The Boise National Forest is a US national forest

United States National Forest

National Forest is a classification of federal lands in the United States.National Forests are largely forest and woodland areas owned by the federal government and managed by the United States Forest Service, part of the United States Department of Agriculture. Land management of these areas...

 located north and east of the city of Boise, Idaho

Boise, Idaho

Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...

. It is about 2,612,000 acres (10,570 km²) in size, ranging in elevation from 2,600 to 9,800 feet (800 to 3000 m). The mountainous landscape developed through uplifting, faulting, and stream cutting. Most of the land lies within the Idaho Batholith, a large and highly erodible geologic formation.
The major rivers that run through it include the Boise

Boise River

The Boise River is a tributary of the Snake River in the northwestern United States. It drains a rugged portion of the Sawtooth Range in southwestern Idaho northeast of Boise, as well as part of the western Snake River Plain...

, the Payette

Payette River

The Payette River is an river in southwestern Idaho and is a major tributary of the Snake River.Its headwaters originate in the Sawtooth and Salmon River Mountains at elevations over...

 and the South and Middle forks of the Salmon River

Salmon River (Idaho)

The Salmon River is located in Idaho in the northwestern United States. The Salmon is also known as The River of No Return. It flows for through central Idaho, draining and dropping more than between its headwaters, near Galena Summit above the Sawtooth Valley in the Sawtooth National...

. Portions of the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness

Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness

The Frank Church—River of No Return Wilderness Area is a protected wilderness area in Idaho. It was created in 1980 by the United States Congress as the River of No Return Wilderness Area, and renamed in 1984 as the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness Area in honor of U.S...

, the Sawtooth Wilderness

Sawtooth Wilderness

The Sawtooth Wilderness is located in the U.S. state of Idaho. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area. The Wilderness was upgraded in 1972 from "primitive area" status, affording greater protections of the habitat...

, and Sawtooth National Recreation Area

Sawtooth National Recreation Area

The Sawtooth National Recreation Area is a National Recreation Area located in central Idaho, within the Boise, Challis, and Sawtooth National Forests. The recreation area is managed by the U.S. Forest Service and includes the Sawtooth Wilderness...

 are within the forest.

Conifer forest covers most of the Boise National Forest. Tree species include ponderosa pine

Ponderosa Pine

Pinus ponderosa, commonly known as the Ponderosa Pine, Bull Pine, Blackjack Pine, or Western Yellow Pine, is a widespread and variable pine native to western North America. It was first described by David Douglas in 1826, from eastern Washington near present-day Spokane...

, Douglas-fir

Douglas-fir

Douglas-fir is one of the English common names for evergreen coniferous trees of the genus Pseudotsuga in the family Pinaceae. Other common names include Douglas tree, and Oregon pine. There are five species, two in western North America, one in Mexico, and two in eastern Asia...

, Engelmann Spruce

Engelmann Spruce

Picea engelmannii is a species of spruce native to western North America, from central British Columbia and southwest Alberta, southwest to northern California and southeast to Arizona and New Mexico; there are also two isolated populations in northern Mexico...

, lodgepole pine

Lodgepole Pine

Lodgepole Pine, Pinus contorta, also known as Shore Pine, is a common tree in western North America. Like all pines, it is evergreen.-Subspecies:...

, grand fir

Fir

Firs are a genus of 48–55 species of evergreen conifers in the family Pinaceae. They are found through much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, occurring in mountains over most of the range...

, subalpine fir

Fir

Firs are a genus of 48–55 species of evergreen conifers in the family Pinaceae. They are found through much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, occurring in mountains over most of the range...

, western larch

Larch

Larches are conifers in the genus Larix, in the family Pinaceae. Growing from 15 to 50m tall, they are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains further south...

, and whitebark pine

Whitebark Pine

Pinus albicaulis, known commonly as Whitebark Pine, Pitch Pine, Scrub Pine, and Creeping Pine occurs in the mountains of the Western United States and Canada, specifically the subalpine areas of the Sierra Nevada, the Cascade Range, the Pacific Coast Ranges, and the northern Rocky Mountains –...

. Shrubs and grasses grow in the non-forested areas. Wildflowers splash color in both forests and shrub-land.

The Forest contains large expanses of summer range for big game species like mule deer

Mule Deer

The mule deer is a deer indigenous to western North America. The Mule Deer gets its name from its large mule-like ears. There are believed to be several subspecies, including the black-tailed deer...

 and elk

Elk

The Elk is the large deer, also called Cervus canadensis or wapiti, of North America and eastern Asia.Elk may also refer to:Other antlered mammals:...

. Trout

Trout

Trout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...

 are native to most streams and lakes. Oceangoing salmon

Salmon

Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...

 and steelhead inhabit tributaries of the Salmon River.

In descending order of land area the forest is located in parts of Valley

Valley County, Idaho

Valley County is a rural county located in west central Idaho in the United States. Established in 1917, it was named after the Long Valley of the North Fork of the Payette River, which extends over 30 miles from Payette Lake at McCall south to Cascade to Round Valley.The valley was formerly a...

, Boise

Boise County, Idaho

Boise County is a rural mountain county in the U.S. state of Idaho. The population was 6,670 at the 2000 census; it was estimated at 7,571 in 2007...

, Elmore

Elmore County, Idaho

Elmore County is a county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2010 Census the county had a population of 27,038, down 7.2% from 29,130 in 2000. The largest city and county seat is Mountain Home....

, Gem

Gem County, Idaho

Gem County is a county in the U.S. state of Idaho. The population was 15,181 at the 2000 census; it was estimated at 16,496 in 2007. The county seat is Emmett.Gem County is home to the Idaho ground squirrel....

, Ada

Ada County, Idaho

Ada County is a county in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2010 Census, the county had a population of 392,365. The county seat and largest city is Boise, which is also the state capital. Other cities in the county with over 10,000 residents include Meridian, Eagle,...

, and Washington

Washington County, Idaho

Washington County is a county in the U.S. state of Idaho. Established in 1879 when Idaho was a territory, it was named after U.S. president George Washington. As of the 2000 Census, the county had a population of 9,977; it is estimated to have risen to 10,147 by 2007...

 counties. Forest headquarters are located in Boise, Idaho

Boise, Idaho

Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...

. There are local ranger

National Park Ranger

National Park Service Rangers are among the uniformed employees charged with protecting and preserving areas set aside in the National Park System by the United States Congress and/or the President of the United States...

 district offices in Cascade

Cascade, Idaho

Cascade is a rural city in and the county seat of Valley County, Idaho, United States, in the west central part of the state. It sits at an elevation of , along the North Fork of the Payette River...

, Emmett

Emmett, Idaho

Emmett is a city in Gem County, Idaho, United States. The population was 5,490 at the 2000 census; it was estimated to have risen to 6,341 by 2007...

, Idaho City

Idaho City, Idaho

Idaho City is a city in and the county seat of Boise County, Idaho, United States, located about northeast of Boise. The population was 458 at the 2000 census.Idaho City is part of the Boise City–Nampa, Idaho Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...

, Lowman

Lowman, Idaho

Lowman is a small unincorporated rural census-designated place in Boise County, Idaho, United States, nestled along the banks of the South Fork of the Payette River in the central part of the state...

, and Mountain Home

Mountain Home, Idaho

Mountain Home is the largest city and county seat of Elmore County, Idaho. The population was 14,206 at the 2010 census. Mountain Home is the principal city of the Mountain Home, ID Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Elmore County....

.

External links

• Boise National Forest - About Us