves. Most of them were willing to learn, and anxious to do well. The CCC
program gave them a chance to earn something on their own, and have a place to live. Many continued
their schooling in night classes held in the camps. Neale and Laura Poynor recall attending an eighth grade
graduation exercise held at one camp.I The construction for the Salmon Forest was something the CCC
men could be proud of and they acquired worthwhile skills and a love of the country in which they had
worked. Some CCC men remained in the Salmon River area. Forest Service personnel and local citizens
voiced approval of their work and of the CCC program.
I Interview with Neale and Laura Poynor, Boise, Idaho, November 18, 1969.
One CCC project was construction of an emergency landing field on Hoodoo Meadows, to be used by
planes on fire control work over the Primitive Area. In 1929 this meadow had been used as a base camp on
the Wilson Creek fire. A 25 man CCC crew began work there in July 1935. The altitude is 9000 feet. Water
froze every night. A PF radio set was used for communication. They were unable to finish the field that
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A History of the Salmon National Forest (Part 2)
summer because work was interrupted by three different fire calls. One fire call was to the Big Horn Crags
on Roaring Creek. There was no trail and the boys had to back pack their groceries and fire fighting tools.
Leaving a 1 o'clock in the afternoon, they reached the fire at 2 a.m. the next morning. On one fire, one CCC
boy was left at the Hoodoo Meadows camp to guard the supplies. When a Forestry foreman arrived at camp
in the middle of the night he found the boy sitting in the midst of the food supplies with a meat cleaver in
one hand and a double bitted ax at his side, for defense purposes.2 The Hoodoo Meadows Landing Field
was completed during the summer of 1937.
2 "Hoodoo Meadows Landing Field," CCC Information Report, February 18, 1936.
The Salmon Forest still had three CCC camps in 1937. There was only one camp operating during the
summer of 1939, F -401, and two the following winter.
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