Geography

Geography Basics

How Did Idaho Get Its Name?

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Originally suggested for Colorado, the name "Idaho" was used for a steamship which traveled the Columbia River. With the discovery of gold on the Clearwater River in 1860, the diggings began to be called the Idaho mines. "Idaho" is a coined or invented word and, despite popular folklore, is not a derivation of an Indian phrase "E Dah Hoe (How)" supposedly meaning "gem of the mountains."

What is the Highest Mountain in Idaho?

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Mount Borah in the Lost River Range is the highest mountain in Idaho at 12,662 feet above sea level

What is a GIS?

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In brief, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a state-of-the-art computer methodology for organizing and analyzing spatial, map-based data. Unlike other cartographic tools, GIS integrates map making with database management and statistical analysis. Results can be summarized in tables or reports, and displayed as maps. With a few commands, vast amounts of data can be summarized in visual, easily understood formats. GIS is widely used to query, analyze, and map data to support decision-making. GIS has become a fundamental tool for agricultural managers, scientists, land-use planners-and analysis and problem solving. Today, GIS is a multi-billion-dollar industry employing hundreds of thousands of people worldwide.

What is a GPS?

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Many maps, such as road maps, only deal with the two-dimensional location of an object without taking into account its elevation.  While convenient, these maps do not accurately represent the surface of the earth.   The earth is contorted ("relief"), and because of this latitude, longitude and elevation are necessary to locate areas exactly on a map (three-points, or "triangulation" is required to accurately locate something within 3-Dimensional space).  Maps that deal with three dimensions are called topographic maps. Topographic maps take into account the elevation of the area being mapped above a ‘reference datum’, thus showing the actual shape of the area.

Photographs, satellite imagery, surface and subsurface scientific exploration and other means of gathering data have changed the way modern maps are constructed. Recent computer technologies have allowed for the development of Geographic Information Systems which provide complex pictures of the earth - both on the surface and beneath it.  The global address of any place on earth includes both latitude and longitude. This coordinate system is widely used in all areas of navigation and related technologies. An example is Global Positioning System technology which uses a receiver to transmit a signal to satellites orbiting the earth. The GPS unit then uses the amount of time it takes for the satellite to receive its signal, and the satellite's' position in the sky to calculate an exact latitude and longitude.

Understanding Topographic Maps

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A topographic map, simply put, is a two-dimensional representation of a portion of the three-dimensional surface of the earth. Topography is the shape of the land surface, and topographic maps exist to represent the land surface. Topographic maps are tools used in geologic studies because they show the configuration of the earth’s surface. Cartographers solve the problem of representing the three-dimensional land surface on a flat piece of paper by using contour lines, thus horizontal distances and vertical elevations can both be measured from a topographic map.

General Information
The terms below indicate what information is contained on a topographic map, and where it can be found.

Map Scale: Maps come in a variety of scales, covering areas ranging from the entire earth to a city block (or less).

Vertical Scale (contour interval): All maps have a horizontal scale. Topographic maps also have a vertical scale to allow the determination of a point in three dimensional space.

Contour Lines: Contour lines are used to determine elevations and are lines on a map that are produced from connecting points of equal elevation (elevation refers to height in feet, or meters, above sea level).

The following are general characteristics of contour lines:

1. Contour lines do not cross each other, divide or split.
2. Closely spaced contour lines represent steep slopes, conversely, contour lines that are spaced far apart represent gentle slopes.
3. Contour lines trend up valleys and form a "V" or a "U" where they cross a stream.

On most topographic maps, index contour lines are generally darker and are marked with their elevations. Lighter contour lines do not have elevations, but can be determined by counting up or down from the nearest index contour line and multiplying by the contour interval. The contour interval is stated on every topographic map and is usually located below the scale.

Creating topographic profiles:  Remember that topographic maps represent a view of the landscape as seen from above. For producing a detailed study of a landform it is necessary to construct a topographic profile or cross-section through a particular interval. A topographic profile is a cross-sectional view along a line drawn through a portion of a topographic map.

A profile may be constructed quickly and accurately across any straight line on a map by following this procedure:

a. Lay a strip of paper along a line across the area where the profile is to be constructed.
b. Mark on the paper the exact place where each contour, stream and hill top crosses the profile line.
c. Label each mark with the elevation of the contour it represents.
d. Prepare a vertical scale on profile paper by labeling the horizontal lines corresponding to the elevation of each index contour line.
e. Place the paper with the labeled contour lines at the bottom of the profile paper and project each contour to the horizontal line of the same elevation.
f. Connect the points.

Stream Gradient: Stream gradient can also be determined from a topographic map. The gradient of a steam or river is determined by measuring a section of a stream or river and dividing the distance (in miles) into the vertical difference (in feet) between the two points. The result is expressed in feet per mile (ft./mi.). The equation used is:

 

Tips for Interpreting Topographic Maps
Vertical exaggeration: Vertical exaggeration is the effect that is created when the horizontal and vertical scales on your topographic profile are not the same.

Determining hillslope: Among other things, a topographic map can be used to measure the average slope of a hill (or hills).

Click on image for a larger view.

Topographic Map Example
As an example, look at a map of the Sulphur-Boundary Creek area along the Middle Fork of the Salmon River This map is a geologic map of glacial geology in the area, drawn on a topographic map base.  The map has a contour interval of forty feet, which means that every place between the marked 6800 foot line and the next lowest line (which is 6760 feet, and not marked) has an elevation equal or greater than 6760 feet, but less than 6800 feet. You can figure out the elevation of any point by finding the nearest labeled line, counting the number of lines above or below it, multiplying by the contour interval, and adding or subtracting the result from the nearest marked contour line. The more closely spaced the contour lines, the steeper the slope. You can find out exactly how steep the slope of the area you are interested in by subtracting the lowest elevation from the highest, and dividing the result by the horizontal distance. Horizontal distance is found on the scale. As you look at the map, notice that the contour lines enclose smaller and smaller areas. The smallest circles represent the tops of peaks, and some are marked with x’s with numbers next to them. The numbers are the elevation at the top of the peak.

Follow a contour line along its length. Notice the indentations. As the contour lines cross gullies or stream drainages, they "vee" uphill. Drainages that have water in them year-round have solid lines connecting the points of the vees. Drainages that have water only part of the year are marked with dashed lines.

Maps & Globes

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Remember: Earth is tipped on its axis of rotation (relative to our plane of orbit around the sun).

A map is a way of representing an object’s (or objects’) real-world location on an artificially created two-dimensional surface.  Maps have been used by humans since about 1400 B.C. when they appear in the archaeological record of the ancient Egyptians. Later, as their cultures mixed, these early attempts were improved upon by the Greeks. In 150 A.D. Ptolemy (an Egyptian) added the first lines of latitude and longitude used on a map. Today typical references used for mapping include latitude, longitude, the location of the north and south poles, and the location of the equator.

Latitude and Longitude are cartographic lines superimposed on the surface of the earth. These lines create a grid coordinate system that is used to pinpoint locations on earth - each point on the globe is assigned an unique pair of longitude and latitude values so that it may be identified easily and accurately.  Latitude lines (or parallels) run from east to west horizontally around the globe. Longitude lines (or meridians) run vertically from the North and South Poles.

Like other circles, latitude and longitude are measured in units of degrees, minutes, and seconds with a total of 360 degrees possible (1 degree = 60 minutes and 1 minute - 60 seconds). A protractor can be used to measure these distances.

Longitude values range from 180 degrees west to 180 degrees east, and are measured from the Prime Meridian, or zero degrees longitude (the longitude line passing through Greenwich, England).  The longitude line directly opposite to the Prime Meridian is called the International Dateline and can be considered as either 180° east or west). The Equator is the line of latitude that divides the globe into two equal halves, the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The Equator is designated as 0° latitude. Latitude is measured North or South of the Equator with a range of 0 to 90 degrees.  Latitude lines below the equator have negative values, while those above the equator have positive values. The full range of latitude values then is  -90 (S) to +90 (N) degrees. Some familiar examples:

1. The Tropic of Capricorn (23.5 degrees S)

2. The Antarctic Circle (66.5 degrees S)

3. Tropic of Cancer (23.5 degrees N)

4. The Arctic Circle (66.5 degrees N).

Look at how the curvature of the earth affects the shape of the latitude and longitude lines. All of the longitude lines are identical so degrees of longitude are constant, always covering the same distance (about 60 nautical miles).  In contrast, degrees of latitude vary. Near the equator, a degree of latitude is approximately 60 nautical miles, but as you approach the poles that distance goes to zero.

It is important to keep in mind that the earth is curved and maps are flat, so they do not quite represent reality. To properly map the earth, a planet shaped globe is required.  Cartographers represent the curvature of the earth on a flat surface by means of a projection. Regions are projected on to a map in different ways in order to correct for real direction, area or shape. The most common projection used is the Mercator, which was invented in 1568 by the German Gerhard Kramer (a.k.a. Gerardus Mercator). The Mercator distorts the size of the continents however because it makes the earth the same width at the at the equator and the poles.

The Data Behind a Map
Reference Datum: A reference datum is a known and constant surface which can be used to describe the location of unknown points. On Earth, the normal reference datum is sea level. On other planets, such as the Moon or Mars, the datum is the average radius of the planet.

Map Projections: A map projection is a way of representing the 3-dimensional surface of the Earth on a flat piece of paper.

Distortion: Each of the different types of projections have strengths and weaknesses, and knowledge of the advantages and disadvantages of a particular map projection will often help you to choose what map you want to use for a particular project.

Grid systems: A grid system allows the location of a point on a map (or on the surface of the earth) to be described in a way that is meaningful and universally understood.

Coordinate systems: There are several types of grids (a.k.a. coordinate systems) used to divide the earth’s surface. Four of these are in common use on maps published in the United States: geographic, universal transverse mercator (UTM), state plane, and public land survey coordinate systems.

Much of the information discussed above is applicable to all types of maps.

Fun Facts:

Can You Really Get Sugar from a Sugar Beet?

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Sugar is manufactured from the roots of the sugar beet, the leaves and tops being removed after harvesting and used as stock feed. The roots are cut into cossettes, or chips, at the sugar factory, and the cossettes are crushed to remove the juice. The pulp remaining after the extraction of the juice is a rich food for domestic animals.

After extraction, lime is added to the juice; the remainder of the process is similar to sugar production from sugarcane. Beet molasses is fed to livestock; table molasses is not made from beets because of difficulties in purification. The sugar that is produced from the sugar beet is chemically identical to the sugar that is derived from the sugarcane.

What Was a Pioneer Frisbee?

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If you think frisbees were invented in the 1960s, you're wrong--by about a hundred years. Children on the Oregon Trail threw frisbee-like devices back in the mid-1800s. But they weren't made of plastic--they were made of buffalo dung.

During the great western immigration, the entire Great Plains region was covered with buffalo chips--they were unavoidable. And yes, kids occasionally tossed them about in a frisbee-like manner. But the chips had a much more practical purpose for the emigrants--they were burned for fuel.

There was no firewood along much of the Trail, so the only alternative was dried buffalo dung. Even though the pioneers were hardy, they didn't much enjoy gathering up bushels of chips every night.

The chips burned surprisingly well, and produced an odor-free flame. Usually, each family had its own campfire, but sometimes everyone contributed their chips for one big bonfire.

Idaho Demographics

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The state of Idaho has a long-standing reputation as a place of legends and change set in the midst of breathtaking landscapes. Wide-open deserts give way to forests and to towering granite mountain peaks. Pioneers, entrepreneurs, Native Americans, Explorers, Gold, High-Tech, High-Adventure...Idaho has a little of everything - a fact reflected in its rich natural history and demographic profile. The state is home to the theater, opera, ballet, symphonies, festivals, carnivals, rodeos, and more. Celebrations occur year-round, in every region. Many are imbued with regional and historical flair and follow traditions that date to Idaho's Native Peoples and earliest pioneers. Sporting and other outdoor events are commonplace.

Three major universities exist as a part of the Idaho higher education system: Idaho State University; the University of Idaho, Moscow and; Boise State University.

Scientific research and inquiry into the natural history of Idaho is of great importance at all three institutions, as well as at the Idaho Museum of Natural History, the Idaho Geologic Survey and other organizations around the state.

The United States Forest Service plays a significant role in the state as well. They manage and study a large percentage of Idaho's forests in addition to large areas of rangeland. The BLM also manages and studies Idaho Rangelands. Both agencies employ large numbers of Idahoans.

Agriculture and timber-related industries are also significant employers, as are the mining industries. Hi-tech industry is one of  the fastest-growing in the state (centered in the Boise metropolitan area).

DOE's Idaho Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) is another significant resource for the state. As are the recreation and tourism related industries such as Idaho's Fisheries.

Significant natural resources found within Idaho boundaries include: timber, water, silver, lead, phosphate, gold, molybdenum, sand, gravel, building stone, limestone, copper, garnets and zinc.

Primary agricultural industry products include: potatoes, hay, wheat, sugar beets, cherries, peaches, beef, dairy products, apples, hatchery trout.

The most important manufactured goods produced include: french fries, sugar, canned fruit and vegetables, particleboard, computers, farm machinery and supplies, paper products, phosphate fertilizers.

Maps, Surveys & Boundaries

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The principal meridians and base lines of the west are a product of the Northwest Ordinance of 1785. This measure provided for the orderly survey and sale of public lands. During the colonial period, New England had disposed of public lands by surveying them first and then selling them in orderly blocks. A system of "indiscriminate locations and subsequent survey" prevailed in the southern colonies. This permitted settlers to lay out the land they desired where they wished and then have it surveyed. The southern system led to conflicting titles as pioneers laid out irregularly shaped plots to claim the most fertile land and made it impossible for the government to dispose of the less desirable tracts. The survey of public lands was originally evolved in Ohio and was well developed by the time the West was settled.

The Ordinance of 1785 provided that the public lands of the United States be divided by lines intersecting true north and at right angles to form townships and ranges - both six miles square. The townships and ranges were to be marked with progressive numbers from the beginning, or "initial" point that was surveyed in a given area. Such townships and ranges were to be divided into thirty-six sections, each one mile square and containing 640 acres. The sections were to be numbered respectively, beginning with the number one in the northeast section and proceeding west and east alternately through the township with progressive numbers to thirty-six.

Note that townships are counted north-south of the initial point, while ranges are counted east-west.

In order to complete this type of surveying task, it was necessary to establish independent initial points to serve as bases for surveys. Principal meridians (north-south lines) and baselines (east-west lines) were then surveyed from these initial points. Guide meridians were initiated at baselines, and standard parallels were initiated at principal meridians to form townships.

In Idaho the Initial Point is located about 8 miles south of Kuna. It is a volcanic hill  that was precisely located on April 19, 1867. Peter W. Bell used stellar observations to locate the point, by order of Lafayette Cartee, the first surveyor general of Idaho Territory. The Initial Point is marked with a small, round brass marker (about the size of a jam jar lid), and the hill is visible for miles around.

The principal meridian for Idaho is the exact north-south line as measured at Initial Point. It was called the Boise Meridian, and it runs the entire length of Idaho - from the Nevada border to the border with British Columbia.

The city of Meridian was named for the Boise Meridian as it lies exactly north on the surveyors line.

All surveys conducted in Idaho which divided the almost 54 million acres of unmapped lands are based from Initial Point.

State Symbols of Idaho

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State Flag: A silk flag, with a blue field, 5 feet 6 inches fly, 4 feet 4 inches on pike is bordered by gilt fringe 2 1/2 inches wide, with the State Seal of Idaho in the center. The words "State of Idaho" are embroidered in gold block letters two inches high on a red band below the Great Seal. Adopted by the 1907 legislature. State Seal: In 1957, the thirty-fourth session of the Idaho legislature authorized the updating and improvement of the Great Seal in order to more clearly define Idaho's main industries, mining, agriculture and forestry as well as highlight the state's natural beauty . Paul B. Evans and the Caxton Printers, Ltd. were commissioned to revise the seal. Land Area: 83,751 square miles, 13th in area size Water Area: 823 square miles Highest Point: 12,662 feet above sea level at the summit of Mt. Borah, Custer County in the Lost River Range Lowest Point: 770 feet above sea level at the Snake River at Lewiston. Length: 479 Miles Width: 305 miles at widest point Geographic Center: Settlement of Custer on the Yankee Fork River, Custer County Number of Lakes: More than 2,000 Navigable Rivers: Snake, Coeur d'Alene, St. Joe, St. Maries and Kootenai Largest Lake: Lake Pend Oreille, 180 square miles Temperature Extremes: Highest, 118 degrees at Orofino July 28, 1934 * Lowest, -60 degrees at Island Park Dam, January 18, 1943. Population (as of 1995): Total: 1,163,261 - 41st among states Median age of population - 32.8 Number of households - 416,000 Persons per household - 2.74 Number of U.S. Senators - 2 Number of U.S. Representatives - 2 Number of U.S. Electoral College Votes - 4 Land Ownership: Land federally owned - 63.7% Land state owned - 5.1% Land privately owned - 31.0% Land city/county owned - 0.2% State Folkdance: The 1989 legislature designated the square dance as the American Folk Dance of Idaho. The square dance was first associated with the American people and recorded in history since 1651. Square dancing includes squares, rounds, clogging, contra, line and heritage dances.

State Insect: Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus) State Fish: Cutthroat Trout (Salmo clarki) State Bird: Mountain Bluebird (Sialia currucoides) State Horse: The Appaloosa is an intelligent, fast and hard working breed. An easy going disposition and exceptional abilities give this horse a great deal of versatility that no doubt contributes to its rapidly rising popularity. Once the warhorses of the Nez Perce, today the Appaloosa serves as a racehorse, in parades, ranch work and youth programs. The coloring of the Appaloosa's coat is distinct in every individual horse and ranges from white blanketed hips to a full leopard. Adopted by the 1975 legislature. State Flower: The Syringa (Philadelphus lewisii), also known as Mock Orange, was designated the state flower of Idaho by the legislature in 1931. It is a branching shrub with clusters of white, fragrant flowers. The blossoms are similar to the mock orange, have four petals, and the flowers grow at the ends of short, leafy branches. State Tree: The Western White Pine (Pinus Monticola pinaceae), our state tree, is probably most notable since the largest remaining volume of this timber in the United States grows in the northern part of Idaho. White Pine has many fine qualities such as straight grain and soft even texture. Adopted by the 1935 legislature. State Fossil: The 1988 legislature designated the Hagerman Horse Fossil (species Equus simplicidens originally described as Plesippus shoshonensis) as the official state fossil. A rich fossil bed 3.5 million years old, which has yielded over 130 complete horse skeletons, was discovered in the 1920s near Hagerman and is said to be the best known Pleistocene-epoch fossil site in the world. State Gemstone: Adopted by the 1967 Legislature, the Idaho Star Garnet is treasured throughout the world by collectors. This stone is considered more precious than either Star Rubies or Star Sapphires. Normally the star in the Idaho Garnet has four rays, but occasionally one has six rays as in a sapphire. The color is usually dark purple or plum and the star seems to glide or float across the dark surface. State Song: Official State Song by Enactment of the Twenty-first Session of the Idaho Legislature Verses by Albert J.Tompkins Chorus by McKinley Helm Music by Sallie Hume-Douglas Here We Have Idaho You’ve heard of the wonders our land does possess, Its beautiful valleys and hills. The majestic forests where nature abounds, We love every nook and rill Chorus: And here we have Idaho, Winning her way to fame. Silver and gold in the sunlight blaze, And romance lies in her name. Singing, we’re singing of you, Ah, proudly too. All our lives thru, We’ll go singing, singing of you, Singing of Idaho. There’s truly one state in this great land of ours, Where ideals can be realized. The pioneers made it so for you and me, A legacy we’ll always prize. Chorus

Public Lands & Recreation Areas

	= Panhandle 1) Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge 2) Farragut State Park 3) Priest Lake State Park 4) Coeur d’Alene Parkway 5) Round Lake State Park 6) Old Mission State Park 7) Mary Minerva McCoskey State Park 8) Dworshak State Park 9) Winchester Lake State Park 10) Hells Gate State Park 11) Hells Canyon National Recreation Area 12) Heyburn State Park = South West 1) Packer John Historical Park 2) Ponderosa State Park 3) Veterans Memorial State Park 4) Lucky Peak State Park 5) Eagle Island State Park 6) Snake River Birds of Prey Natural Conservation Area 7) Bruneau Dunes Atate Park 8) Three Island Crossing State Park 9) Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument	= South-Central 1) Sawtooth National Recreation Area 2) Land of the Yankee Fork State Park 3) Malad Gorge State Park 4) Balanced Rock 5) Shoshone Falls 6) Silver Creek Preserve 7) Shoshone Ice Caves & T-Maze Lava Tubes 8) Niagra Springs State Park = East 1) Lava Hot Springs 2) Minnetonka Cave 3) Saint Anthony Sand Dunes 4) Harriman State Park 5) Henry's Lake State Park 6) Bearlake State Park & National Wildlife Refuge 7) Craters of the Moon National Monument 8) Massacre Rocks State Park 9) City of Rocks National Reserve

The Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation has historically utilized its enabling legislation (Idaho Code 67-4219) as its mission statement: "It is the intent of the legislature that the department of parks and recreation shall formulate and put into execution a long range, comprehensive plan and program for the acquisition, planning, protection, operation, maintenance, development and wise use of areas of scenic beauty, recreational utility, historic, archaeological or scientific interest, to the end that the health, happiness, recreational opportunities and wholesome enjoyment of the life of the people may be further encouraged."

Prior to the authorization of the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation, there existed in the state areas designated "scenic and recreational," usually parks and campgrounds. Since 1907 these areas had been administered by the State Land Board. In 1947, state parks were transferred to the Highway Department, and responsibility grew with the addition of a number of roadside areas, where motorists on the freeway might pull off for a night's rest. In 1949 control of the parks system was transferred to the State Land Board. A Parks Division was created within the Land Board in 1953. John W. Emmert, a retired former superintendent of Glacier National Park, took charge of the Idaho program in April 1958. This form of administration continued until 1959 when Emmert was replaced with three regional directors. Since 1965, the Department has been governed by a six-person bipartisan board, each member representing a different geographic area of the state.

Since it's inception the State Parks system has grown to include over 25 park and recreation areas. It is of interest to note that despite the vast wildernesses and high percentage of federal lands in Idaho, the state does not have a single national park within its boundaries. The National Park Service does however administer several national monuments and reserves in Idaho.

On August 25, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the act creating the National Park Service, a new federal bureau in the Department of the Interior responsible for protecting the 40 national parks and monuments then in existence and those yet to be established.

This "Organic Act" of August 25, 1916, states that "the Service thus established shall promote and regulate the use of Federal areas known as national parks, monuments and reservations . . . by such means and measures as conform to the fundamental purpose of the said parks, monuments and reservations, which purpose is to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."

The National Park System of the United States comprises 378 areas covering more than 83 million acres in 49 States, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, Saipan, and the Virgin Islands. These areas are of such national significance as to justify special recognition and protection in accordance with various acts of Congress.

By Act of March 1, 1872, Congress established Yellowstone National Park in the Territories of Montana and Wyoming "as a public park or pleasuring ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people" and placed it "under exclusive control of the Secretary of the Interior." The founding of Yellowstone National Park began a worldwide national park movement. Today more than 100 nations contain some 1,200 national parks or equivalent preserves.

In the years following the establishment of Yellowstone, the United States authorized additional national parks and monuments, most of them carved from the federal lands of the West. These, also, were administered by the Department of the Interior, while other monuments and natural and historical areas were administered as separate units by the War Department and the Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture. No single agency provided unified management of the varied federal parklands.

An Executive Order in 1933 transferred 63 national monuments and military sites from the Forest Service and the War Department to the National Park Service. This action was a major step in the development of today's truly national system of parks - a system that includes areas of historical as well as scenic and scientific importance.

Congress declared in the General Authorities Act of 1970 "that the National Park System, which began with the establishment of Yellowstone National Park in 1872, has since grown to include superlative natural, historic, and recreation areas in every region ... and that it is the purpose of this Act to include all such areas in the System...."

Additions to the National Park System are now generally made through acts of Congress, and national parks can be created only through such acts. But the President has authority, under the Antiquities Act of 1906, to proclaim national monuments on lands already under federal jurisdiction. The Secretary of the Interior is usually asked by Congress for recommendations on proposed additions to the System. The Secretary is counseled by the National Park System Advisory Board, composed of private citizens, which advises on possible additions to the System and policies for its

Parks & Monuments

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 The Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation has historically utilized its enabling legislation (Idaho Code 67-4219) as its mission statement: "It is the intent of the legislature that the department of parks and recreation shall formulate and put into execution a long range, comprehensive plan and program for the acquisition, planning, protection, operation, maintenance, development and wise use of areas of scenic beauty, recreational utility, historic, archaeological or scientific interest, to the end that the health, happiness, recreational opportunities and wholesome enjoyment of the life of the people may be further encouraged." 

 Prior to the authorization of the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation, there existed in the state areas designated "scenic and recreational," usually parks and campgrounds. Since 1907 these areas had been administered by the State Land Board. In 1947, state parks were transferred to the Highway Department, and responsibility grew with the addition of a number of roadside areas, where motorists on the freeway might pull off for a night's rest. In 1949 control of the parks system was transferred to the State Land Board. A Parks Division was created within the Land Board in 1953. John W. Emmert, a retired former superintendent of Glacier National Park, took charge of the Idaho program in April 1958. This form of administration continued until 1959 when Emmert was replaced with three regional directors. Since 1965, the Department has been governed by a six-person bipartisan board, each member representing a different geographic area of the state. 

 Since it's inception the State Parks system has grown to include over 25 park and recreation areas. It is of interest to note that despite the vast wildernesses and high percentage of federal lands in Idaho, the state does not have a single national park within its boundaries. The National Park Service does however administer several national monuments and reserves in Idaho.  

 On August 25, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the act creating the National Park Service, a new federal bureau in the Department of the Interior responsible for protecting the 40 national parks and monuments then in existence and those yet to be established. 

 This "Organic Act" of August 25, 1916, states that "the Service thus established shall promote and regulate the use of Federal areas known as national parks, monuments and reservations . . . by such means and measures as conform to the fundamental purpose of the said parks, monuments and reservations, which purpose is to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."  

 The National Park System of the United States comprises 378 areas covering more than 83 million acres in 49 States, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, Saipan, and the Virgin Islands. These areas are of such national significance as to justify special recognition and protection in accordance with various acts of Congress. 

 By Act of March 1, 1872, Congress established Yellowstone National Park in the Territories of Montana and Wyoming "as a public park or pleasuring ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people" and placed it "under exclusive control of the Secretary of the Interior." The founding of Yellowstone National Park began a worldwide national park movement. Today more than 100 nations contain some 1,200 national parks or equivalent preserves. 

 In the years following the establishment of Yellowstone, the United States authorized additional national parks and monuments, most of them carved from the federal lands of the West. These, also, were administered by the Department of the Interior, while other monuments and natural and historical areas were administered as separate units by the War Department and the Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture. No single agency provided unified management of the varied federal parklands. 

 An Executive Order in 1933 transferred 63 national monuments and military sites from the Forest Service and the War Department to the National Park Service. This action was a major step in the development of today's truly national system of parks - a system that includes areas of historical as well as scenic and scientific importance. 

 Congress declared in the General Authorities Act of 1970 "that the National Park System, which began with the establishment of Yellowstone National Park in 1872, has since grown to include superlative natural, historic, and recreation areas in every region ... and that it is the purpose of this Act to include all such areas in the System...." 

 Additions to the National Park System are now generally made through acts of Congress, and national parks can be created only through such acts. But the President has authority, under the Antiquities Act of 1906, to proclaim national monuments on lands already under federal jurisdiction. The Secretary of the Interior is usually asked by Congress for recommendations on proposed additions to the System. The Secretary is counseled by the National Park System Advisory Board, composed of private citizens, which advises on possible additions to the System and policies for its management. 

National Forests

Introduction
Idaho is lucky to have so many beautiful forests. Almost everyone loves the mountains and enjoys the trees and animals. Though we enjoy the pleasures of the forests, the trees are valuable for other reasons as well. The forests are most important because they are part of our watershed. They help store snow and water, and control the amount of water in our streams and rivers. The trees shade the snow and make it melt more slowly. Without shade, the snow would melt too quickly. The tree roots hold the soil in place. Without roots, the soil would wash away. The soft, spongy forest floor also stores some of the water and lets it trickle clean and clear into the streams. Without the trees, the water would run down the streams and rivers in a big, muddy rush. There would be a huge, muddy spring flood, then no water later in the summer.

Idaho forests are important for another reason. They provide jobs and many of the things we use every day. Trees are used to make our houses, furniture, railroad ties, wooden boxes, wooden matches, rayon, and paper - among other things.

Native trees of the Panhandle and mountains of Idaho include aspens and needleleaf trees. These trees grow straight and tall. They are also known as evergreens. This means that these trees are green all year long and never lose all their leaves like broadleaf trees do. Several important kinds of needleleaf trees make up Idaho's forests. The most valuable is the western white pine. Idaho has the largest stand of white pine forest left in the United States. Its clear, straight grain makes it excellent for lumber and wooden matches. Next in value are the ponderosa or western yellow pine and the Douglas fir . These are excellent for lumber and timbers. Another interesting and valuable Idaho tree is the western red cedar. It is used for furniture, fence posts, telephone poles, and other uses. The largest living tree in Idaho is the red cedar growing in Land Board State Park near Elk River. It is sixteen feet through the trunk, and more than 150 feet tall. It is thought to be between 2,000 and 3,000 years old. This is nearly as old as the famous redwoods of California.

History

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People have been using Idaho's trees for a long, long time. Indians used small trees to make poles for their tipis - particularly lodgepole pine. They made dugout canoes by cutting and burning out the inside of larger trees. Lewis and Clark made canoes this way near Orofino in 1805. They rode these canoes down the Snake and Columbia rivers to the Pacific Ocean.

Henry Spalding built Idaho's first sawmill in 1840 on the Clearwater River. The mill sawed logs into boards, and ground grain into flour. It was powered by a water wheel.

Trappers and early gold miners built cabins from logs.

The nicer buildings in the mining camps were made from boards cut with a two-man whipsaw. This saw was six or seven feet long, with very coarse teeth and a handle on each end. A log was laid out so one man could stand above the log, and another man could stand under it. The man under the log pulled the saw down and got sawdust in his eyes. The man above pulled the saw back up. The saw was pulled back and forth until the log was cut from end to end. It was slow work, and it took two cuts to make the first board. Heavy timbers sometimes had each side squared off with a whipsaw. More often the sides were squared by a man using an ax.

Small water-powered sawmills appeared in all parts of Idaho during territorial times. These small mills served the needs of the mining and farming towns. There was a never-ending demand for lumber. Government laws allowed people to use trees for home and farm use. A person could buy as much as 160 acres of forest land, but when those trees were gone, he was out of the lumbering business. Large lumber companies were not allowed to cut Idaho timber until 1892, when the laws were changed. Even the railroads could not cut Idaho's trees. When the railroads built their tracks across Idaho, they had to haul their wooden ties from as far away as the Black Hills of South Dakota.

During the 1800's, lumbermen thought only of cutting down all the big trees in the forest, then moving on to a new forest. They gave no thought to saving the younger trees for later harvests, or to planting young trees for future forests. After the lumbermen moved on, other people burned the stumps and trash. Much of the trash was crushed trees which were too small for lumber. The cleared land was then plowed for farming. Those forests were lost forever. The state of Maine lost its fine forests very early.

During the 1880's and 1890's, most of America's lumber was being cut in the Great Lakes states. By 1900, most of the good forests of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota were gone. Lumbermen were looking for new forests to cut. The forests of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana seemed ideal. After the Northern Pacific Railroad was built across Idaho's panhandle in 1880-1882, lumber was easy to ship. Idaho's white pine was a special prize which sold for high prices.

Lumbermen from the Great Lakes country began buying Idaho forest land in 1890. At least one company had a mill at Coeur d'Alene as early as 1890, though it was against the law until 1892. The lumbermen bought great amounts of Idaho timber land. They began building mills, and the lumbering business spread to most parts of Idaho, both north and south.

Forest Service

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President Theodore Roosevelt loved the outdoors, and he worried that all of America's forests might be destroyed. While he was President from 1901 to 1909, he set aside 148 million acres of forest to be our national reserves. He then created the Forest Service to take care of the forest reserves. He chose Gifford Pinchot to be in charge of the Forest Service. Pinchot was a well-known conservationist. The forest reserves are now called national forests. Idaho has sixteen national forests, and they cover more than 20 million acres - more than any other state except Alaska. This is about two-fifths of all the land in Idaho. Idaho's national forests are the Bitterroot, Boise, Cache, Caribou, Challis, Clearwater, Coeur d'Alene, Kaniksu, Kootenai, Lolo, Nez Perce, Payette, Salmon, Sawtooth, St. Joe, and Targhee.

Before 1940, fires burned more trees than were harvested by the lumber companies. The worst fire in the history of North America was in northern Idaho and western Montana in 1910. Though it burned only two days, the Great Fire of 1910 destroyed 3 million acres of forest, making a burn 160 miles long and fifty miles wide. Four towns and many mines and mills were destroyed. More than 100 people died when they were trapped by the fast-moving flames. Elk City was saved by its women and children, but one part of Wallace burned to the ground. One-sixth of all the forest in northern Idaho was burned. Scars from this great fire could be seen along U. S. Highway 10 (the old Mullan Road) between Wallace and Missoula, Montana, for more than fifty years.

One good thing came from this terrible fire. It made more Americans want something done to save our forests. Congress had not been very interested in the Forest Service after Theodore Roosevelt left the White House in 1909. After the Great Fire, however, Congress saw the need to give the Forest Service more money. Since then, the Forest Service has grown, and today it does a fine job of protecting our forests.

The Forest Service is now well known for its fighting of forest fires. It has a system of forest roads, telephone lines, and lookouts. Airplanes also fly over the forests looking for fires. When a fire is spotted, everything possible is done to put it out before it gets bigger. Fire fighters (called smokejumpers) are rushed to the fire by airplane. Airplanes are used to dump water and chemicals on the fire. Forest fires are still a danger to our forests, and every citizen must do all he can to prevent them.

The Forest Service also protects the forests by fighting insect infestations and diseases which kills millions of trees every year.

Forestry Science

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The science of logging - the cutting and hauling of logs - has grown with the rest of Idaho. Up-to-date power machinery has taken the place of the ax and two-man whipsaw for cutting down trees. One man with a small chain saw can do the work of several old-time lumber jacks. Logs are still being floated down Lake Coeur d'Alene to the mills, and trucks and trains still haul logs, which are loaded with cranes and other equipment. However, the exciting days of log drives down the Clearwater River from the mountains to Lewiston are only a memory. Dams have made that impossible. Today helicopters carry logs from steep hillsides and other places where there are no roads

In the early days lumber companies cut large areas of timber without thinking of the damage to the land. All the trees in an area were cut and a large amount of the wood was lost because it was not the right size or type of wood.

In the 1920s and 1930s people began to understand that by cutting only mature trees, the forests could be saved for the future, and the timber companies could continue to make money. The lumber companies of today manage the forests very carefully. Some of the most beautiful and most successfully managed forests in Idaho are those run by the timber companies.

The Forest Service has the job of making sure the national forests are put to the best use for all Americans, present and future. The Forest Service sells trees to lumber companies as they are needed, and makes sure the companies use good forest management. One kind of good management is called selective cutting. Only the large trees, or dead trees are cut. The loggers try to work carefully so they won't damage very many of the younger trees. Young trees are then planted to take the place of those cut. Planting young trees in the forest is called reforestation.

When the young trees grow large, the Forest Service will allow them to be cut, and more young ones will be planted to take their place. In this way, trees are harvested like a crop instead of being mined from the ground. This keeps the forests growing forever, and America will have both trees and lumber for as long as the forests keep growing.

Additional changes are being made in terms of road construction, trail building and the like. Such activities have slowed considerably and are conducted in a much more ecologically sound manner today than in the past.

Economics & Uses

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Economics
In the days of the mines, timbers to support the tunnels as well as boards and timbers for housing and places of business were needed. Local lumber companies provided each community with the wood products it needed.

Lumbering on a larger scale did not begin until after 1900 when Weyerhauser began operating plants near Sandpoint and Moscow in northern Idaho. Lumber operations still were not too large for several years, but with better forest management two large companies grew up in Idaho. The Potlatch Corporation had its headquarters in Lewiston until 1965 when it moved to San Francisco. The Barber and the Payette companies joined together into the Boise-Payette Lumber Company, which was renamed Boise Cascade in 1957. Today, Boise Cascade has its world headquarters located in Boise and is one of the world's largest lumber companies.

The timber industry was the second largest industry in the state, after agriculture, until the 1950s. Then tourism and manufacturing moved ahead of lumbering as the state's largest industries. However, manufacturing also includes the processing and manufacturing of the products from sawed timber, so the timber industry is still of great importance to Idaho . The forest industry in Idaho is responsible for a variety of wood and paper products. Idaho has 91 operating sawmills producing a variety of products such as 2 x 4 studs, plywood, waferboard and particleboard. Other plants produce house logs, posts and poles, and a variety of cedar products. Idaho also has a pulp and paper mill in Lewiston. Pulp and paper mills outside of Idaho also receive supplies of wood chips from Idaho mills. Plants manufacturing containers from pulp and paper products are located in Nampa, Twin Falls and Burley. Also important to Idaho are the industries that rely on Idaho lumber to produce finished products. Mobile homes, doors, molding, wood beams and roof supports, all bring jobs and money into Idaho's economy.

Most Idaho forest products are sold in the Midwest. However, a large amount of Idaho timber is sold to Japan. Besides lumber, Idaho mills make wooden matches, telephone poles, railroad ties, mining timbers, plywood, chipboard, pres-to-logs, food cartons, facial tissue, and many other products.

Today Boise Cascade Corporation and Potlatch Forests, Inc. are Idaho's two giants in lumbering and manufacturing forest products. However, large and small companies are important to Idaho's lumbering business. Many cities in northern Idaho depend on forest work and forest products for income. Coeur d'Alene, Sandpoint, and Lewiston are Idaho's three most important lumbering and wood manufacturing centers, Lumbering is also important in Bonners Ferry, Priest River, St. Maries, Potlatch, Orofino, Grangeville, McCall, Cascade, and Emmett.

Not all timber operations belong to the large companies. Smaller companies throughout the state produce 6.5 per cent of Idaho's lumber. Many national companies have closed mills in Idaho. In the last few years and as a result, these smaller companies are growing in importance in the state.

Land of Many Uses
Idaho's forests have many uses. Conservation does not mean that the forests are not used. It means they are used carefully so they won't be destroyed. Besides being important for watershed and for lumber, the forests have other important uses. Wild animals live in the forest, and the forest protects them. Cattle and sheep graze in many parts of the forest. People can go into the forests to cut Christmas trees and firewood and poles for fences. People use the forest for enjoyment - camping, hiking, backpacking, rafting, fishing, hunting, dude ranching, skiing, nature study, and countless other pleasures. Finally, Idaho's forest are an important and lasting part of the state's history.

Idaho Game Fisheries

Idaho's fisheries are divided into 8 large-scale regions that are shown on the map at right. Click on each region for information on fish. These units are managed by the Idaho Department of Fish & Game under Title 36 of the Idaho Code which mandates the preservation, protection and perpetuation of such wildlife. Fish & Game has responsibility for 83 species of fish in Idaho, including 14 species of native game fish and 28 species that have been introduced. Fish populations occur throughout the 26,000 miles of rivers and creeks, 225,000 acres of lakes, and 239,000 acres of reservoirs found in the state.

Fishery Types
Fisheries are divided into one of four categories determined by the dominant type(s) of fish found within their waters: cold water, warm water, anadromous, and mixed. Populations of special concern (such as introduced or endangered species) are monitored in each fishery, and are reported as unique categories.

Cold Water:
Fisheries supported by resident populations of salmonid game fish including trout, char, nonanadromous salmon (kokanee, coho, chinook), and whitefish (family Salmonidae).

Warm Water:
Fisheries supported by warm water or cool water game fish including bass, crappie, sunfish, catfish, northern pike, tiger muskie, walleye, and yellow perch (families Centrarchidae, Ictaluridae, Percidae, and Esocidae).

Mixed:
Fisheries supported by a combination of cold water and warm water fish species

Anadromous:
Fisheries supported by anadromous salmonids (steelhead trout, chinook salmon, and sockeye salmon). See below for detailed information.

Introduced Species:
Introduced fish, such as brown trout, lake trout, brook trout, landlocked coho and chinook salmon, bass, sunfish, perch, crappie, catfish, walleye, northern pike, and tiger muskie, provide sport fisheries where habitat conditions are unsuitable for native species.

Species of Concern:
A small group of fish species have been designated as "Species of Special Concern" because of limited range in Idaho, low populations, or threats to their existence.

Primary species of concern for Idaho's fisheries include rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, bull trout, steelhead trout, chinook salmon, kokanee salmon, sockeye salmon, whitefish, and white sturgeon (all native fish). Idaho Coho salmon were declared extinct in 1985.

Different fish populations exist in Idaho's different drainages, as a result of the hydrologic and geologic history discussed above. Human influence and the introduction of species has also affected the balance of fish populations.

Anadromous Fish:
Idaho's anadromous fish (steelhead trout, chinook and sockeye salmon) are of particular importance, and their management involves cooperation with other state, federal, and tribal agencies. This is because these fish are ocean-going species. They spend their adult lives in the pacific ocean, then travel to the streams and rivers of Idaho to spawn. Juveniles live in the streams and rivers for a short while until they themselves make the long journey to the Pacific via the Columbia River drainage system. Changing water conditions and the construction of numerous dams along the migratory routes of these fish appears to be casing a drastic decline in their population numbers. In fact, the decline is so pronounced that extinction for wild members of these species is a very real threat.

Idaho Fish Hatcheries

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1.  Kootenai Hatchery 2. Sandpoint Hatchery  3. Clark Fork Hatchery 4. Cabinet Gorge Hatchery 5. Mullan Hatchery 6. Clearwater Hatchery 7. Powell Trap 8. Red River Trap 9. Crooked River Trap 10. Rapid River Hatchery 11. Oxbow Hatchery 12. McCall Hatchery 13. South Fork Trap 14. Pahsimeroi Hatchery 15. Henrys Lake Hatchery 16. Sawtooth Hatchery 17. East Fork Trap 18. Mackay Hatchery 19. Ashton Hatchery 20. Eagle Hatchery	21. Nampa Hatchery 22. Hayspur Hatchery 23. Hagerman Hatchery 24. Niagara Springs Hatchery 25. American Falls Hatchery 26. Magic Valley Hatchery 27. Grace Hatchery

Fish hatcheries have been present in Idaho for over 60 years. In 1934 the State of Idaho and the Civilian Conservation Corps constructed the first rainbow trout rearing facility in American Falls. The purpose of the facility was to improve the availability of the fish for sportsmen, while also helping preserve native lineages.

In 1955 Idaho Power Company began planning construction of the Hells Canyon Dam Complex on the Snake River. Out of concern for Idaho's wild anadromous salmon and trout species, the Federal Regulatory Commission required that Idaho Power Company compensate for potential population losses resulting from the new hydroelectric facilities. In conjunction with the construction of the Complex (consisting of Oxbow, Brownlee and Hells Canyon dams) Idaho Power constructed four facilities including Rapid River Hatchery (1964) and Niagara Springs Hatchery (1966).  Initially, the Niagara facility was used to relocate some of the Snake River steelhead run into the Salmon River. Idaho Power currently provides funding for the operation and maintenance of the hatcheries.

In 1976 Congress passed the Water Resources Development Act and the Lower Snake River Fish and Wildlife Compensation Plan was created. The plan required the construction of fish hatcheries whose operation was intended to help offset the loss of Idaho's native salmon and trout species. Fish populations were declining - apparently as a result of construction of four dams and locks on the lower Snake River by the Bonneville Power Administration (Ice Harbor, Little Goose, Lower Granite and Lower Monumental were all built between 1962 and 1976).

In response to the Compensation Plan the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has built over 20  facilities such as the McCall Hatchery (1980) and the Sawtooth Hatchery (1984). To date, the United States Federal Government has provided funding for the construction and operation of over 20 trout and salmon hatcheries. Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) is in the process of repaying this loan out of hydroelectric power revenues. In addition, each year they provide revenue to continue hatchery operations.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the primary agency responsible for oversight of the hatchery program. They reco

ver and distribute the BPA monies.

The Idaho Department of  Fish and Game is the agency responsible for staffing, operating and maintaining the majority of Idaho's salmon and trout hatcheries.

Under Title 36 of the Idaho Code the mission of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game's fish hatcheries is to: Recognize the value of natural fish. Provide quality fish for anglers. Continue quality fish management. Maintain and enhance Idaho's fisheries resources. Promote Department programs.

These goals guide hatchery activities and research. As an example consider a brief summary of hatchery activities in 1998:

* Resident fish hatcheries reared and stocked nearly 23 million fish weighing 1.2 million pounds .
* More than 2,500 stocking trips were made to plant fish in over 500 waters in the state .
* Three captive broodstocks were maintained and spawned at the resident hatcheries producing over 18 million eggs for various resident programs. These stocks include Kamloop and Hayspur rainbow trout maintained at Hayspur Hatchery; and Westslope cutthroat trout at the Clark Fork Fish Hatchery.
* Cabinet Gorge Hatchery produced 9.9 million kokanee averaging 1.94 inches in length using a seven month growing season.
* American Falls Fish Hatchery used the entire 12 months of fish production and produced an average 5.1 inch rainbow trout.

Idaho Game Fishery Economic Facts

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Take a look at some assorted economic facts and views about Idaho's game fisheries:

Recreation & Tourism
The Idaho Department of Commerce estimates that the recreation and tourism industry is the third largest in the state. Sport fishing is a significant part of this big business. Sport fishermen in Idaho spent nearly $400 million in 1991. The 1992-93 steelhead fishery generated $52 million to $98 million of economic activity. Even the short nine-day fishery on three miles of the Little Salmon River for 500 spring chinook returning to Rapid River Hatchery in 1992 generated $675,000 to $1.5 million to the state's economy that year.

In 1997 the travel and tourism in the United States brought in $502 billion in revenue. Visitors spent an average of $1.38 billion per day.   Close to $40 billion was spent on fishing and fishing-related activities alone. The tourist industry has become one of the nation's largest growth industries, and a top employer.  Of the 1997 gross only $1.7 billion was spent in Idaho, accounting for almost 6% of the state's annual $29 billion gross revenues. Clearly, tourism already plays a significant role to the Idaho economy.  Recreation and visits to natural and cultural areas account for 48% of the 1997 tourist revenues.  It seems that there is room to aquifer a "bigger piece of the national pie"by enhancing visitor opportunities ion Idaho - particularly in the area of outdoor recreation.

In the Northwest: $500 million in annual economic benefits and 25,000 jobs in the commercial and sport fishing industry have been lost due to the loss of salmon.

$70 to $150 million annually will be added to Idaho's economy with an improved salmon fishery, and 2,100 full-time jobs. A 1996 study by the Idaho Fish and Wildlife Foundation found that a restored salmon and steelhead fishery would pump $23 million a year or more into river communities like Stanley, Riggins and Orofino and could sustain 4,500 family wage jobs.

In 1997, 6,500 Idaho residents purchased salmon fishing permits in Oregon and Alaska.   An estimated $5 to $8 million in revenue could be returned to Idaho if residents did not have to go out of state to fish for salmon.

Hatcheries
Resident hatchery program costs were 2.1 million dollars for an average cost of $1.63 per pound or $0.08 per fish. Cost varied greatly between the hatcheries. Cabinet Gorge Hatchery had the lowest cost per fish at $0.018 and American Falls Hatchery had the highest at $0.23 per fish. This is due to the great diversity in the resident hatchery system goals. Rainbow trout of catchable size (8 to 12 inches) composed approximately one-half of the program costs at approximately $1 million.

Dams
There are 500 dams in the Columbia Basin, and the four lower snake river dams (the ones in question) account for just 1% of the total. These 4 dams provide limited flood control. $23 to 60 million a year in tourist income will be lost from the loss of four reservoirs behind the dams in question.

These four hydropower facilities (in 1999) provide 3483 Megawatts, about 5% of total power, to the regional grid, but only 1.5% of the Idaho supply.  A 1998 Northwest Power Planning Council analysis found that bypassing the dams would have no effect of regional market rates for electricity. However, according to Idaho Power, a five percent contribution would not be an easily absorbable amount. Initial impacts were underestimated because the four facilities allocate their power to a smaller grid, which is only a part of the regional grid. That local grid would experience a 35% power loss. A possible solution would be to introduce a natural gas burning turbine to make up for the loss. The difference in cost however is nearly three times: hydropower 1-1.5¢/Kilowatt hr. vs. 3.2-3.5¢/Kilowatt hr for a gas turbine.

Each has a lock to allow commercial barging to occur as far inland as Lewiston which currently serves as a port town and terminus for shipping grain, for Potlatch, Boise Cascade and the like. Currently this form of shipping is subsidized by tax dollars. Railroad access is available as an economic alternative to barging.

Cost of upgrading and maintaining the dams if left in place: $200 million.

Cost of complete breaching: $100 to $500 million. The lower Snake River dams will not need to be destroyed to help the fish populations, only the earthen dam portions are to be removed so that the river can flow around them. If necessary the earth fill could be replaced to make the dams operational again. The cost of removing just the earthen berms? $25 million per dam.  While this seems expensive, it may actually save money to bypass dams. According to a 1988 Oregon Natural Resource Council study, bypassing the dams will actually save the region $87 million a year, not including the benefits of a restored fishery.

Businesses
Approximately $34 million in annual revenue will be lost to the city of Lewiston (once it no longer serves as a port) An estimated range of 40 to 1,500 jobs may be lost.

The Bonneville Power Administration has spent almost $3 billion on current fish recovery programs (i.e. hatcheries, barging and trucking).

Drainage Areas & Fisheries

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1. Kootenai River 2. Pend Oreille River 3. Spokane River 4. Palouse River 5. Snake River-Hells Canyon 6. Clearwater River 7. Salmon R. Mouth to Horse Cr. 8. Little Salmon River 9. Salmon River-S. Fork 10. Salmon-Horse Cr.-N. Fork 11. Salmon-Middle Fork 12. Salmon-N. Fork to Head 13. Lemhi River 14. Pahsimeroi River 15. Salmon-East Fork 16. Salmon-Yankee Fork 17. Snake River-C.J. Strike

18. Weiser River 19. Payette River 20. Boise River 21. Owyhee River/Bruneau River 22. Snake River-Lake Walcott 23. Big Wood River 24. Raft River 25. Snake River-S. & Henrys Fk. 26. Portneuf River 27. Blackfoot River 28. Willow Creek 29. Henrys Fork Snake River 30. Teton River 31. South Fork Snake River 32. Sinks 33. Bear River 34. Malad River

The drainage areas and fisheries map shows the waters of the state broken into 34 separate drainages.

The divisions follow the State's Hydrologic Unit Code boundaries, and are used to distinguish different fisheries management regions.

Although all of Idaho lies west of the continental divide, not all of its waters drain westward to the Pacific Ocean. A portion of southeast Idaho drains into Bear Lake, which is one of the largest interior drainage systems in the United States. In addition there are a number of isolated drainages in eastern Idaho that do not flow into the Snake or Bear Rivers that we term independent drainages. These include the Lost Rivers and Birch, Medicine Lodge, Beaver, and Camas Creeks.

The remainder of the state's surface drainage flows into the Columbia River. We have divided this system, from north to south, into the Kootenai, Pend Oreille, Spokane (Coeur d'Alene and St. Joe River systems), and the Palouse drainages. The Snake River and its tributaries drain areas upstream and downstream of Shoshone Falls. The major tributaries of the Snake River drainage below the falls include Salmon Falls Creek, and the Wood, Bruneau, Owyhee, Boise, Payette, Weiser, Salmon, and Clearwater Rivers. The Snake River above Shoshone Falls is comprised of the North Fork (Henry's Fork) and the South Fork. Major tributaries are the Teton, Blackfoot, and Portneuf Rivers.

The major natural lakes of Idaho include Priest and Pend Oreille (Pend Oreille drainage), Coeur d'Alene (Spokane drainage), Payette (Payette drainage, Snake River below Shoshone Falls), Gray's (Snake River above Shoshone Falls), Mud (independent drainage) and Bear (Bear River drainage). A large number of reservoirs have been formed on Idaho's rivers. The major ones include Dworshak (North Fork Clearwater River), Granite, Hells Canyon, Oxbow and Brownlee (Snake River, behind dams of the same name), Cascade (North Fork of the Payette River), Arrow Rock and Anderson Ranch, (Boise River), C. J. Strike (Snake River below Shoshone Falls), Blackfoot (Blackfoot River), Palisades (South Fork of the Snake River), and Island Park (Henry's Fork of the Snake River).

The Sawtooth Lakes include a number of high mountain lakes in the Sawtooth Mountains near the headwaters of the Salmon River. Numerous other smaller lakes and reservoirs dot Idaho's landscape.

The geological history of Idaho's drainages is not completely understood. Lava flows have changed the courses of many streams. Later the effects of glaciation formed both temporary and more permanent lakes. Glacial melting caused tremendous floods by breaching temporary dams and resulted in the alteration of river courses. Abandoned stream channels and dry waterfalls constitute evidence of these catastrophic events. These and other past geological phenomena have had a profound impact on the distribution of native Idaho fishes.

In the southern part of the state, the development of Shoshone Falls was a major influence on the past distribution of Idaho fishes and remains an effective barrier to the present dispersal of these aquatic vertebrates. The falls were formed by unequal erosion of the very resistant bedrock materials which form the crest of the falls. This resistant rock mass may have become effective as early as 2-3 million years ago. The result of this barrier to fish distribution was to prevent any species of fish from extending its range upstream above the falls after its formation. Any species arriving on the Idaho scene after this time, such as the Pacific salmon and steelhead trout, were unable to penetrate the Snake River drainage above the falls. Any fishes found in the Snake drainage above the falls likely occupied this area before the formation of the falls or extended their range to the Snake drainage from the Great Basin or from east of the Continental Divide.

The Snake River at one time (probably prior to the Pleistocene) flowed down the middle of the Snake River Plain near the southern part of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission Reservation (north of its present course). Subsequent downwarping and lava flows pushed the Snake River southeastward to its present course. Further uplifting and a rise of crustal divides along with deposition of large quantities of rock debris at the present southern reaches of the several drainage systems isolated the Lost Rivers and the other independent drainages of the area. These streams now flow generally in a southerly direction and sink into the permeable underground materials, including volcanic deposits, along the northern edge of the Snake River plain.

At a later time during the Pleistocene the immense inland Pluvial Lake Bonneville rose and overflowed into the upper Snake River through Red Rock Pass south of Pocatello, Bannock County. The first overflow occurred about 14,500 years ago. This great flood scoured out channels and water falls. After the flood the Bonneville Basin and the Snake River system were connected for a few thousand years until the lake fell below the Provo shoreline at 4800 feet.  A number of fishes from the Lake Bonneville fauna entered the upper Snake River in this manner. The present-day remnant of Pluvial Lake Bonneville is the Great Salt Lake.

In Northern Idaho during the Pleistocene, an ice lobe blocked the ancestral Clark Fork River and formed Glacial Lake Missoula, a huge lake that occupied much of the Clark Fork Valley all the way to Missoula, Montana.  Recent estimates are that forty separate times the ice dam formed by a valley glacier just east of Clark Fork, Idaho, broke, and huge floods occurred. The waters swept across eastern Washington toward the southwest and formed such features as Palouse Falls, the channeled scablands of eastern Washington, and Spokane Falls. These falls formed barriers to the post-glacial dispersal of fishes from the lower Columbia River, such as the Pacific salmon and steelhead trout. Falls on the Pend Oreille and Kootenai Rivers acted as similar barriers.

During glacial times many other river drainages probably have exchanged waters. The end result of past geological events is the present drainage patterns throughout the state. The current natural distribution of Idaho's fishes is closely related to the geologic history and associated phenomena of the past.

Mining in Idaho

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Idaho has many different types of minerals, and it was gold that brought the first permanent white settlers to the state. Although minerals can be used up, we are lucky to have enough minerals to meet our needs for hundreds of years to come. Explore the natural history of Idaho mining with the photographs and text below.

Almost every important mineral except oil, gas and coal can be found in Idaho. Some would cost too much to mine, but others provide us with jobs and money.

The discovery of gold caused the Idaho territory to be established in 1863. As the gold deposits began to disappear, the search for other minerals began. By the late 1800s silver, lead and zinc deposits were uncovered in the Coeur d'Alene area. This area has become known as one of the world's richest mineral areas. Idaho today produces the most newly mined silver in the nation. Almost 45 per cent of all silver mined in the United States comes from Idaho. Silver and phosphate are the two major minerals produced in Idaho. We are the nation's second largest producer of phosphate with 15 per cent of the United States yearly production.

Although Idaho produces little gold, the United States Bureau of Mines says that we have more mineable gold than any other state. In recent years, as the price of gold has risen, many old mines have been reopened and the value of gold produced in Idaho has grown steadily.

Other minerals in Idaho that have some importance are sand, gravel and crushed rock, copper, tungsten, garnets and clay. Garnets are used for polishing materials in industry. The amount of garnets in the state is large. Clay used in a variety of ways is plentiful in Idaho, but has not been developed to a very large degree at the present time.

Many types of semi-precious and precious stones are found in Idaho. Whether precious stones or sand and gravel, minerals are an important natural resource for Idaho.

When thinking about history and miners, we usually think of men with picks, shovels, gold pans, and perhaps a burro. The truth is, most of these men made very little money. It took five to ten minutes to wash the sand and gravel out of the pan, and the miner often found only five to ten cents worth of gold for his work. A few "struck it rich," but most men made only a few dollars a, day. That took the glitter out of gold for many men. The smart miners soon learned they would have to use machinery to make money from mining.

The gold rush ended when the easy gold ran out, but the real mining began after that. Most of Idaho's placer gold was gone by the time Noah Kellogg (and his burro) found that lump of lead and silver ore in Shoshone County in 1885. This led to more wealth in silver, lead, and zinc than the gold miners could have ever dreamed of finding. After railroads were built through the mining country, hard-rock mines could be developed.

Today the Coeur d'Alene mining district (mostly in Shoshone County) is one of the two richest metal mining areas in the world. This part of Idaho has produced about 2 billion dollars in metal wealth since it began in 1885. Silver has -been Idaho's leading mineral for several years. The three richest silver mines in the United States are in Shoshone County. The Sunshine mine is the largest, the Galena mine is second, and the Bunker Hill is third. The Coeur d'Alene mines produce more silver than all the rest of the states together. The Bunker Hill mine is America's largest lead-silver mine. In mines such as the Bunker Hill, lead and silver are found mixed together. The Star mine is America's largest producer of zinc. (The city of Coeur d'Alene is not part of the Coeur d'Alene mining district. It is in Kootenai County on the edge of Lake Coeur d'Alene. The mines are in Shoshone County on the upper part of the Coeur d'Alene River.)

Metals are mined in other parts of Idaho, also. Dredge mining of gold is done on some parts of the Salmon River. Here sand and gravel are scraped from the bottom of the river and washed for placer gold. Silver and lead are mined in the Wood River galena mines in Blaine County. Tungsten and cobalt are mined in Lemhi County. Vanadium* is mined in Bear Lake and Caribou counties.

Work is being done also to develop mines for other Idaho metals. There is molybdenum* in Bonner, Custer, and Lemhi counties; platinum* in Bonneville, Idaho, and Valley counties; and thorium* in Boundary and Lemhi counties. Thorium is a metal that could take the place of uranium* for atomic energy.

Of the following metals, some are now being mined in Idaho, and some are not. However, these are the most important metals found in Idaho: antimony*, beryllium*, chromium*, cobalt*, copper, gold, lead, molybdenum, platinum, silver, thorium, tungsten*, vanadium, and zinc.

When we think of mining, we often think of exciting metals like gold and silver. However, there are many important minerals which are not metals. These are called industrial minerals. Idaho is rich in industrial minerals. Idaho has seventy-two kinds of gem stones. This is more than any other state, and second only to Africa in the rest of the world. Agates, jade, opal, garnet (pink, green, and red), and diamonds-to name a few-have all been found in Idaho. It is believed the biggest diamond ever found in the United States - weighing nineteen and one-half carats - was found between McCall and New Meadows. (Idaho's state gem is the star garnet.)

Other industrial minerals are not as exciting as opals and diamonds, but they bring Idaho more wealth. It may be hard to think of stone, gypsum, cement, and clay as important minerals. However, they are widely used and are very valuable. Idaho's leading industrial mineral, and fastest growing, is phosphate*.

Most of Idaho's phosphate mining is done in eastern Idaho around Soda Springs.  It is believed more than half of America's phosphate reserves are in Idaho in Bear Lake, Bingham, Bonneville, and Caribou counties.

Phosphate was Idaho's second leading mineral in 1974, and was very close to silver in value. Phosphate is used to make ammonium phosphate fertilizer and other important chemicals.

Below are several important Idaho industrial minerals and their uses:
cement - concrete and construction clay - brick and tile garnet - gems and sandpaper gypsum - fertilizer and
wall board lime - sugar beet processing phosphate - fertilizer and chemicals pumice - concrete and construction
sand and gravel - roads, concrete, and construction stone - building construction

Mining is an important source of income for towns near the mines and processing plants. Mining makes jobs and money for many people, those working in the mines, and those working in businesses which serve the mining families. Kellogg, Wallace, Mullan, and several smaller towns depend on the Coeur d'Alene mines. The phosphate mines of eastern Idaho bring wealth to Soda Springs, Blackfoot, Pocatello, and other towns.

The story of mining in Idaho should close with the story of Stibnite, one of Idaho's youngest ghost towns. Stibnite is also the mineral name for antimony ore. Mining for gold and antimony began at Stibnite in 1931. Later a body of rich tungsten ore was found. During World War 11, Stibnite produced ninety-eight percent of America's antimony, and much of her tungsten. Both metals were vital for making machines and weapons for fighting the war. The rich tungsten ore had run out by the end of the war in 1945. Later a. rich antimony mine opened in Central America. The new mine made the price of antimony drop so low, the Stibnite mine could not stay in business. It closed in 1952. Today only the pieces of a few old buildings and machines remain. The huge open-pit mine, once busy with men, machines, and trucks, has become a small mountain lake.

Native Tribes of Idaho

The Peoples of Idaho: Native Settlers

The ancestors of the modern native peoples entered the North American continent at the close of the Pleistocene Epoch perhaps as early as 25,000 years ago.  Naturally, as the hunters and their families journeyed deeper into the continent climates and resources changed from region to region.  In response to these changes the people also needed to change the ways in which they lived.

The Native Tribes of Idaho

Kootenai
Kalispel
Coeur d' Alene
Palouse
Nez Perce
Northern Paiute
Shoshone - Bannock

Culture Areas in Idaho

Culture Areas

As the people traveled over thousands of years they eventually inhabited and lived within what are now called "culture areas" by anthropologists.  America is loosely sectioned into several regional "culture areas".

The term "culture area" means that the tribes which lived within a "culture area" were more similar to one another than to tribes which inhabited other regions.  The tribes within a "culture area" might share similar clothing styles, foods, customs, stories & myths, languages and there may be marriages between the various tribes.

Idaho has very different regional areas, such as the: Snake River Plain, Salmon River country and mountains, the Panhandle and arid Western Idaho.  Each of these regions have differing climates, geography, plants, animals, fish and other resources such as rocks, minerals, and water.  Not amazingly, the tribes which came into these areas after 4,000 years ago used the variety of regional resources in differing ways.

Plateau Culture Area

Today anthropologists identify two "culture areas" in Idaho.  The Northern Panhandle area is designated as part of the Plateau culture area which was inhabited by the Nimi'ipuu (Nez Perce), Kalispel, Kootenai and Schitsu'umsh (Coeur d' Alene) tribes.  The Plateau culture area also included tribes of people living in eastern Washington.

Great Basin Culture Area

Great Basin culture area extends over much of Nevada and Utah and reaches north into Idaho to Corn Creek on the Salmon River.  The Great Basin culture area of Idaho is inhabited by the Shoshoni, Bannock and Northern Paiute tribes.

Great Plains Culture Area

The Shoshoni and Nez Perce tribes were influenced by tribes living east of Idaho in the Great Plains culture area.  Among the Great Plains tribes were the Piegan and Blood (Blackfoot), Tsistsistsas & Suhtai (Cheyenne), Arapaho, and Lakota (Sioux).  The Nimi'ipuu (Nez Perce) and Shoshoni peoples adopted clothing styles, hunting techniques, horses and shelter designs from their neighbors on the Great Plains.

 

In the years from 1850 to 1890 Idaho's population landscape changed dramatically. Central and eastern Idaho were practically uninhabited in 1880; and the landscape was dominated by buffalo, antelope, deer, and elk grazing amongst the native grasses and sage. The wildlife became obscure in only three years; and was replaced by range cattle as the dominant species.

Fledgling settlements accumulated along railroad lines and major travel routes leading to an agricultural sprawl into the river valleys. This "last frontier" was settled by miners, ranchers, and farmers lured by rich mineral deposits and the chance to exploit free grass and free land. Settlement was encouraged federally by favorable land laws, irrigation capabilities and privately by addition of railroads, the invention of barbed wire, and production of cheap windmills in quantity. Furthermore, several years of above-average precipitation created bonanza farming making farmers artificially wealthy, and creating a false land rush. Thus, the juvenile Idaho Territory continued to attract new residents from many different countries and states. The vast majority were from the American Midwest and Plains states, but significant numbers also came from Europe, Asia, Mexico, and Canada.

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Native Americans

The first people to live in Idaho were different Native Americans tribes. Approximately 12,000 Native Americans lived in Idaho during 1990 represented by the: Shoshone, Bannock, Coeur D’Alene, Nez Perce, Paiute, Kalispel, Kootenai and others. That is nearly the same number present when Lewis and Clark passed through the region during 1805-1806.

Idaho's Native Peoples retained their distinctive cultures, languages and traditions through the decades following the initial contact with white people. The Native Americans still cherish a respectful attitude toward the land and maintain many of their traditions, despite the historical efforts of a dominant white society to assimilate them to Christianity and European culture. The Native American response to white occupation corresponded to the changing face of American policy.

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French Canadians

The first ethnic group to follow Indians in settling present-day Idaho were French Canadians.

Several, including the husband of Sacajawea, were in the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery. Others were fur traders with the North West Company and Hudson's Bay Company who remained in the area when the two companies consolidated. Among these were Michel Bourdon, who came with David Thompson in 1808, and Francois Payette, who traveled with John Jacob Astor's company and later was postmaster at Hudson's Bay Company's post at Fort Boise. French Canadians also found representation as Catholic priests. Andre Zapherin, for example, was assigned to Boise Basin and Alex J. Archambault to Idaho City and other mining and farming camps in the region. The impact of French Canadians is clear from many Idaho names: Coeur d'Alene, Pend Oreille, Nez Perce, and Payette River. Godin Valley in Custer County was named for French Canadian (actually an Iroquois) Thyery (Henry) Godin, who explored the country with Donald Mackenzie in 1820 and named the river and mountains after himself The river was later renamed Lost River. Pattee Creek in Lemhi County recognized Joseph B. Pattee, who came into the area as an employee of the American Fur Company and later settled on land at the mouth of the stream.

Many French Canadians joined the rush to Boise Basin with the mining boom of the 1860s. One of these was Joseph Perrault, from Montreal, who went to California, Walla Walla, Lewiston, and finally to Boise, where he became assistant editor and part owner of the Statesman. Lafayette Cartee built the first sawmill and quartz mill at Rocky Bar, moved with his family to Boise in 1866, and was appointed the first surveyor general of Idaho Territory.

French Canadians homesteaded land throughout the region. Frenchman's Island in Minidoka County was named for two French Canadians who filed a claim on the island. One of them ran a ferry across the Snake called "Frenchman's Ferry." A group of Quebec and Montreal natives moved to the Deer Flat area south of Nampa in 1903 and established a barber shop, bakery, carpenter shop, and farms. At the 1980 reunion of descendants of the original French Canadian settlers held at Saint Paul's Church and Lakeview Park in Nampa, the crowd numbered more than 300.

The north Idaho community of Colbum, nine miles north of Sandpoint, was named in Anglicized form for John Courberon, a French Canadian who worked for the Great Northern Railroad. From St. John the Baptist, Quebec, five of the thirteen children of the Poirier family moved into north Idaho and made it their home. A cove, falls, creek, and dam bear the name of Albeni Poirier. Beginning in 1883, he and a brother ran a cattle ranch in Spirit Valley. Later, the brothers built a road from Rathdrum to Albeni Falls, and the site became the headquarters for navigation of Priest River. Albeni Poirier built a small hotel, boarding house, and saloon just below the dam located there. The Poirier family now operates a museum that traces the history of the Blanchard community and the family farm. In 1910, Idaho counties included 202 French Canadians in Kootenai, 115 in Shoshone, and 140 in Bonner. Other populations were in the lumbering counties of Latah, Nez Perce, Boundary, and Benewah.

 

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British Islanders

The British had, of course, been in the Oregon country with the fur trade. They had explored the land, named geographic features, directed international attention to the region, operated trading posts at Fort Hall and Fort Boise, and indirectly paved the way for subsequent American settlement.

Most of the large percentage of British migrants to Idaho, mirroring mainstream American society, assimilated. They did not retain ethnic enclaves, were not subjected to the job discrimination that others experienced, and were sometimes referred to as "invisible immigrants." The three exceptions were the Cornish, Welsh, and Irish. The Cornish came in comparatively large numbers to work in the mines and concentrated in the Silver Valley and the Owyhee. The Welsh came directly from their homeland or indirectly through Utah in the 1860s and 1870s. The Irish worked in Idaho mining camps, some as prospectors, others as shoemakers, grocers, saloonkeepers, butchers, and livery operators.

The discovery of gold in Idaho during the 1860s coincided with a depression in the mines in Cornwall, and hence many of the miners were attracted to Idaho. They were often referred to as "Cousin Jack", a complimentary nickname that suggested they had a cousin back home ideal for a vacant mining job. Most of them, however, stayed in the United States and sent for their families.

Because of their experience and their strong sense of family and social stability, the influence of the Cornish in mining camps was often out of proportion to their numbers. Many of them were Methodist, and they filled in as lay preachers when formally trained ministers were not available. One of the ministers was John Andrewartha, who served in Rocky Bar and Atlanta. They refused to work on Sunday, formed church choirs and brass bands, and sponsored such recreational activities as wrestling matches. They also favored their own foods-meat and vegetables wrapped in pie crust, called "pasties". Some of the men rose to political prominence, such as legislators Richard Tregaskis and Luke Williams.

The Welsh who were not Mormons were dominant in mining areas in north Idaho. Wardner, the first mining town in the Bunker Hill region, was made up mostly of Welsh miners who had worked the Cornwall tin mines. They later moved to Kellogg. Most were single men, lived in boarding houses, and were sometimes the butt of jokes by other miners because of their difficulties with the English language. A group of Welsh and Cornish miners from Butte worked in the mines at Gibbonsville in Lemhi County during the peak mining years of 1880 to 1906. A few Welsh also settled in American Falls, one of whose children was blue-eyed, red-haired David Davis, elected governor of Idaho in 1919.

The Irish sometimes favored settling together because of the strong anti-Catholic sentiment among Americans. In his statistical study of Idaho mining camps in 1870 and 1880, Elliott West discovered that one in four miners and one in four of the skilled persons in mining towns were Irish. Most were males; in Boise County, for example, Irish men outnumbered women 285 to 37.

Half the miners in the Wood River area in the 1880s were also Irish, and they likewise comprised a substantial proportion of the military in territorial Idaho. These Irish also contributed individually. Robert Dempsey, a glassblower in Ireland before he came to Idaho, mined, worked as an Indian interpreter, and established a trading post near Blackfoot on the Snake River. He founded the town of Dempsey, which later became Lava Hot Springs. Another early resident was an Irishman named Murphy who built a toll gate and charged a fee for using his private road near the present town of McCammon.

Irish women also were enterprising. Anna, Margaret, and Mary O'Gara, sisters from County Cork, operated a rooming house and restaurants catering to timber workers in St. Maries. Witty, amiable, and "respectable", the O'Garas did not hesitate to do a little bootlegging on the side. As Ruby El Hult reported, once when officers raided their place, Margaret "poured her whiskey into a clean and sterile chamber pot and placed it under the bed. The officers found it but did not recognize its contents as whiskey." During another raid Margaret "brought her small whiskey keg into the kitchen and spread her voluminous skirts around it. There she stood adamant while officers searched the quarters."

As part of labor-union activity, which they sometimes dominated, the Irish were highly visible in activities on St. Patrick's Day. Fenian Clubs, Irish Clubs, the O'Conner School of Dancers, and other such organizations allowed immigrants from the Emerald Isle to continue to celebrate their own culture and history.

 

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Chinese

The next national group to come to Idaho in force were the Chinese.

Many Chinese fortune seekers followed the gold boom to Idaho in the 1860s. By 1870 there were 4,274 in Idaho, more than one fourth of all the people in the territory. That year, approximately 60 percent of all Idaho miners were Chinese. They were also packers, cooks, domestics, merchants, doctors, launderers, and gardeners. A typical population is shown in the example of the mining town of Pierce, Idaho. Of the 445 Chinese men and 8 Chinese women living in Pierce in 1870 the average age was approximately thirty-two years; one to eleven people lived together in households. The group consisted of 411 miners, 14 gamblers, 3 hotel cooks, 3 blacksmiths, 3 gardeners, 2 laundryman, and 1 each as trader, hotel keeper, merchant, hotel waiter, barber, doctor, and Chinese agent.

Substantial numbers of Chinese worked in all Idaho mining districts, not only in the 1860s but also in the 1870s and 1880s. Many "celestials" grew fruits and vegetables for mining camps, hauling them in two large hemp baskets equally balanced on either side of a heavy, wooden shoulder yoke, or in a wooden vegetable cart. Several communities boasted Chinese gardens. The community known today as Garden City was so named in honor of the Chinese who lived and worked there. In Lewiston, Boise, St. Maries, and elsewhere Idahoans were eating Chinese food well before the East or Midwest acquired a taste for it. C. K. Ah-Fong of Boise was a well-known herb doctor, duly licensed by the territory.

Some 4,000 Chinese worked on the construction of the Northern Pacific Railway; others worked on the Oregon Short Line, Great Northern, and Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul and their branches. They also helped build the railroad and bridge at American Falls and worked in the railroad shops at Eagle Rock and Pocatello.

The number of Chinese in Idaho declined after 1870. There were 3,379 in Idaho in 1880; 2,500 in 1890; and 1,500 in 1900. Part of the reason for this decline was the anti-Chinese sentiment of the 1880s. In 1890 the Idaho legislature barred Chinese or "Mongolians" from holding mining lands. In 1897 the legislature restricted them from any mining activity. They suffered from several savage attacks; dozens were killed in prejudicial violence. Their religions, customs, clothes, burials, manners, queues of hair, insistence that their bones be transported back to China-all were ridiculed. The Chinese population declined everywhere except Boise, which was known as Cowrie City, the central Chinese community. Boise's Chinatown was first located on Idaho Street between 6th and 8th streets. About 1900 city authorities demanded that it be moved to 7th and Front streets, where it remained for the next seventy years.

After World War II the American attitude toward Chinese changed. As allies in the war they were viewed positively. Those born in the United States saw themselves as American citizens and worked to bring family members from the old country. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was repealed in 1943, making naturalization possible. Nevertheless, ldaho's Chinese population remains small. In 1980 only 625 people in the state claimed Chinese ancestry. They still have the traditional Chinese New Year, which is celebrated throughout the day and night with firecrackers, roast-pig dinners, Chinese and American candies, and special Chinese whistles. Paper dragons are popular in city and national parades, and Chinese paper lanterns adorn local festivities.

 

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Mormons

An extended essay on the Mormons in The Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups written by Dean May, a historian formerly of Middleton, Idaho, suggests that the Mormons have always regarded themselves as a people in the same sense that Jews, blacks, Hispanics, and Basques are considered a distinct people.

The case for understanding Mormons as an ethno-religious people rather than simply as another religious group rests on many considerations. Mormons have (or at least used to have) a distinctive vocabulary, shared history, unique theological beliefs, definite in-group boundaries (prohibitions on the use of alcohol, tobacco, tea, and coffee), emphasis on in-group marriage, and a strong sense of peoplehood, which includes the "brother" and "sister" terminology. Mormons' block settlement, their modified self-sufficient economy, their gradual identification with Idaho, and their rural-urban transition all parallel the experience of many other ethnic groups in Idaho. Their agricultural skills, English-language background, and knowledge of western culture made their transition easier than that of many others, but the broad process of adjustment and accommodation was similar to other ethnic groups. Like others described in this chapter, the Mormons were gradually accepted into the larger society because of their economic contribution, their growing political power, and their own accommodation to the underlying values of the dominant society.

Mormons who settled in Idaho were, in approximately equal numbers, British, Scandinavians, and Americans. A substantial number of the British were Welsh, who settled in the Malad Valley and Bear Lake Valley. Many of the Welsh spoke Cymric, were clannish, and expressed their fierce nationality in their music, poetry, and the perpetuation of their language and national customs. They celebrated Saint David's Day (first two days of March); held "eisteddfods" for the development of their literary, theatrical, and musical abilities; and organized Cambrian societies. Census figures of Malad Valley showed 400 Welsh in 1890. The people were zealous Mormon converts, and one reason is that their religion helped them preserve their language and customs. Mormon scriptures were published in Cymric, and Mormon communities vied for Welsh settlers because this would assure, or so they believed, good singers for the choir. The person who gave the Mormon Tabernacle Choir national status was Evan Stephens, a Welshman whose family settled in St. John, just north of Malad. That singing tradition continued; the Welsh chorus from Malad was invited to sing at the two inaugurations of Governor John V. Evans, of Welsh Mormon heritage, in Boise.

Another large group of Mormon settlers in Idaho were Scandinavians. Some came directly from Sweden, Norway, and Denmark; others went to Utah in the 1850s and 1860s, worked on the Utah and Northern Railway, and then relocated in the upper Snake River area. Scandinavians represented about one third of all the Mormons who settled in Idaho in the last third of the nineteenth century. Scandinavians from Utah's Brigham City and Hyrum established St. Charles and Ovid in Bear Lake Valley in 1864, Mink Creek in 1871, Weston in 1875, and Driggs in the 1880s. Mormon Danes were located in Oneida, Bingham, and Bear Lake counties. They were farmers, stockmen, craftsmen, or worked for ranchers, the railroad, and the U & I Sugar Company. They were good builders of homes, business establishments, flour mills, bakeries, and power plants.

Many of the Scandinavians brought with them a folk tradition of celebrating May Day Eve with bonfires, merrymaking, group singing, and speech-making, followed the next day by a colorful Maypole dance and feast. The children might pick spring flowers and fill May baskets and place them on the steps of friends' and neighbors' homes. In some communities attention was paid to Midsummer Day, "Midsommarfest" (June 24), a celebration of the summer solstice-the beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere-that dates back to pre-Christian times. It was a time for visiting friends and relatives, enjoying traditional foods, wearing traditional costumes, singing folk songs, and performing folk dances. There were picnics, parades, and pageants. In some communities this holiday was postponed and celebrated in connection with Mormon Pioneer Day on July 24; in others, Midsummer and May Day Eve were celebrated together. In still others the celebrations were scheduled on June 14, the day the Mormon mission opened in Scandinavia in 1850. Scandinavians enjoyed dances, music festivals, and theatrical performances throughout the year and had a salutary influence on the communities in which they settled.

The minutes of meetings of Mormon men and women in these ethnic villages where Danish, Norwegian, or Swedish was still the predominant languages are fascinating reading, weaving, as some of them did, a mixture of English and Danish, Norwegian, or Swedish

A third important group of Mormons were the Swiss, who settled villages in the Bear Lake Valley (including Bern and Geneva) in the 1860s and 1870s. Farmers and stockmen, they accumulated large cattle herds, made Swiss cheese and butter, held Swiss Days, and continued to maintain their traditions and customs. Most of Idaho's Swiss settlers were Mormons. There were 249 Swiss natives in Bear Lake County in 1890, 362 in 1900. There were also 219 Swiss in Fremont County in 1910

Bern was founded by John Kunz in 1873 when he was called by Brigham Young to raise cattle and make cheese for the local settlers and for export to Salt Lake City. Geneva was founded by Henry Touvscher in 1879. Both towns enjoyed Swiss yodeling, sauerkraut parties, and competition in handcrafted articles.

 

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Scandinavians

Like the Mormon Scandinavians, their fellow nationals of other faiths also adapted well to the Idaho settlement process.

In 1900 Scandinavians constituted approximately one-fourth of the total foreign-born in Idaho. They included not only Danes, Norwegians, and Swedes but Finns as well. Finnish immigrants came in smaller numbers than the other three but were nevertheless an important segment.

Most non-Mormon Scandinavians had migrated first to Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, where they worked in the forests, before moving on to north Idaho to become loggers. Some worked in north Idaho mines during World War I, settling in Coeur d'Alene, Wallace, Potlatch, Moscow, Bonners Ferry, Sandpoint, and Troy. Maintaining cultural ties for many years, they sponsored group excursions, held midsummer festivals, and organized ethnic clubs. Norwegians celebrated Norwegian Independence Day (May 17); Swedes celebrated Walpurgis Night or Spring Festival (April 30) with singing, folk dancing, bonfires, and Swedish-style refreshments. Some communities included both of the two denominational Lutheran churches.

New Sweden, west of Idaho Falls, was a result of the formation of the Great Western Land Company, which constructed the Great Western and Porter irrigation canals in 1895. The settlers built a Lutheran church and large barns even before they finished their houses. By 1919 about 12,000 acres had been cleared and a system of dams and reservoirs established, and settlers filled up the area. The New Sweden Pioneer Association was formed to "keep alive the old memories of pioneer days" and to operate the New Sweden School." Residents celebrated occasionally with potluck picnics, Swedish accordion music, square dances, horse-drawn wagon rides for children, a midsummer pole raising, and folk music.

Other communities of non-Mormon Swedes were in Firth, Minidoka County, and Nampa. Swedish children in Minidoka sometimes complained that other children laughed at their Swedish dialect, clothing, and food; their parents laughed right back at the Missouri dialect, Ozark dress, and cornpone and chittlins of their southern neighbors. Among the traditional foods of the Minidoka Swedes were clobbered milk; "valling," a dish made from potato starch with nuts and raisins; fruit cornpotes; "sill" or salt herring; head cheese; "kalvost" or milk pudding; and "skorpor," a rusk (sweet raised bread dried and cooked again in the oven). The large Swedish community around Nampa had gone first to Illinois and then moved to Canyon County. They also had an active Scandinavian Society.

Most Finnish immigrants came to Idaho between 1890 and 1920, the majority of them settling in Silver Valley in north Idaho and in Long Valley in central Idaho; most of those in north Idaho were miners from Minnesota and Wisconsin. Because Finnish is not a Germanic-based language, as is English, the Finns had difficulty learning English. Politically active, the north Idaho Finns constructed six workers' halls within a forty-mile radius of each other but built no church. In Enaville, their chief center, they held workers' meetings and performed monthly amateur plays sometimes infiltrated with socialist doctrine. Many of them sympathized with the Industrial Workers of the World. There were dances at the halls, weddings, basket socials, and dramas. They organized athletic teams and held track meets in which only Finns participated. Once, when loggers were moving logs down the North Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River, a group of Finnish women came to loudly protest their use of dynamite-it scared the setting hens off their nests and killed the embryos in the eggs.

The Long Valley Finns, primarily at Elo and Roseberry in present-day Valley County near McCall, were farmers and loggers. The first Finnish immigrants arrived in Long Valley in the 1890's. They came from eastern Oregon where they had tried homesteading. Long Valley with its forests, mountains and green meadows appealed to them more than the Oregon desert country. Most of the Finns came to Long Valley between 1900 and 1925. Many came directly from the coal mines in Wyoming and by 1905 about 40% of Long Valley's population was Finnish. Most of the later wave of Finnish settlers took up homesteads in upper Long Valley on the east side.

The Finnish men were noted for their skills in woodworking and log construction. They built many sturdy log houses, saunas and farm buildings in Long Valley. Some of these buildings are 70 - 80 years old and still in use today. Many Finnish women wove rag rugs for their houses on homemade looms. Some of their other homestead chores included baking their famous Finn bread and raising a garden. Before doctors came to the Valley some of the Finnish women were the area's only midwives.

A well-known Finnish cultural artifact was the sauna, which contained two rooms, a dressing room, and a steam room with a wood-burning stove. Several apple-sized rocks were heated on the top of the stove with a water barrel nearby. Tiered benches were built around the wall, and the hardiest bathers sat on the highest bench where the temperature was hottest. The men often hit themselves with branches to stimulate their circulation. After sufficient steaming, they raced out and dove into a nearby lake or river to cool off. Saunas were heated Saturday nights. When the men had finished and the temperature had cooled somewhat, women used the sauna. Another Finnish custom was celebrating "Juhannus", or St. John's Day, on June 24 (the equivalent of the midsummer festival), commemorating the return of summer. An all-day picnic included music, footraces, speeches, and food and drink. The community band played, a church choir sang, and the children recited verses. The Finns in north and central Idaho knew or soon learned how to ski. They fashioned their skis from red pine and old leather harness straps.

The largest Finnish community, Elo, was on the Elo Road southeast of present-day McCall. Named for its religious leader and teacher, Rev. John Eloheimo, Elo had a store, post office, school and a meeting hall. Many of Elo's Finns were Lutherans. In 1917 they built the Finn Church located on the Farm-To-Market Road about five miles north of Roseberry and the Valley County Museum. It is one of the best preserved buildings erected in that early pioneer era.

In the late 1880's, settlers, most from Missouri, began arriving in Long Valley, lured by the lush and fertile grasslands which were being offered free to homesteaders by the U. S. Government. By 1890 a small community began to grow up around a post office-store near the center of the valley. It was named after the first postmaster, Lewis R. Roseberry. The post office was soon acquired by H.T. Boydstun who, with a group of investors, platted out the town site and began selling lots. By 1905 Roseberry flourished as the trading center of the area and boasted several businesses.

Officially incorporated in 1907, Roseberry was vigorously promoted by its founders through its energetic Commercial Club. By 1910 the town had two churches, a grade and high school, a telephone exchange, bank, hotel, livery stable, newspaper office, a dry-goods store, and other businesses along with several residences. The town had become the largest community in the valley and was considered the obvious site for the county seat of the soon to be created Valley County. But Roseberry's fame and fortunes were soon to change.

In 1914 disaster struck. A long and hard fought battle to bring the proposed Long Valley Railroad spur through Roseberry was lost. The Railroad decided to locate its line one and a half miles to the west, and establish a new town site called Donnelly. Investors soon turned their attention to the railway and the new town. Many buildings and businesses that were once the backbone of Roseberry were literally picked up in whole or in pieces and moved via horse and wagon or sledges to Donnelly. The last commercial establishment closed when the McDougal store held a public auction in 1939. A few people still lived in Roseberry at that time. The grade school and high school were moved to new buildings in Donnelly. The last school class held in Roseberry was 1959 when the grade school reopened briefly for 7^th-8^th grades, but then its bells fell silent and in a few short years the white pine boards were removed to build yet another Donnelly structure.

The vision to revive Roseberry as a historic site began in earnest when the Long Valley Preservation Society was organized in 1973. One of the goals of the Society is to acquire and preserve as many early Long Valley buildings as possible in a town setting located on the original Rose-berry town site. Some of the buildings you will see on the walking tour were part of the original town. Others have been brought in from other locations in the valley.

The Long Valley Preservation Society members are working hard to restore and preserve the buildings in the museum complex. The Society plans to acquire additional buildings and create the atmosphere of early Roseberry.

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Western Europeans

The Germanic peoples who came to Idaho were from Holland, Prussia, various states of southern and western Germany, diverse sections of the Austrian Empire, Switzerland, and the Volga and Black Sea areas of Russia where Germans had moved generations earlier yet retained their identity.

There are problems in categorizing these people because "Germans", of whom 5,221 were listed in the 1910 census, might have been listed separately in the census under Russians, Prussians, Austrians, or Dutch (often confused with Deutsch, which is the German word for "German"). Many of Idaho's foreign-born Germans came from the Midwest rather than directly from Europe; the peak year of German immigration to the United States was 1882. Many of them fled their homeland to avoid lifetime military conscription.

Germanic people began coming to Idaho Territory in the 1860s as miners, investors, assayers, brewers, and bakers. In the 1880s other Germans joined the rush to Coeur d'Alene and nearby districts. Still others arrived when Indian reservation land was opened for settlement around the turn of the century. Groups of Germans worked in mines and on farms in Bonners Ferry around 1900; others maintained a German Methodist Church at Rathdrum. Post Falls, in Kootenai County, was named in honor of Frederick Post of Herburn, Germany, who moved to north Idaho in 1871. Frank Bruegeman, who lived in the Cottonwood area of Camas Prairie, wrote to a German language newspaper in the Midwest and recruited a group of Germans from Illinois, who settled the town of Keuterville and built a Catholic church there. Others who settled around Cottonwood also built a Catholic church and parochial school. Another company of Germans formed the neighboring town of Greencreek, named after Greencreek, Illinois, from which they came. With so many German Catholics in the vicinity, they persuaded the Benedictine order to establish a convent, the Priory of St. Gertrude. Farther north, German Lutherans settled around Leland and Kendrick, and in their communities in Juliaetta and Cameron they built two churches.

A small community of Germans from a drought-stricken area of Kansas settled Council Valley; others went to Minidoka County; still others to St. Maries and Moscow. There were Mormon Germans around Blackfoot, Rexburg, Iona, Soda Springs, the Bear Lake Valley, and Teton County. Russian Germans settled as groups in the Aberdeen (Mennonites), Dubois, and Tabor areas in eastern Idaho. Another group of German Russians was in American Falls, where Lutheran and German Congregational churches were built.

Germans were also early settlers of Boise, where there were 1,000 in 1900 and 6,000 in 1910-approximately 10 percent of the population. The young men organized a Turnverein, a club dedicated to physical fitness and patriotism. They sponsored picnics, gymnastic exhibitions, singing, and dancing. In 1904 the German-American architect Charles Hummel built a Turnverein Hall in Boise with a stage, a 400-seat auditorium with a 200-seat balcony, and an exercise area in the basement. The hall was sold in 1916 when Germans and their organizations became objects of suspicion during World War I.

The Germans made important contributions to Idaho music. Nearly every small town had a brass band. Towns with a substantial number of Germans celebrated Oktoberfest, the Feast of St. Nicholas, and May Day. During the 1930s an elite group of Germans and Austrians came to Idaho to teach skiing at Sun Valley Resort. As a result, German and Austrian folk-music festivals, decorations, food, and chalet architecture became prominent in the area.

In addition to Germans and Austrians, there were three unique Dutch communities in Idaho. One, founded in 1908, was on the Camas Prairie in Idaho County where the Dutch established Christian Reformed and Dutch Reformed churches in Grangeville. Some of these settlers moved to the Salmon Tract in south Idaho and founded the town of Appledorn, later changed to Amsterdam. They built a Dutch Reformed Church and parsonage. Although many later left for other settlements, enough Holland Americans remained to maintain its ethnic character. A third Dutch settlement is much more recent. It began in the 1970s when a group of Dutch dairymen left California and relocated in the Jerome-Gooding area where they continued their dairy product operations. Their Dutch Reformed church serves about too families around Jerome, Buhl, and Twin Falls.

Belgian, Luxembourg, and French immigrants have established no ethnic communities. A non-Mormon Swiss group settled Island Park in Fremont County in the 1880s. Although the company that attracted them, the Arangee Land and Cattle Company, went broke in 1898, many of the Swiss remained as homesteaders and ranchers. After World War I a group of about 120 Czechs moved to Castleford, in Twin Falls County, where they maintained cultural traditions through lodges and community celebrations. Senators William E. Borah and Henry Dworshak, although not of this community, were of Czech origin.

 

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Southern Europeans

Italians came to Idaho, mostly during the years 1890 to 1920, to mine, farm, ranch, construct railroads, and start businesses.

In 1910, 2,627 Italians in Idaho lived in enclaves in Kellogg and Wallace, Bonners Ferry, Naples, Lava Hot Springs, Roston in Minidoka County, and Mullan and east of Priest River. The largest concentration was in Pocatello, where as many as 400 families were supported by railroad jobs. Almost half of these left after workers lost a nationwide railroad strike in 1922.

With 1,860 Greeks working on railroad construction, about 40 percent of the total railroad work force in Idaho in 1910 consisted of Italian and Greek immigrants. Many of the Greeks, who lived where rail-line activity was busiest, also left the state in 1922 as the result of the strike. Most of the Greeks and Italians lived in the railroad center of Pocatello, although there were pockets in Boise, St. Maries, Potlatch, Sandpoint, Orofino, Wallace, and Rupert. In addition to railroads, they worked in sawmills and mines and opened small businesses such as shoe repair shops, restaurants, and saloons. The Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches played a central role in fostering an ethnic consciousness among the state's Italian and Greek citizens.

There were also Portuguese, mostly from the Azores, and some Syrians and Lebanese, particularly in Gooding County. The Basques, who are from northern Spain and southern France, are discussed below.

 

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The Basque

The people who call themselves "Euskaidunak" or "speakers and lovers of the Basque language" are perhaps the most well-known of all of Idaho's European ethnics." The Idaho Basques came from the Pyrenees in north-central Spain, mostly from farms and villages within a twenty-mile radius of the Basque capital of Guernica.

Beginning about 1895 and continuing for another fifty years, they worked as sheepherders, ranch hands, and sheep shearers. Their life was lonely and isolated, something to which the gregarious and community-oriented Basques were not accustomed.

The Basque sheepherds often took part of their wages in ewes that they ran alongside those of their employer. Once their own flocks were substantial, they broke away, seeking their own range by leasing from private landowners or moving onto unclaimed rangeland. Thus Basque-owned sheep outfits spread throughout southwestern Idaho. Most made certain their children received an education to obtain different work. Not many second-generation Basques are sheepherders.

Most Basques coming to Idaho were single, expecting to earn and save money and return home. But many remained, sent for families, and established ethnic centers in several Idaho communities. Boise was the center of Basque settlement in southwestern Idaho, and the southeastern section of the city's downtown came to be dotted with boarding houses and pelota courts. A Basque priest served the people's needs beginning in 1911, and the parish established the Church of the Good Shepherd in 1918. The enclave started to decline in 1920 as more Basques became "Americanized" and settled in other parts of the city. They abandoned their separate church and reaffiliated with other Catholics. Nevertheless, Boise still remains an important center for Basque life and culture and, drawing from smaller Basque communities in Mountain Home, Nampa, Hagerman,

Twin Falls, Shoshone, and Hailey, boasts the largest concentration of Basques outside Europe.

Basques have contributed color and variety to Idaho life in the continued existence of Basque hotels and boarding houses that feature delectable ethnic cuisine and informal, family-style atmospheres. The Basque boardinghouse was an important home away from home for Basque herders, and the women cooks and helpers treated all the men as sons or brothers. Towns like Shoshone had half a dozen such boardinghouses in the 1930s and 1940s. At Basque festivals, held annually in Boise, Mountain Home, and Shoshone, hundreds of spectators are treated to Basque cooking, athletic events (stone-lifting and wood chopping), and folk dancing. A Basque Museum and Cultural Center in Boise preserves artifacts, books, music, and other elements of Basque history to acquaint Idahoans and other visitors with their heritage. The Oinkari Basque Dancers have performed throughout Idaho and in festivals and tours throughout the nation.

 

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Jews

Jews are considered to be a separate culture even though they may be from many nations and cultures. In relation to the majority of the populace in the countries where they have lived, Jews have been treated as a distinct people. That ethnicity results from their religion as they believe to have originated from the same ancient ancestor unless they are converts.

A few Jews, mostly single young men who were born in Germany (which included parts of Poland, Austria, and Hungary), spent a few years in the East and then ventured to Idaho in the 1860s and 1870s. Coming as peddlers, small traders, and wage earners, they quickly learned English, opened stores, and rose rapidly out of poverty. Others started in business as "sutlers"(a civilian merchant who sells provisions to an army in the field) for the U.S. Army.

Larger numbers, mostly from Central and Eastern Europe, entered the territory and state between 1881 and 1919. They spoke Yiddish, shared a common European culture, and practiced a more conservative form of Judaism than did their German predecessors. As they settled in the Boise and Pocatello areas, their large numbers made possible a group ethnic identity.

Most of the Jews from Eastern Europe remained orthodox, obeyed dietary laws and laws of ritual and ceremony in their religious and personal lives, and held religious services in Hebrew. Members of other sects came to the United States from Western Europe and brought a more liberal form of Judaism. Services were conducted in English, and they more easily acculturated to American society. As East Europeans made adaptations and adjustments to American life, in religion as in other aspects of life, they established conservative congregations that were similar to the more westernized groups; both groups represented an Americanization of Judaism. Whatever the form of their religion, Idaho's Jews celebrated such festivals as the Feast of the Booths, Hanukkah or the Festival of Lights, Passover, and such High Holy Days as Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashannah.

Among the early Jewish residents of Idaho was Robert Grostein, born in what later became Poland, who came to America at age four, went to California when he was nineteen, and in 1862 joined the rush of miners to Idaho and opened a store in Lewiston. For thirty-three years Grostein and his partner and brother-in-law Abraham Binnard, who joined him in 1865, ran a profitable business. Grostein built several public buildings and "one of the finest residences" in the city, owned 3,500 acres of farmland, and operated a branch store in Warren that he supplied by using his 200 pack mules. Louis Grostein, Robert's younger brother, operated stores in Elk City, Warren, and Lewiston. Robert Grostein's daughter Leah Grostein was the first Jewish woman to be born and married in Idaho Territory. Leah married Aaron Kuhn of Colfax, Washington Territory in 1884. Aaron, who was a German Jewish immigrant, became the President of the Spokane & Eastern Trust Company, which was eventually acquired by Seafirst, and then Bank of America. The Grostein and Binnard families comprise the enitre Jewish section of Normal Hill Cemetery in Lewiston, Idaho, the oldest cemetery in the city.

Joseph Alexander left Adelsheim, Germany, at age sixteen, worked in New York until he learned English, and in the 1860s moved to the Idaho gold fields and opened retail businesses in Lewiston, Genesee, and Grangeville. His partner was Aaron Freidenrich, who was born in Bavaria and went to Lewiston in 1868. He later opened a general store in Florence, then Warrens, and then moved to Grangeville.

David and Nathan Falk, brothers, were born in Eggenhausen, Bavaria. They came to the United States while still teenagers. In 1866 Nathan moved to Boise and worked as a bookkeeper for his brother, who had gone to Boise in 1864. In 1868 the two opened their own general store and five years later expanded to include a third brother, Sigmund.

Alexander Rossi was born in Zybrechken on the Rhine, came to the United States at age eighteen, worked in New York three years, joined the California gold rush in 1849, later went to Oregon City, and then in 1861 moved on to Lewiston. He went the next year to Idaho City, where he engaged in the lumber business and operated an assay office. In 1865 he relocated in Boise and built that city's first sawmill with his partner Albert H. Robie, from Lewiston. Rossi headed the construction of the Ridenbaugh Canal, was the first assayer in charge of the Boise City Assay Office, and did survey work in Idaho and Oregon.

Later comers included Simon Friedman, a German native, who moved to the Wood River gold and silver district in 1881, opened a general store, and invested in mining property. Another was Nate Block, who was born in Omelno, Russia, came to the United States when he was twenty-two, and moved to Pocatello, where he operated a clothing store.

Perhaps the most prominent immigrant was Moses Alexander, who came to Boise in 1891 and was later elected governor. We, have described him briefly in Chapter Twenty. His election as governor in 1914 was astonishing to the Jews since there were not more than 250 voting Jews in the state. But a survey of Boise newspapers reveals that Jewish merchants were regarded as pillars of the community, and their comings and goings were reported as regularly as those of other prominent citizens.

In 1895, at Alexander's suggestion, Boise Jews incorporated under the name Congregation Beth Israel. A temple was dedicated in 1896, with David Falk presiding over the services. It is the oldest synagogue in continuous use west of the Mississippi. By 1912 there were enough orthodox Jews in Boise to organize Congregation Ahavath Israel, which built a synagogue in 1949. In 1990 the various groups merged.

Pocatello, a younger community than Boise, established a congregation about the time of World War I, a B'nai B'rith Lodge in 1923, and its first synagogue in 1947. In 1961 Temple Emanuel was built. Eli M. Oboler described Pocatello Judaism as "Conformoxaho," meaning part Conservative, part Reform, part Orthodox, and a lot Idaho.

 

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Japanese

The first generation of Japanese immigrants made Idaho their home in the 1880s.

During the course of their lives in Idaho the Japanese lifted themselves, through back-breaking work, from the migrant laborers who followed the railroad and agricultural circuit to become successful merchants, tenant farmers, and other business people.

Most of the early Japanese migrants came from Hawaii, where they had contracted to work on sugar plantations. Many came with wives and families, and others sent for brides as soon as they could settle down. Most of the immigrants paid for their passage and had more money in their pockets than the average European immigrant. Japanese society thus took on an air of permanence unlike that of many other immigrants, even though the Issei, those born in Japan, could not own land or become American citizens.

The Japanese were not always welcomed. The Idaho Daily Statesman carried articles in 1892 supporting Mountain Home, Nampa, and Caldwell residents who had ordered "Japs" to keep out of the state. Japanese immigration was, in fact, barred from the United States from 1924 to 1942. However, Japanese immigration had lasted for more than forty years (1882-1924), during which time the Issei could establish themselves, summon their families, teach their children Japanese traditions, and at the same time encourage their acculturation. Issei could not buy land, but they could and did lease it until 1923, when Idaho passed an act prohibiting Japanese from securing property. (The act remained on the books in Idaho until 1955.) Bonneville County had from 200 to 250 Japanese throughout 1900, 1901, 1920, and 1930. By 1980 there were 2,066 persons claiming Japanese ancestry in Idaho.

When the Oregon Short Line began construction in 1882, recruiters were sent to California and Hawaii. Within two years 1,000 Japanese men were working on the line, and by 1892 there were about 3,500. Japanese labor camps sprang up along the line through south Idaho, with shop headquarters in Nampa and Pocatello. In 1900 Japanese railroad crews worked in Ada County, Rexburg, and St. Anthony. By 1900 about 3,500 men were building branch lines in south Idaho, such as those from Murphy to Nampa and Emmett and from Weiser to New Meadows. In north Idaho a high proportion of the work force on the three transcontinental railroads was Japanese. Their earnings were low-from $1.10 to $1.50 per day-and they were lodged in broken-down boxcars fitted with wooden bunks that accommodated from six to twelve men.

Many of the railroad workers took leaves of absence to work for Utah-Idaho Sugar Company and other firms in the sugar beet fields. In 1907 all the 4,000 acres of sugar beets in Idaho Falls, Sugar City, Blackfoot, and Moore were worked exclusively by Japanese. Thinning beets by stooping with a short-handled hoe, and topping by reaching down for each harvested beet and cutting off the top, was hard work-"the kind of work to break not only backs but Spirits too". 1924 But then, as Buddhists and Shintoists, the Japanese had learned to accept whatever happens, to show gratitude for what they had, and to know that everything would come out right. They were not afraid of hard manual labor. By 1910 about 1,000 Japanese in south Idaho were employed in thinning and topping sugar beets, building railroads, constructing irrigation ditches, working as domestic labor, and employed in such private businesses as supply stores, boarding houses, restaurants, barber shops, pool rooms, and tailor shops.

Because the Japanese had achieved, by the 1920s, a near balance of sexes, they were more easily able to retain their language and customs within the privacy of their homes, where the Butsudan shrine (representation of Buddha) commemorating ancestors had its niche. Traditional foods were served, and traditional marriages and funerals were held. The Japanese also had social gatherings, dinners, and annual picnics. They honored their elders and took care of each other. Although the men learned English, the women, more protected, had less opportunity to learn the language. The husband spoke Japanese with his family in the home, thus helping the family retain its language.

Many adopted the dominant religion of the region and affiliated with Christian denominations. Japanese children (Nisei), being born here, had access to the vote, the right to own land, and the civil protections denied their parents. They formed the Japanese American Citizen League (JACL) to assist in the process of Americanization and to insure their civil rights. By the 1920S the Nisei outnumbered the lssei. Parents were caught between the desire to preserve traditional ways and the hope that their children would find success in America.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor that brought America into World War II, 110,000 Japanese from the West Coast were forcibly taken to war relocation camps in Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, and other places in the interior. These relocatees did not affect the permanent settlers in Idaho, but were nevertheless often subjected to prejudice, abuse, and hatred.

After the war, many of the internees remained in Idaho to make their home, especially in the Nampa, Caldwell, and Weiser areas. Work and educational opportunities gradually expanded, anti-Japanese legislation was repealed, and the people were allowed to live as they wished. In 1952 legislation made alien Japanese eligible for citizenship; Japanese immigration resumed. In 1955 Japanese Americans successfully obtained repeal of the Alien Land Law and in 1962 Idaho voters passed a constitutional amendment that deleted the section disqualifying Japanese from full citizenship rights.

 

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Hispanics

Idaho's largest ethnic group has its roots in Mexico and the American Southwest.

Many Hispanics and mestizos (people of mixed Spanish and Indian heritage) worked their way up from New Mexico prior to Idaho's gold rush of the 1860s.

Once gold mining ensued, Hispanics arrived in Idaho Territory to work as miners and packers. Mexican miners worked placers in the hills near Idaho City; others found rich quartz deposits in the Salmon River mountains. Ramon Meras and Anthony Yane operated pack strings out of Lewiston; "Spanish George" ran a pack outfit out of Grangeville for twenty years; another group was based in the Loon Creek Mining District. Jesus Urquides had a large pack-string in the Boise district and built thirty cabins to house packers. He once moved nine tons of steel cable several miles in length up a mountain range to a mine in the Boise Basin. In Boise the enclave between Main Street and the Boise River was known as "Spanish Town"; some of its buildings were still standing as late as 1972.

In the 1870S Mexican vaqueros-cowboys-were hired to work ranches in Owyhee County and elsewhere, where some acquired land and stock of their own. Joseph Amera raised hundreds of cattle near White Bird, and Guadalupe Valez had a large herd in south-central Idaho.

Hispanics were employed by the hundreds to lay railway track in Idaho in the 1880s and 1890s, and many found secure employment in railroad towns like Nampa and Pocatello. Others worked in north Idaho in the Bunker Hill mine and smelters. In this century the development of large-scale agriculture in south Idaho and its subsequent need for cheap labor encouraged Mexicans to come in large numbers. Hand labor was required to pick fruit, thin and top sugar beets, weed and harvest beans, -and pick potatoes. Many of these farm workers later became permanent residents, and by 1920 Idaho had 1,125 residents of Mexican birth.

World War 11 generated a new demand for agricultural workers. Growers induced Congress to create the "bracero" program that allowed farmers to use Mexican nationals to harvest crops. Employers were required to pay transportation costs, cover living expenses, and provide proper treatment. The Forest Service also hired Mexicans to plant seedlings and fight fires; crews of Mexicans were paid to fight blister rust.

The construction and expansion of food-processing plants in Idaho in the 195os and 1960S increased industry demand for laborers to work in fields and in the new factories. In 1950 only 326 persons of Mexican birth were counted as permanent residents; many had gone to California during World War II. By 1960, 2,241 were calling Idaho home. Although job opportunities expanded, difficult problems emerged. The migratory farm work, the language barrier, and little financial and counseling assistance combined to give Hispanics the highest school dropout rate in Idaho; as late as the 1980s less than 40 percent graduated from high school.

In 1990 there were about 65,000 Hispanics in Idaho, about two-thirds of whom were citizens. A developing industry, the production of hops-a labor-intensive crop-employs many Hispanics. In 1986 Anhaeuser-Busch established a camp for about 150 Mexicans working in the hops fields north of Bonners Ferry.

Concern has increased for the operation of "decent" and "sanitary" labor centers. The Twin Falls office of the Idaho Migrant Council has taken over the maintenance and operation of the labor center a mile south of Twin Falls that has housed migrants for decades. The dilapidated housing has been transformed into a model labor camp equipped with new insulation, wiring, bathrooms, kitchen cabinets, and doors and windows.

With more Mexicans establishing permanent residence in the state, the Idaho Association of Mexican Americans was formed in 1976 to perpetuate Hispanic customs among their children.There are now dozens of Mexican restaurants, local tortilla factories, and bilingual teachers, nurses, and store clerks in most southern Idaho towns. Spanish-language radio stations and churches flourish, and Mexican bands play for dances, weddings, and fiestas. Mexican Americans give strong emphasis to familial bonds, and extended families have gathered in many places, with parents, siblings, cousins, uncles, aunts, and grandparents. The importance of an extended family is reflected in the care with which Mexican Americans choose god. parents for their children-someone to took after them in case Of death of the biological parents.

Religion has played an important role in Mexican American communities. Although the vast majority are Roman Catholics there are many who are Mormons, and some have joined the Assembly of God and other charismatic groups. In the Burt Rupert area, for example, there were eight Spanish-language churches. A large tinted picture of the appearance of the Virgin Mary to Juan Diego had a prominent place at the front of the Burley Little Flower church, and small statues of the Virgin graced the front or back yards of many Hispanic homes. A statue of the Virgin was in the center of the lawn in front of the Guadalupe Center in Twin Falls.

Recognizing that Mexican Americans are a permanent part of their communities, Anglos have learned to enjoy many local Hispanic customs: the celebration of quincineras (the rite of passage for young women); Our Lady of Guadalupe and Las Posadas holidays that begin the Hispanic Christmas; fiestas and celebrations honoring patron saints; Cinco de Mayo, celebrating the Mexican defeat of the French army in 1862; Mexican Independence Day, September 16; and such musical groups as "Los Pequefios Ballerinas" and "Ballet Folklorico de Pocatello."

 

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African Americans

Although their numbers have always comprised less than 1 percent of Idaho's population, African-Americans have made important contributions to the state's history.

York, the personal servant of Captain William Clark, served with the government-sponsored expedition of Lewis and Clark. A few black explorers and trappers ventured into the area in the years that followed; and blacks mined in Idaho in the 1860s, even though whites in Boise County passed a law in 1863 to exclude blacks and Chinese from prospecting, and the territorial legislature considered a bill to prohibit black migration to Idaho.

Silver City reportedly had the largest concentration of black miners in the territory in the 1860s, and there were pockets of blacks in Boise County, near Wallace in northern Idaho, and at the mining camp of Custer in Lemhi County. The territorial census of 1870 reported sixty "free colored" people in Idaho. Of the twenty who lived in Boise, some were barbers, others cooks. With the growth of stockraising, black cowboys were also attracted to Idaho in the 1870s.

A few black converts to Mormonism came to the Salt Lake Valley in the late 1840s and later went to Idaho. Green Flake, for example, who drove Brigham Young's wagon to the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, later moved to Gray's Lake, near Idaho Falls, where he homesteaded and raised his family. Ned Leggroan, a former slave from Mississippi, also homesteaded in Bonneville County in the 1880s. Gobo Fango, orphaned in Africa, was smuggled into the United States by an LDS family in Layton, Utah. He herded sheep for the family north of Oakley Basin and was fatally shot there by a white cattleman in 1886.

Members of the Twenty-Fifth Infantry Regiment from Missoula, an all-black unit, were ordered to the Coeur d'Alene mining region in 1892 to crush the labor unrest. Seven years later, the Twenty-Fourth Infantry, another company of black soldiers, returned to the region to arrest striking miners. The Twenty-Fifth also fought devastating forest fire blazes near Avery and Wallace in 1910. One reporter wrote: "Black fire fighters made the mountains echo with their songs."

The 1910 census indicates that most of the 651 black residents in Idaho were waiters, servants, barbers, farm and railroad laborers, and, in the case of employed women, domestic or personal servants. A few were farmers or miners. About half lived in Pocatello and Boise, where they worked for Union Pacific Railroad Company. Ten years later there were 920 blacks in Idaho. In Boise in the 1920s they worked in clubs and hotels and in homes as handymen and domestics. They ran barbershops, rooming houses, a pool hall, a grocery. The Owyhee Hotel in the 1920s had fourteen black waiters. The largest concentration of blacks in the 1920s, however, was in Pocatello, where the men worked as laborers in the railroad yards, on section gangs, and as porters. Black railroad workers for the Union Pacific in Pocatello refused to join the 1922 strike led by white employees because they were not allowed to be members of the union.

As elsewhere, some prejudice and discrimination existed. The leading theater in Pocatello required blacks to sit on the left side of the theater; others reserved balconies for blacks and Indians. Yet blacks did have employment, lodges, clubs, and friends. They often sponsored educational events for blacks and whites. Social life usually centered around the church. Boise had an African Methodist Episcopal church and the Bethel Baptist Church, Pocatello the Bethel and Corinth Baptist churches.

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, many blacks left Idaho. There were only 595 blacks in Idaho in 1940, four-fifths of whom lived in cities. Programs of the New Deal provided road building and construction jobs and several all-black Civilian Conservation Corps camps. One of these was at Arrowrock Dam near Boise; two others were in Coeur d'Alene National Forest.

Idaho's African American population was 1,050 in 1950, some of them soldiers or former soldiers. Until the 1950s blacks were excluded from the YMCA and from working or dining in some restaurants. But in the years since World War II there have been black teachers in schools, black athletes at all the state's colleges and universities; and Les Puree became one of the first black mayors in the West when he was elected mayor of Pocatello in 1975. Puree, formerly a faculty member at Idaho State University and now president of Evergreen State College in Washington, served as chairman of the Idaho Democratic Party.

 

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Southeast Asians & Filipinos

The most recent ethnic groups to come to Idaho were the Vietnamese, Cambodians, Laotians, and Filipinos.

Approximately 1,800 Southeast Asian immigrants were resettled in Idaho between 1975 and 1988. Living primarily in Boise and Twin Falls, they have found employment in fish hatcheries, food-processing plants, electronics factories, as tailors, in service occupations and on farms.

Like other immigrants, they wish to assimilate but do not want to lose their culture. For instance, the Lao Association of Twin Falls sponsors cultural events as well as mutual assistance. There are traditional weddings, funerals, and New Year celebrations.

Some Filipinos came to Idaho in the early decades of the century as farm workers. By 1960 there were about 200 Filipinos in Idaho, most of them in rural areas. Since then, most of the immigrants have been professional people-nurses, engineers, business people. Half of the Filipinos in Idaho in 1990 lived in Boise or surrounding towns.

 

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A Rich Heritage

As the discussions above indicate, Idaho has been culturally rich from the time the first immigrants arrived. The state's history demonstrates that, despite occasions of intolerance and bigotry, the different cultures could prosper together without being submerged or crushed. The most compelling proof occurred as Idaho concluded its centennial celebrations in 1990 with the re-election of Pete Cenarrusa, a Catholic Basque, as secretary of state, and the election of Larry EchoHawk, an Indian Mormon, as the state's attorney general.

Pete Cenarrusa was born in Carey, the son of Basque immigrants, and graduated from Bellevue High School, then from the University of Idaho, where he was a member of the university's first national intercollegiate championship boxing team. After teaching at secondary schools in Cambridge, Carey, and Glenns Ferry, he became a Marine pilot during World War II, retiring with the rank of major, and then a farmer and sheep rancher in Carey. He was elected to the Idaho House of Representatives, where he served nine consecutive terms including, three as Speaker of the House. In 1967 he was appointed Secretary of State to fill the unexpired term of Edson Deal, who had died, and was elected in succeeding terms so that, by 1990, when he was reelected, he had served as a continuously elected state official for forty years-longer than any person in Idaho history.

Larry EchoHawk was born in Cody, Wyoming, one of six children of members of the Pawnee Tribe. He was educated in New Mexico and then attended Brigham Young University, where he played football and was named to the Academic All Conference team. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps, then went on to earn a Juiris Doctor degree from the University of Utah Law School and taught law at BYU, the University of Utah, and Idaho State University. He was named chief general counsel of the Shoshoni-Bannock tribe in 1977 and held that position for eight years. He was elected to the Idaho House of Representatives, served two terms, and then became Bannock County prosecutor. He was elected attorney general in 1990, the first Native American in U.S. history to hold statewide office. Early in 1991 USA Weekend featured EchoHawk on its cover as one of America's twenty most promising people in politics.