UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOREST SERVICE Rocky Mountain Region · Denver, Colorado UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON: 1941 F-385973 Wapiti Ranger Station—the oldest in existence....

A map of the Shoshone National Forest, with details including roads and points of interest, will be found on the inside of the back cover . The Shoshone National Forest was set aside by proclamation of President Benjamin Harrison as the Yellowstone Park Timberland Reserve on March 30, 1891. It was the first unit of its kind created after the passage of the Act of March 3, 1891, authorizing the establishment of forest reserves—as national forests were then called—to protect the remaining timber o

In the administration of national forests the aim is to manage them in such a way as to make their resources of largest service to the local communities, the State, and the Nation. This is accomplished by promoting the highest social and economic uses of the forests consistent with the proper use of lands. Such an objective is definitely pointed toward the maximum sustained yield from all resources. The national forests are under the administration of the Forest Service, U. S. Department of Agri

Perhaps nothing contributes more to the real enjoyment and to the fascination of a forest than a knowledge of its early history. Many events within this area played an important part in the growth and development of northwestern Wyoming. Many of these are nearly forgotten, and others are not generally known. The earliest inhabitants of the forest are believed to have been Indians known as the “Sheepeaters.” Just who the “Sheepeaters” were is not definitely known. Some historians claim they were

Bliss Creek. —One of the favorite routes of rustlers in earlier days, leading to their favorite rendezvous in Jackson Hole, followed Clark Creek at the head of the South Fork of the Shoshone River. In 1892, a horse thief named Bliss, attempting to escape pursuers, was captured by a posse after a long and grueling chase. He was shot and buried at a point about a mile above Clark Creek, near where a small stream from the north empties into the South Fork. This stream was named Bliss Creek as a res

Timber Resources. —The actual forested areas within the Shoshone extend in altitudinal range from about 6,000 to 10,000 feet above sea level. Below the lower limits of the typical forest areas is a scattering tree growth of aspen and cottonwoods, restricted principally to the stream courses. It is estimated that approximately 48 percent of the net area of the forest is covered with timber, and supports a stand of some 2¼ billion board feet. Lodgepole pine, Douglas fir, and Engelmann spruce are t

No single activity of the forest has grown so rapidly in recent years as recreation. The forest is ideally adapted to recreational use because of the rough, majestic, and undeveloped character of its wilderness where most travel must be done with a horse and pack outfit. It is truly a forest with a “back country.” The numerous lakes and mountain streams, the glaciers, the vast forest cover, and the abundance of fish and game are attractions that draw large numbers of people who wish to see wilde

Big Game. —The Shoshone is the only forest in Wyoming in which all species of big game native to the State are found, with the exception of the whitetail deer. These include antelope, mule deer, elk, mountain sheep, moose, and black and grizzly bear. What may be even more surprising is that there are open seasons on all species—deer, elk, and bear under the regular license; antelope, mountain sheep, and moose under special permit. Another unusual feature about hunting on the Shoshone is that exc

Each forest fire that burns means a loss of forest resources. Timber, forage, wildlife are destroyed; soil erosion follows; everybody loses. Fires are always a menace in the summertime and more than half of them occur because some careless smoker or camper does not take care of his match, cigarette, pipe, or campfire. From 1909 to the close of 1939, 229 fires, which burned over 25,649 acres, have occurred. In recent years the Shoshone National Forest has suffered heavy losses from two large fire

Twenty-five percent of all revenues derived from permitted uses on national forests is returned to the counties for road and school funds. In addition, 10 percent of the forest receipts is returned to the forest for the construction and maintenance of its road and trail system. Actually 35 percent of the gross forest receipts is returned directly and indirectly to the locality from whence it was collected....

PINES.—Pines are conifers distinguished principally by the needles that are gathered together at the base in bundles of from one to five in a little sheath that usually wears off after the first year. The cones have woody scales. There are three pines on the Shoshone. Limber Pine ( Pinus flexilis ).—Needles are fine, almost silky, dark green, 1½ to 3 inches long, always in bundles of five. Cones are 3 to 5 inches long, with seeds ⅓ inch long; scales smooth. Bark is light gray or silvery white, e