Payette National Forest

Forest Overview
79,000 trees

The Payette National Forest offers the visitor over 2.3 million acres to enjoy. Everything from the deep recesses of Hell's Canyon to peaks reaching elevations of almost 9,500 feet. To the west is the Hell's Canyon National Recreation Area, the deepest river gorge in North America. Stand on the canyons east rim and in some places you gaze down 8,000 feet to the Snake River that carved this canyon. Gaze across the ten mile wide chasm into the neighboring state of Oregon. The Payette National Forest provides habitat for approximately 300 species of mammals and birds. Rare species in Payette include the bald eagle, boreal owl, and whiteheaded woodpecker.

Need for Trees

In the summer of 2007, a lightening caused fire burned more than 9,500 acres of land in the Middle Fork Weiser River Drainage and 2,800 acres of land in the Grays Creek Drainage. The 79,000 ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, and western larch trees will help restore upland forest and would restore vegetation and structure to create a resilient ecosystem.

Impact

Rivers and streams on the Payette drain into two of Idaho�s major rivers, the Snake River and the Salmon River. Watersheds on the forest provide high quality waters for fish habitat, recreation, irrigation, and domestic drinking water for municipalities. The South Fork of the Salmon River alone drains about 827,000 acres of central Idaho, an area slightly larger than the state of Rhode Island. The South Fork Salmon River contains the most important remaining habitat for summer Chinook salmon in the Columbia River basin. Enterprise�s generous gift to the Foundation would help to ensure a future forest that consists of great diversity of natural resources and abundant fish and wildlife.

About the Pledge