The majority of the Caribou-Targhee National Forest lies in eastern Idaho, western Wyoming and northern Utah. Situated next to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, the Forest is home to a diverse number of wildlife and fish, including Threatened and Endangered species, wilderness, scenic panoramas and intensively managed forest lands. The Forest lies almost entirely within “the Greater Yellowstone Area” or “the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem,” an area of over 12 million acres and the largest remaining block of relatively undisturbed plant and animal habitat in the contiguous United States. The area continues to gain prominence for its ecological integrity. The United Nations has identified the area as a Biosphere Reserve.
History & Culture
The Caribou and Targhee National Forests were combined in 2000 to save money. By combining the administration of the forests, more money was available to get work done on the ground.
Caribou National Forest History
In the settlement of the West, gold fever played an important role. A vision of the mother lode could send a man searching and dreaming for years. The Caribou National Forest was named for an early miner nicknamed Cariboo Jack, who along with two friends, discovered the first gold in 1870 near what is now called Caribou Mountain. Jesse Fairchild, alias Cariboo Jack, had a reputation as a story teller, a weaver of tall tales about the Canadian Caribou Country. Today we remember him as the namesake of the Caribou National Forest.
after the first discovery, the gold rush lasted nearly 20 years and produced $50 million worth of placer gold. Two of Idaho’s largest “gold” cities were Keenan City (900 population) and Iowa Bar (1,500 population), later known as Caribou City. Both sites are now abandoned.
President Theodore Roosevelt established the Forest in 1903 with the designated of the Pocatello Forest Reserve. The Pocatello Reserve was created by the request of the local residents to protect their precious watershed. Forest Reserves were given authority to manage five surface resources: water, wood, wildlife, recreation and forage. In 1905, all Forest Reserves were converted to National Forests and moved from the Department of the Interior to the Department of Agriculture.
Targhee National Forest History
The land that became the Targhee National Forest was first occupied 11,000 years ago. Bands of Indians hunted herds of game that abounded at the end of the last ice age. As changes in the environment led to the extinction of many of the species that they hunted, more reliance was placed on the gathering of plants. Small groups of families left winter villages along the upper Snake River and followed the developing vegetation into the mountains during the spring and summer. In the fall the Indians began to hunt mountain sheep and other game, following the animals down to winter range near their camps. Aside from food, one of the most important resource to the Indians was obsidian, the raw material for many of their tools. Targhee obsidian was traded widely throughout the local area and beyond.
When the first white explorers and trappers arrived early in the nineteenth century, they found mounted bands of Shoshone and Bannock Indians who crossed the mountains of the Targhee to hunt bison on the northwestern Great Plains. One of their hunting trails was followed by Chief Joseph’s band of Nez Perce during the Nez Perce War of 1877. The first explorers also found groups of horseless Shoshone scattered through the mountains, gathering plants and hunting. These Indians they called the Sheepeaters.
From 1810 to about 1840 the Targhee was frequented by fur trappers and two of the trapper’s rendezvous were held in the Teton Basin. Soon the beaver were trapped out and there was little activity until the Oregon Short Line Railroad was completed across Monida Pass in 1880 ( a route now also crossed by Interstate 15).
Established by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1908, the Forest is named in honor of a Bannock Indian warrior. The Shoshone-Bannock Tribe has ancestral Treaty Rights to uses of the Forest.
Recreation
The Caribou-Targhee National Forest offers a variety of recreational opportunities. Activities include camping, fishing, boating, hiking, backpacking, horseback riding, trailbike riding, hunting, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling. Winter recreation is growing in popularity on the Forest. Pebble Creek Ski Area is located on the west side of Mt. Bonneville, near Inkom, Idaho. There are several snowmobiling and cross-country ski trails on the Forest. Over 300 miles of winter trails are groomed.
Traveler Facts
Contact Information
Caribou-Targhee National Forest
1405 Hollipark Drive
Idaho Falls, ID 83401
Phone: 208-524-7500
Weather/Climate
The weather in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest varies with elevation. Summers tend to bring clear days, with afternoon thunderstorms possible. Daytime highs are normally warm to moderate, with relatively cool to cold nights, depending on elevation. Winter can bring cold temperatures with heavy snows, especially at the high elevations. Sunny days are common between winter storms.
