Native American Tribal ↔ relates to ↔ Wildlife Landscape

hfire or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Some natural forest ecosystems depend on wildfire. Modern forest management often engages in prescribed burns to mitigate fire risk and promote natural forest cycles. Controlled burns can turn into wildfires if they escape containment lines. Wildfires can be classified by cause of ignition, physical properties, combustible material present, and the effect of weather on the fire. Wildfire severity results from a combination of factors such as available fuels, physical setting, and weather. Climatic cycles with wet periods that create substantial fuels, followed by drought and heat, often precede severe wildfires. These cycles have been intensified by climate change, and can be exacerbated by curtailment of mitigation measures (such as budget or equipment funding), or sheer enormity of the event.

Ground fires are fed by subterranean roots, duff on the forest floor, and other buried organic matter. Ground fires typically burn by smoldering, and can burn slowly for days to months, such as peat fires in Kalimantan and Eastern Sumatra, Indonesia, which resulted from a riceland creation project that unintentionally drained and dried the peat. Crawling or surface fires are fueled by low-lying vegetative matter on the forest floor such as leaf and timber litter, debris, grass, and low-lying shrubbery. This kind of fire often burns at a relatively lower temperature than crown fires (less than 400 °C or 750 °F) and may spread at slow rate, though steep slopes and wind can accelerate the rate of spread. This fuel type is especially susceptible to ignition due to spotting (see below). Ladder fires consume material between low-level vegetation and tree canopies, such as small trees, downed logs, and vines. Kudzu, Old World climbing fern, and other invasive plants that scale trees may also encourage ladder fires. Crown, canopy, or aerial fires burn suspended material at the canopy level, such as tall trees, vines, and mosses. The ignition of a crown fire, termed crowning, is dependent on the density of the suspended material, canopy height, canopy continuity, sufficient surface and ladder fires, vegetation moisture content, and weather conditions during the blaze.

Wildfire prevention refers to the preemptive methods aimed at reducing the risk of fires as well as lessening its severity and spread. Prevention techniques aim to manage air quality, maintain ecological balances, protect resources, and to affect future fires. Prevention policies must consider the role that humans play in wildfires, since, for example, 95% of forest fires in Europe are related to human involvement. Wildfire prevention programs around the world may employ techniques such as wildland fire use (WFU) and prescribed or controlled burns. Wildland fire use refers to any fire of natural causes that is monitored but allowed to burn. Controlled burns are fires ignited by government agencies under less dangerous weather conditions.

asianus) and pygmy rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis). Sagebrush steppe is a threatened ecosystem in many regions. It was once prevalent in the regions that form the Intermountain West such as the Great Basin and Colorado Plateau. It has become fragmented and degraded by many forces. Steppe has been overgrown with introduced species and has changed to an ecosystem resembling pine and juniper woodland, which has changed the fire regime of the landscape, increasing fuel loads and increasing the chance of unnaturally severe wildfires. Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) is also an important introduced plant species that increases fire risk in this ecosystem. Other forces leading to these habitat changes include fire suppression and overgrazing of livestock.

lorado Plateau. It has become fragmented and degraded by many forces. Steppe has been overgrown with introduced species and has changed to an ecosystem resembling pine and juniper woodland, which has changed the fire regime of the landscape, increasing fuel loads and increasing the chance of unnaturally severe wildfires. Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) is also an important introduced plant species that increases fire risk in this ecosystem. Other forces leading to these habitat changes include fire suppression and overgrazing of livestock.

cterized by the presence of shrubs, and usually dominated by sagebrush, any of several species in the genus Artemisia. This ecosystem is found in the Intermountain West in the United States. The most common sagebrush species in the sagebrush steppe in most areas is big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata). Others include three-tip sagebrush (Artemisia tripartita) and low sagebrush (Artemisia arbuscula). Sagebrush is found alongside many species of grasses. Sagebrush steppe is a diverse habitat, with more than 350 recorded vertebrate species. It is also open rangeland for livestock, a recreation area, and a water source in otherwise arid regions. It is key habitat for declining flora and fauna species, such as greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) and pygmy rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis). Sagebrush steppe is a threatened ecosystem in many regions. It was once prevalent in the regions that form the Intermountain West such as the Great Basin and Colorado Plateau. It has become fragmented and degraded by many forces. Steppe has been overgrown with introduced species and has changed to an ecosystem resembling pine and juniper woodland, which has changed the fire regime of the landscape, increasing fuel loads and increasing the chance of unnaturally severe wildfires. Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) is also an important introduced plant species that increases fire risk in this ecosystem. Other forces leading to these habitat changes include fire suppression and overgrazing of livestock.

, coined the name "Treasure Valley" in 1959 to reflect the treasure chest of resources and opportunities that the region offered. The valley has a very diverse terrain, from sage flatlands, to mesas, agricultural areas, and urbanized areas. As the Boise Metropolitan Area grows, more and more undeveloped and agricultural land is being urbanized. History Settling the region The tribes that roamed the area, specifically, were the Northern Paiute and Shoshone. In 1834, Thomas McKay built the original Fort Boise, in the area near present-day Parma, which was run for a time by Francois Payette. It later was moved because of flooding troubles and was abandoned in 1854. The Oregon Trail runs through the Treasure Valley. The valley was settled for the most part by ranchers and farmers, initially to supply the gold and silver mining communities in the higher elevations nearby: Idaho City in the Boise Basin and Silver City in the Owyhees. A new Fort Boise was constructed by the U.S. Army in 1863 in present-day Boise, from which the city grew.

The Treasure Valley is a valley in the western United States, primarily in southwestern Idaho, where the Payette, Boise, Weiser, Malheur, and Owyhee rivers drain into the Snake River. It includes all the lowland areas from Vale in rural eastern Oregon to Boise, and is the most populated area in Idaho. Historically, the valley had been known as the Lower Snake River Valley or the Boise River Valley. Pete Olesen, president of the valley's association of local Chambers of Commerce, coined the name "Treasure Valley" in 1959 to reflect the treasure chest of resources and opportunities that the region offered. The valley has a very diverse terrain, from sage flatlands, to mesas, agricultural areas, and urbanized areas.

icultural land is being urbanized. History Settling the region The tribes that roamed the area, specifically, were the Northern Paiute and Shoshone. In 1834, Thomas McKay built the original Fort Boise, in the area near present-day Parma, which was run for a time by Francois Payette. It later was moved because of flooding troubles and was abandoned in 1854. The Oregon Trail runs through the Treasure Valley. The valley was settled for the most part by ranchers and farmers, initially to supply the gold and silver mining communities in the higher elevations nearby: Idaho City in the Boise Basin and Silver City in the Owyhees. A new Fort Boise was constructed by the U.S. Army in 1863 in present-day Boise, from which the city grew.

sh. The Snake and its tributary, the Salmon River, host the longest sockeye salmon run in the world, stretching 900 miles (1,400 km) from the Pacific to Redfish Lake in Idaho. Since the 1950s, public agencies, tribal governments and private utilities have invested heavily in fishery restoration and hatchery programs, with limited success.

As gold mining declined in the late 19th century, the wheat industry boomed in the Palouse of southeast Washington. By the 1870s, the Oregon Steam Navigation Company was operating seven steamboats transporting grain from the Snake River to lower Columbia River ports. These were the Harvest Queen, John Gates, Spokane, Annie Faxon, Mountain Queen, R.R. Thompson, and Wide West. In the 1890s, a huge copper deposit was discovered at Eureka Bar in Hells Canyon. Several ships transported ore from there to Lewiston, including Imnaha, Mountain Gem, and Norma. In 1893 the Annie Faxon suffered a boiler explosion and sank on the Snake below Lewiston, killing five people. Starting in the 1880s, the Army Corps began dredging the Snake River below Lewiston to maintain a 5-foot (1.5 m) deep navigation channel. River traffic declined rapidly once railroads arrived. By 1899, the Union Pacific line along the south bank of the Snake River had reached Riparia, Washington. It then joined forces with the Northern Pacific Railroad, which was building a line along the north bank, to build the shared Camas Prairie Railroad the rest of the way to Lewiston, which it reached in 1908. The Open River Transportation Company, which operated steamboats between Lewiston and Celilo Falls on the Columbia, went bankrupt in 1912. The 1915 completion of the Celilo Canal made it much easier for boats from the upper Columbia and Snake to reach Portland, and the Columbia River Transportation Company began operating a water route between Lewiston and Portland. Still, steamboats were unable to compete with railroads on speed and efficiency. The last steamboat on the lower Snake ran in 1920. Once the railroads monopolized grain shipments, they raised shipping rates, to farmers' consternation. In 1934, political activist Herbert G. West organized the Inland Empire Waterways Association (IEWA), to promote an "open river" – a deep-water shipping channel on the Snake and Columbia Rivers that could compete with rail. The IEWA initially pushed for improvements such as bigger locks at Bonneville Dam in 1938 and the construction of McNary Dam on the Columbia, which would improve navigation to the mouth of the Snake. In 1941 a bill was first introduced in Congress authorizing the Army Corps to develop the lower Snake River. The 1941 bill failed, but after several years of debate, Congress finally authorized the Snake River development in 1945. Early plans included anywhere from six to ten low dams for the lower Snake. Eventually this was reduced to four bigger dams, which would lower costs, but would require what at the time were the tallest navigation locks in the world, at over 100 feet (30 m). Tribes, state wildlife agencies and the fishing industry opposed the dams, arguing that they would kill too many salmon. In 1947, the U.S. Department of the Interior proposed a ten-year moratorium on dam construction while the fishery problem was studied. With the onset of the Cold War, rising electricity demand in the Pacific Northwest – particularly at the nearby Hanford nuclear site – turned the project's focus towards hydropower. By 1948, the Army Corps estimated that over 80 percent of the economic benefits would come from power, and only 15 percent from navigation. Dam opponents countered that if the primary objective was now power, other dam sites existed in the Northwest that would have less impact on fish. These objections proved futile, as the lower Snake River dams were already authorized, and the federal government had little interest in studying alternatives. While opponents continued to stall the project for a few more years, Washington Senator Warren G.

Populations of anadromous fish began to decline in the late 1800s due to the impact of commercial fishing, logging, mining and agriculture, but even in the 1930s, returning fall chinook alone numbered 500,000. Populations further collapsed once dams were built on the lower Snake and Columbia Rivers, and Hells Canyon Dam blocked access to the upper Snake. Wild Snake River spring and summer chinook returns declined from 130,000 in the 1950s to less than 5,000 in the 1990s. Wild steelhead returns followed a similar pattern, falling from 110,000 in the 1960s to less than 10,000 in the 1990s. Spring, summer and fall-run chinook were all listed as threatened in 1992. Snake River steelhead were also listed as threatened in 1997. Wild chinook salmon and steelhead continued to decline into the 1990s, but have begun an unsteady recovery since 2000, with both chinook and steelhead returns up to 20,000–30,000 in some years. Coho salmon had disappeared from the Snake River by the 1980s, they were reintroduced to the watershed in 1995. Snake River sockeye once numbered to up 150,000 adults. Between 24,000 and 30,000 sockeye returned to Wallowa Lake in the Grande Ronde River watershed, but the run was eliminated by 1905 due to overharvest and unscreened irrigation diversions. The Payette Lake population once numbering up to 100,000 was blocked by the Black Canyon Dam in 1924. Sockeye in the Yellowbelly, Stanley, and Pettit Lakes of the Sawtooth basin were eradicated by management actions of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game in the 1950s, and irrigation diversions lead to the extirpation of the Pettit Lake population. Snake River sockeye returns declined to 4,500 in the 1950s and only a few dozen by the late 1960s. Snake River sockeye were listed as endangered in 1991. Numerous hatcheries are operated by agencies such as the Army Corps, Idaho Power, the Bonneville Power Administration, the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to supplement wild fish populations. Hatcheries release about 33 million salmon and steelhead smolt into the Snake River watershed each year. However, the survival rate for hatchery fish is poor. Just 0.4 percent of hatchery chinook and 1.5 percent of hatchery steelhead returned as adults, as measured at Lower Granite Dam between 2007 and 2016. Upstream of the four lower dams, the Snake River watershed contains some of the best remaining spawning habitat in the Columbia River system, particularly along the Clearwater and Salmon Rivers; the latter is one of the longest undammed rivers in the continental US. A much depleted sockeye salmon run continues to spawn in Redfish Lake near Stanley, Idaho, more than 900 miles (1,400 km) inland from the Pacific Ocean.

Boise National Forest is a National Forest covering 2,203,703 acres (8,918.07 km2) of the U.S. state of Idaho. Created on July 1, 1908, from part of Sawtooth National Forest, it is managed by the U.S. Forest Service as five units: the Cascade, Emmett, Idaho City, Lowman, and Mountain Home ranger districts. The Idaho Batholith underlies most of Boise National Forest, forming the forest's Boise, Salmon River, and West mountain ranges; the forest reaches a maximum elevation of 9,730 feet (2,970 m) on Steel Mountain. Common land cover includes sagebrush steppe and spruce-fir forests; there are 9,600 miles (15,400 km) of streams and rivers and 15,400 acres (62 km2) of lakes and reservoirs. Boise National Forest contains 75 percent of the known populations of Sacajawea's bitterroot, a flowering plant endemic to Idaho. The Shoshone people occupied the forest before European settlers arrived in the early 19th century. Many of the early settlers were trappers and prospectors before gold was discovered in 1862. After the 1860s Boise Basin gold rush ended, mining of tungsten, silver, antimony, and gold continued in the forest until the mid-twentieth century. Recreation facilities include over 70 campgrounds, whitewater and flatwater boating, cabin rentals, and 1,300 miles (2,100 km) of trails for hiking, biking, horseback riding, and motorized off-road vehicle use.

s a maximum elevation of 9,730 feet (2,970 m) on Steel Mountain. Common land cover includes sagebrush steppe and spruce-fir forests; there are 9,600 miles (15,400 km) of streams and rivers and 15,400 acres (62 km2) of lakes and reservoirs. Boise National Forest contains 75 percent of the known populations of Sacajawea's bitterroot, a flowering plant endemic to Idaho. The Shoshone people occupied the forest before European settlers arrived in the early 19th century. Many of the early settlers were trappers and prospectors before gold was discovered in 1862. After the 1860s Boise Basin gold rush ended, mining of tungsten, silver, antimony, and gold continued in the forest until the mid-twentieth century. Recreation facilities include over 70 campgrounds, whitewater and flatwater boating, cabin rentals, and 1,300 miles (2,100 km) of trails for hiking, biking, horseback riding, and motorized off-road vehicle use.

Archaeological evidence indicates that human habitation in Idaho began towards the end of the last ice age: bone fragments about 10,000 years old have been found in Wilson Butte Cave, an inflationary cave on the Snake River Plain believed to have been occupied by indigenous people until as recently as the 17th century. A change of climate around 7000 years ago dried up much of the Great Basin, forcing the Shoshone people northward into the mountainous areas of central Idaho. Most of what is now Boise National Forest was sparsely inhabited by Native Americans, and several archaeological sites, including campsites, rock shelters, burial grounds, and pictographs have been found along rivers in the area. Trappers and fur traders of European descent first arrived in the area in the early 1800s, starting with John Jacob Astor's Pacific Fur Company in October 1811. Donald Mackenzie and Francois Payette trapped in the area of Boise National Forest in 1819. By 1840, the fur trade was coming to an end, but the westward migration on the Oregon Trail, which passed south of the forest, was beginning. The first settlers moved into the mountains in the 1860s after gold was discovered in Idaho, which forced many of the Shoshone out and led to conflicts throughout the state, including the Bannock War in southern Idaho. Prospectors George Grimes and Moses Splawn were the first to discover gold in the forest at the eponymous Grimes Creek on August 2, 1862. Subsequent gold discoveries at Rocky Bar in 1863 and Atlanta in 1864 increased the rush of people to Idaho, and in 1863 Idaho City, with a population of 6,267, surpassed Portland, Oregon as the largest city in the Pacific Northwest. The Idaho gold rush was largely over by 1870, and the population of the Boise Basin fell from 16,000 to 3,500. In 1898 the forest's first gold dredge was built in Placerville and followed by several others. By 1951, when the last dredges shut down, at least 2.3 million ounces (65.2 million grams) of gold had been produced from the Boise Basin area. Silver was mined along the Crooked River from 1882 until 1921, but a silver mine at Silver Mountain proved unsuccessful. Following a shortage of mercury during World War II, mines in the Stibnite area became the country's largest producer of tungsten and second largest source of mercury. The most important known placer deposit of niobium and tantalum in the United States is located in Bear Valley. From 1953 until 1959, dredges there produced $12.5 million ($138 million today) in niobium, tantalum, and uranium. Other minerals mined in the forest include antimony and molybdenum. U.S. Forest Service Boise National Forest was created on July 1, 1908, from part of Sawtooth National Forest, and originally covered 1,147,360 acres (4,643.2 km2). By the Forest Reserve Act of 1891, the U.S. Congress granted the U.S. President the authority to establish forest reserves out of Public Domain Lands that were subject to disposal (homesteads, sales, etc.) administered by the United States General Land Office, which had been placed under the authority of the U.S. Department of the Interior in 1849. With the passage of the Transfer Act of 1905, forest reserves were transferred to the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the newly created U.S. Forest Service. Present-day Boise National Forest was first protected as part of two forest reserves by proclamations issued by President Theodore Roosevelt: Sawtooth Forest Reserve (created on May 29, 1905, and expanded on November 6, 1906) and Payette Forest Reserve (created on June 3, 1905). After forest reserves were renamed national forests in 1908, Boise National Forest was split from Sawtooth National Forest into an independent national forest. Emile Grandjean was the forest's first supervisor, serving from 1908 to 1922. On April 1, 1944, the entirety of what was then Payette National Forest was transferred to Boise National Forest, and simultaneously Weiser and Idaho national forests were combined to reestablish the present-day Payette National Forest, which is to the north of Boise National Forest. In 1933 the Boise Basin Experimental Forest was created on 8,740 acres (35.4 km2) of the forest near Idaho City to study the management of ponderosa pine. The Lucky Peak Nursery was established in 1959 to produce trees for planting on burned or logged lands on the national forests of the Intermountain region. After the creation of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1933, nine camps and eight subcamps were set up in Boise National Forest, but the number of camps was reduced from 1934 until the program was closed in 1942.

Boise (locally also ) is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Idaho. It is the county seat of Ada County. The population of the city was 235,685 at the 2020 census. The Boise metropolitan area, located in the Treasure Valley, includes five counties of Idaho with an estimated population of 846,000, the most populous metropolitan area in Idaho and 95th-most populous in the United States. Located on the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is 41 miles (66 km) east of the Oregon border and 110 miles (177 km) north of the Nevada border. Downtown Boise's elevation is 2,704 feet (824 m) above sea level. Boise is home to major employers in the technology, manufacturing, and service sectors, including companies such as Micron Technology and Hewlett-Packard.

an area in Idaho and 95th-most populous in the United States. Located on the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is 41 miles (66 km) east of the Oregon border and 110 miles (177 km) north of the Nevada border. Downtown Boise's elevation is 2,704 feet (824 m) above sea level. Boise is home to major employers in the technology, manufacturing, and service sectors, including companies such as Micron Technology and Hewlett-Packard.

...that the military should continue killing Indians 'until the last Indian in the Territories was either on his reservation or enriched the sagebrush with his decaying carcass.' ...if the Indians refused to move there, 'they will be killed or put on the reservation by force, and certainly shot if they don't stay there.' Furthermore, the editor continues, 'The idea that the Indians have any right to the soil is ridiculous. ...They have no more rights to the soil of the Territories of the United States than wolves or coyotes...' This would be our plan of establishing friendship upon an eternal basis with our Indians: Let all the hostile bands of Idaho Territory be called in (they will not be caught in any other manner) to attend a grand treaty; plenty of blankets and nice little trinkets distributed among them; plenty of grub on hand; have a real jolly time with them; then just before the big feast put strychnine in their meat and poison to death the last mother's son of them. At the same time, native warriors around the valley, under the leadership of Howluck also known as "Bigfoot" among white settlers, among others, waged an escalating and intensified guerrilla campaign of harassment of passerby caravans along the Oregon Trail. The United States Army also escalated and intensified "punitive expeditions" against formations of warriors and against civilian communities as well. This marked the start of the "unofficial" Snake War in 1866. This war lasted until 1868, and is statistically the deadliest of the Indian Wars in the West in terms of casualties. In the end, 1,762 men were counted as the casualties of this war from both sides. In 1868, Fort Hall Indian Reservation was established in Southeastern Idaho, about 220 miles upstream, according to the terms of Fort Bridger Treaty. The Boise Valley Shoshone and Bannock Tribes were not party to this treaty. Nevertheless, in April 1869, the United States Military embarked on a campaign of "Removal, rounding up of natives in the region including in and around Boise, and expelling them with cavalry escort to Fort Hall Indian Reservation. This period is known among the Shoshone and Bannock people as Idaho's Trail of Tears. Some of the natives managed to escape, and they ran to either Duck Valley or Fort McDermitt in Nevada. Incorporation and growth Boise's early growth was significantly driven by its role in supplying the nearby gold towns that sprung up in the 1860s northeast and then southwest of the town. Miners sometimes wintered in Boise and a number of early prominent businessmen were miners who settled in town in the years after the gold rush waned. By 1864 substantial agricultural production was underway on easily irrigated lands near the river and three canal companies had been incorporated. Early transportation improvements were largely a result of toll road franchises awarded by the territorial legislature starting in the 1860s. These first ran from Fort Boise to the mining centers in the Boise Basin and east to Rocky Bar and to Rattlesnake Station where they connected to the Oregon Trail. Territorial census records from a special 1864 enumeration list the population of Boise as 1,658, and an act of December 12, 1864, was the first attempt by the Idaho Territorial Legislature to incorporate the city. This was rejected by voters the following March. Two more unsuccessful attempts were made to organize a city administration by election before the 1866 version of the city charter was approved by voters on January 6, 1868. The growing number of homes and businesses, for which owners wanted proper legal title, may have contributed to the eventual success of incorporation. All of these rejected efforts to incorporate the city came after Boise had been controversially made the state capital in 1864 over strong opposition from northern Idaho interests. This decision reflected the rapid shift of population growth from north to south after the discovery of gold in southern Idaho. By 1868 Boise had over 400 permanent buildings with a wide range of commercial services. 1868 also marked the formal beginning of a long advocacy for railroad connections to other Idaho communities and, just as importantly, to other growing cities in the west such as Portland, Oregon. Competing railroad and western state government interests frustrated these efforts for many years. Designed by Alfred B. Mullett, the U.S. Assay Office at 210 Main Street was built in 1871 and today is a National Historic Landmark. It first began accepting gold and silver for purchase on March 2, 1872, largely eliminating the need to transport ore to the mint in San Francisco. A territorial penitentiary, now known as the Old Idaho State Penitentiary, opened the same month several miles east of town. Mining continued to be important to Boise's economic growth and periodic booms contributed to population growth as well, though production of gold and silver probably peaked in the 1860s. 1882's gold and silver production of $3,500,000 declined to $1,488,315 (including lead) by 1899. Boise began to earn its City of Trees nickname in this period with a popular focus on a range of tree planting projects. Thomas J. Davis planted several thousand fruit trees in 1864 and several other early businessmen either founded nurseries or orchards of their own. In the 1870s tree planting began in earnest in downtown Boise led by prominent hotels as well as businessmen and residents. In 1907 Davis donated 43 acres of his orchard property to the city for use as a park in the name of his wife Julia. Commercial agriculture continued to expand, but was slowed by the lack of reliable rail links to regional and national markets and by a lack of large scale irrigation projects, which themselves were often tied to hoped-for railroad projects for financing. A.D. Foote, a successful mining engineer, drew up plans to irrigate up to 500,000 acres immediately south of Boise in 1882, but progress was halting and smaller farms were the norm until after the turn of the century with most located near to the river bottom where soil was productive and irrigation more easily achieved. Fruit orchards proliferated and sugar beets, still an important agricultural industry in Idaho, began to be widely cultivated in the 1890s. Cattle and sheep farming became increasingly important as the century closed. With the exception of dairy, most livestock products were exported from Idaho, unlike other agricultural products which were still largely scaled to support local markets. The timber industry also increasingly thrived in the Boise market in the 1880s and 1890s. Large quantities of timber were exported from elsewhere in Idaho, but a growing Boise supported the expansion of Alexander Rossi's sawmill, first established in 1865. Prominent early Boisean William Ridenbaugh had inherited control of the canal now bearing his name from his uncle William Morris in 1878 and later partnered with Rossi to expand the sawmill capacity under the name Rossi and Ridenbaugh Lumber Company. Their materials supported bridge building and the rapid expansion of Boise in the 1890s. As with many early infrastructure ventures, electrification succeeded only after at least one false start. July 4, 1887, marked the start of electrical transmission from a plant located on the Bench. William Ridenbaugh provided expertise and manpower for the water supply and several months were spent rigging poles and lines from the Bench to the service area across the river. Additional electrical supplies allowed the building of an electric streetcar line in 1891. This ran without interruption until buses replaced the lines in 1927, tracking—and sometimes driving—the development of Boise and nearby communities. This system expanded over several decades, reaching into the North End, South Boise and across the river on Front St. A loop line, completed in 1912, ran as far as Caldwell and Nampa, providing transport throughout the valley. Three early trolley companies merged in 1912 to form the Idaho Traction Company with a depot at 7th and Bannock Streets downtown. Additional services and urban amenities arrived in the 1890s as Boise grew. Exploratory drilling for hot water was successful in 1890 and by the end of the decade many homes along Warm Springs avenue were being heated by this source. A natatorium was built in 1892 close to the source of the hot water near the Idaho State Penitentiary. Churches serving several denominations, a Jewish synagogue, a major hardware store and department store, a Masonic hall, the Columbia Theater, Saint Alphonsus' Hospital, a number of parochial and secular schools, a City Hall and a new Union Pacific passenger station, constructed when service was finally extended to downtown, were all built during the 1890s. Falk's Department Store sponsored a semi-professional baseball team representing Boise from at least 1892 and the city supported other organized sports as they became popular.

ise, as well as part of the western Snake River Plain. The watershed encompasses approximately 4,100 square miles (11,000 km2) of highly diverse habitats, including alpine canyons, forest, rangeland, agricultural lands, and urban areas. Description The Boise River rises in three separate forks in the Sawtooth Range at elevations exceeding 10,000 feet (3,050 m), and is formed by the confluence of its North and Middle forks. The North Fork, 50 miles (80 km) long, rises in the Sawtooth Wilderness Area, along the Boise–Elmore county line, 60 miles (100 km) northeast of Boise. It flows generally southwest through the remote mountains in the Boise National Forest. The Middle Fork, approximately 52 miles (84 km) in length, rises within 12 miles (19 km) of the North Fork in the southern Sawtooth Wilderness Area in northeastern Elmore County. It flows west-southwest near the town of Atlanta, joining the North Fork to form the Boise River, approximately 15 miles (24 km) southeast of Idaho City.

History The river was called "Reed's River" in the early 19th century, named after Pacific Fur Company employee John Reed, who explored parts of the river throughout 1813 and 1814. The river is diverted to canals for irrigation on the plain west of what is now Boise. The dams that form the mountain reservoirs were constructed as part of the Bureau of Reclamation's "Boise Project" to provide agricultural irrigation, hydroelectricity, drinking water, and flood control to Boise and the Treasure Valley. The major projects' initial completion dates were: 1909 – Boise River Diversion Dam & New York Canal 1915 – Arrowrock Dam 1950 – Anderson Ranch Dam - (S. Fork) 1955 – Lucky Peak Dam - (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) The Boise River was proposed for 50 years for a dam at Twin Springs, culminating in a 1966 Project Travois proposal, which would have used nuclear explosives to either create large amounts of rockfill aggregate for dam construction, or to induce a landslide that would have much the same effect. Project Travois was a component of Project Plowshare.

Recreation The river is a popular destination for floating, specifically on the Boise greenbelt. Tubers and floaters launch at Barber Park and land at Ann Morrison Park, between major irrigation diversion dams. Several minor diversion weirs are passed as well as several bridges on the 6-mile (10 km) trip. Water skiing is popular above the dam at the Lucky Peak Reservoir. On the lower (warmwater) course of the river, low summer flows and poorer water quality from agricultural runoff limit fishery production. This section of river supports a fair fishery for largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, and channel catfish. Upstream from Star, the river is a coldwater stream and supports a greater variety of fish. The most prevalent species on this section is mountain whitefish, as well as hatchery-reared rainbow trout, wild rainbow trout, and brown trout. Upstream from Lucky Peak and Arrowrock reservoirs, the river and its tributaries contain excellent populations of wild rainbow trout, mountain whitefish, and bull trout.

rs about a quarter of Idaho. Three major volcanic buttes dot the plain east of Arco, the largest being Big Southern Butte. Most of Idaho's major cities are in the Snake River Plain, as is much of its agricultural land. Geology The Snake River Plain can be divided into three sections: western, central, and eastern. The western Snake River Plain is a large tectonic graben or rift valley filled with several kilometers of Lake Idaho sediments; the sediments are underlain by rhyolite and basalt, and overlain by basalt. The western plain began to form around 11–12 Ma (million years ago) with the eruption of rhyolite lavas and ignimbrites. The western plain is not parallel to North American Plate motion and lies at a high angle to the central and eastern Snake River Plain.

tward from northwest of the state of Wyoming to the Idaho-Oregon border. The plain is a wide, flat bow-shaped depression and covers about a quarter of Idaho. Three major volcanic buttes dot the plain east of Arco, the largest being Big Southern Butte. Most of Idaho's major cities are in the Snake River Plain, as is much of its agricultural land. Geology The Snake River Plain can be divided into three sections: western, central, and eastern. The western Snake River Plain is a large tectonic graben or rift valley filled with several kilometers of Lake Idaho sediments; the sediments are underlain by rhyolite and basalt, and overlain by basalt. The western plain began to form around 11–12 Ma (million years ago) with the eruption of rhyolite lavas and ignimbrites. The western plain is not parallel to North American Plate motion and lies at a high angle to the central and eastern Snake River Plain.

The Snake River Plain can be divided into three sections: western, central, and eastern. The western Snake River Plain is a large tectonic graben or rift valley filled with several kilometers of Lake Idaho sediments; the sediments are underlain by rhyolite and basalt, and overlain by basalt. The western plain began to form around 11–12 Ma (million years ago) with the eruption of rhyolite lavas and ignimbrites. The western plain is not parallel to North American Plate motion and lies at a high angle to the central and eastern Snake River Plain. Its morphology is similar to other volcanic plateaus such as the Chilcotin Group in south-central British Columbia, Canada. The eastern Snake River Plain traces the path of the North American Plate over the Yellowstone hotspot, now centered in Yellowstone National Park. The eastern plain is a topographic depression that cuts across Basin and Range mountain structures, more or less parallel to North American Plate motion. It is underlain almost entirely by basalt erupted from large shield volcanoes. Beneath the basalts are rhyolite lavas and ignimbrites that erupted as the lithosphere passed over the hotspot. The central Snake River plain is similar to the eastern plain but differs by having thick sections of interbedded lacustrine (lake) and fluvial (stream) sediments, including the Hagerman fossil beds. Island Park and Yellowstone Calderas formed as the result of enormous rhyolite ignimbrite eruptions, with single eruptions producing up to 600 cubic miles (2,500 km3) of ash. Henry's Fork Caldera, measuring 18 miles (29 km) by 23 miles (37 km), may be the largest symmetrical caldera in the world. The caldera formed when a dome of magma built up and then drained away. The center of the dome collapsed, leaving a caldera. Henry's Fork Caldera lies within the older and larger Island Park Caldera, which is 50 miles (80 km) by 65 miles (105 km).

Ada County is located in the southwestern part of Idaho, United States. As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 494,967, which by 2025 was estimated to have risen to 546,141. Ada County is by far the state's most populous county; it is home to 26.8% of the state's population. The county seat and largest city is Boise, which is also the state capital. Ada County is included in the Boise metropolitan area. The Ada County Highway District has jurisdiction over all the local county and city streets, except for private roads and state roads.

populous county; it is home to 26.8% of the state's population. The county seat and largest city is Boise, which is also the state capital. Ada County is included in the Boise metropolitan area. The Ada County Highway District has jurisdiction over all the local county and city streets, except for private roads and state roads.

ea. The Ada County Highway District has jurisdiction over all the local county and city streets, except for private roads and state roads. In the interior Pacific Northwest east of the Cascade Range, Ada County ranks second in population, behind Spokane County, Washington. History Ada County was created by the Idaho Territory legislature on December 22, 1864, partitioned from Boise County. It is named for Ada Riggs, the daughter of H. C. Riggs, a member of the legislature; he established the county and was a co-founder of Boise.

105, which by 2025 was estimated to have risen to 275,123, making it the second-most populous county in Idaho. The county seat is Caldwell, and its largest city is Nampa. Canyon County is part of the Boise metropolitan area. History Hudson's Bay Company established Fort Boise in 1834 near what is now Parma, but abandoned it in 1855. Emigrants traveled through Canyon County on the Oregon Trail. Discovery of gold in the Boise Basin in 1862 brought settlement to the region again. The lower Boise River was fully contained within Boise County from 1863 until the formation of Ada County in 1864. Settlement of the lower Boise River west of Boise City was limited prior to the completion of the Oregon Short Line Railroad. Middleton was the first European settlement of Canyon County, starting in 1863. The 1870 Census for Ada County listed 76 residents of the Boise Valley, excluding Boise City and the 1880 Census listed 44 residents at Middleton. The arrival of the railroad at Caldwell led to the establishment of a town there as of August 1883. Businessmen James A. McGee and Alexander Duffes filed the plat for nearby Nampa in 1886. Parma was settled around the same time, with the Old Fort Boise post office being moved to the town's location; it was incorporated in 1904. Ada County established precincts for each of the settlements with a combined 1890 Census population of 2,311. Significant settlement of Greenleaf and Notus started around 1904 with the two settlements listed as precincts at the 1910 census. Notus was incorporated in 1921 while Greenleaf was incorporated prior to 1980. Melba was incorporated in 1912 while Wilder was incorporated in 1919. The City of Star annexed a portion of territory in northeast Canyon County prior to 2007, becoming the county's ninth incorporated city. The majority of Star is located within Ada County. The Idaho Legislature created Canyon County from Ada County in an act approved March 7, 1891, effective at the November 26, 1892, election. Caldwell was established as the county seat. The county originally contained all of Canyon and Payette counties and part of Gem; Gem County formed in 1915 and Payette County in 1917.

History Hudson's Bay Company established Fort Boise in 1834 near what is now Parma, but abandoned it in 1855. Emigrants traveled through Canyon County on the Oregon Trail. Discovery of gold in the Boise Basin in 1862 brought settlement to the region again. The lower Boise River was fully contained within Boise County from 1863 until the formation of Ada County in 1864. Settlement of the lower Boise River west of Boise City was limited prior to the completion of the Oregon Short Line Railroad. Middleton was the first European settlement of Canyon County, starting in 1863. The 1870 Census for Ada County listed 76 residents of the Boise Valley, excluding Boise City and the 1880 Census listed 44 residents at Middleton. The arrival of the railroad at Caldwell led to the establishment of a town there as of August 1883. Businessmen James A. McGee and Alexander Duffes filed the plat for nearby Nampa in 1886. Parma was settled around the same time, with the Old Fort Boise post office being moved to the town's location; it was incorporated in 1904. Ada County established precincts for each of the settlements with a combined 1890 Census population of 2,311. Significant settlement of Greenleaf and Notus started around 1904 with the two settlements listed as precincts at the 1910 census. Notus was incorporated in 1921 while Greenleaf was incorporated prior to 1980. Melba was incorporated in 1912 while Wilder was incorporated in 1919. The City of Star annexed a portion of territory in northeast Canyon County prior to 2007, becoming the county's ninth incorporated city. The majority of Star is located within Ada County. The Idaho Legislature created Canyon County from Ada County in an act approved March 7, 1891, effective at the November 26, 1892, election. Caldwell was established as the county seat. The county originally contained all of Canyon and Payette counties and part of Gem; Gem County formed in 1915 and Payette County in 1917.

2000 census As of the 2000 census, there were 131,441 people, 45,018 households and 33,943 families living in the county. The population density was 223 people per square mile (86 people/km2). There were 47,965 housing units at an average density of 81 units per square mile (31 units/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 83.10% White, 0.32% Black or African American, 0.85% Native American, 0.80% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 12.17% from other races, and 2.62% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18.61% of the population. 15.9% were of German, 12.7% English, 10.3% American and 7.6% Irish ancestry. There were 45,018 households, of which 39.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.70% were married couples living together, 10.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.60% were non-families. 19.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.85 and the average family size was 3.28. 30.90% of the population were under the age of 18, 10.70% from 18 to 24, 28.30% from 25 to 44, 19.10% from 45 to 64, and 11.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.30 males. The median household income was $35,884 and the median family income was $40,377. Males had a median income of $29,418 compared with $22,044 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,155. About 8.70% of families and 12.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.50% of those under age 18 and 10.70% of those age 65 or over. Communities Cities Unincorporated communities Bowmont Huston Roswell Sunnyslope Walters Ferry, Idaho Politics Like the majority of Idaho, Canyon County is reliably Republican by comfortable margins. The last time a Democratic candidate carried the county was in 1936 by Franklin D. Roosevelt.