If you stood on this spot with a railroad surveyor in 1906, you would have gazed across a lush patchwork forest of large trees. The super hot 1910 fires burned the valley below and for years afterward the area presented travelers with a bleak view of black snags and thick brush. Today it takes a trained eye to recognize all of the changes caused by man in this valley.
The newly formed Forest Service had a lot to learn about planting trees in 1910. The foresters experimented on this ravaged landscape to see what would flourish. They imported walnut, red oak, hickory, cherry, yellow and Japan cedar to see if those hardwoods could grow in the Coeur d'Alene Mountains. The seedlings struggled for a few years before the harsh Idaho winters killed them all.
The Forest Service also tried planting cedars, pines, larch and firs from elsewhere in the United States. Few of these "off site" trees survived. Only later was it shown conclusively that local seed sources are best for reforestation, which is now standard practice in such projects.
Today the Coeur d'Alene Tree Nursery provides quality seedlings for national forests throughout the western U.S. The nursery also engages in tree improvement projects related to white pine blister rust resistance.
The Coeur d'Alene Nursery maintains a "seed bank" for our national forests. Forests collect cones for the nursery which then extracts, cleans, tests and stores seeds. When a forest orders seedlings, the nursery grows the stock originating in the same or similar environments in which the seedlings will be planted.
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Naming Names
The Milwaukee Road dotted the map of the Bitterroots with new names like Avery, Stetson and Kyle honoring company bigwigs and the railline itself gave rise to Loop Creek, Motor Creek and St. Paul Pass. Brushy, Cliff, Clear, Bear and Turkey Creeks and the Falcon siding recognize natural features or local animals. The origins of some names such as Roland, Adair and Shefoot are lost.
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