Idaho's Forests: Logging, Firefighters, and the Forest Service

Idaho has a larger proportion of National Forest land than any other state.  The conservation movement and concerns over wise use of Idaho's forests prompted the creation of many of these reserves. We have several collections regarding the presence of Forest Service rangers and wild land firefighters in Idaho.  Our holdings also represent the prevalence of logging in Idaho, with several manuscript collections focusing on the Boise Payette Lumber Company in southern Idaho.

• Smokejumping in Oral History: The Smokejumping and Forest Fire Fighting Oral History Project, conducted in 1999-2002, preserves the stories and memories of Idaho residents who fought fires in Idaho, the Pacific Northwest, and the U.S. The time period discussed by the narrators spans the 1930s through the early 2000s. The collection consists of 28 fully transcribed interviews as well as one box of research and correspondence.

• P2002.12, the Herman Work collection, and P2002.23, US Forest Service photographs both contain pictures of forestry and logging in the 1910s throughout Idaho.  The Work collection consists of two photograph albums, and the Forest Service collection contains 339 photos primarily of forestry and logging practices, farms and towns near national forest areas, and forest ranger stations.