History
The Lewis and Clark Expedition passed through parts of what are now forest lands in 1805. After the discovery of gold in Idaho and then Montana in the 1860s, numerous mining towns were built, some of which today are ghost towns. The Nez Perce National Historic Trail passes through a portion of the forest, following the route of the retreating Nez Perce on their historic path that led from Idaho to north central Montana in 1877. Heavy logging and other resource depletion beginning in the 1880s led conservationists to push for the preservation the forest.
The Bitter Root Forest Reserve was established by the General Land Office on March 1, 1898 with 4,147,200 acres (16,783 km2). It was transferred to the U.S. Forest Service in 1906. On July 1, 1908 the name was changed to Bitterroot National Forest, with lands added from Big Hole National Forest and Hell Gate National Forest. Other lands were transferred from Biterroot to Beaverhead, Clearwater, Nez Perce and Salmon National Forests. On October 29, 1934 part of Selway National Forest was added.
Read more about this topic: Bitterroot National Forest
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