March 2008 Special Edition

This special edition of the Middle Fork Heritage Times is dedicated to preserving the history of the Middle Fork of the within the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. The Heritage Staff on the Salmon- Challis and Payette National Forests invite you to help us preserve the archaeological and Native American tradi- tional sites of the area. The articles in this newsletter will provide insight into the history of the area and describe things you can do to help protect these important sites for future generations of wilderness adventurers.

Effects of the 2007 Fires on Heritage Resources

The Central Heritage Team wel- The 2007 fire season turned out to be Longtime floaters of the Middle Fork comes any comments, concerns or one of the largest on record burning River will notice a change as they information you may have concerning over 200,000 acres within the Salmon- negotiate Powerhouse Rapids. About the archaeological resources of the Challis National Forest alone. While halfway through the rapids on the east Middle Fork area. If you would like fire can have countless beneficial ef- bank was once a historic structure – to get involved in archaeological pro- fects to the overall health of the forest, the Powerhouse Mill - that never jects, the Forest Service’s Passport in archaeological sites with standing failed to spark the imagination. Time (PIT) program provides volun- wooden structures are prone to devas- teers a chance to work with archaeolo- tating fire effects. Fire can also affect The Powerhouse Mill site was a favor- gists in the inventory, excavation, and archaeological sites that do not contain ite stopping point for many floaters. preservation of archaeological re- wooden structures. Intense heat can The site consisted of a one-stamp mill sources. Contact one of the Heritage scorch rock art sites and can even frac- attached to an adjustable waterwheel Specialists listed below for informa- ture artifacts made of stone. that could be lowered into the river to tion on upcoming opportunities in the provide the power area. necessary to proc- ess gold ore. The Salmon-Challis National Forest mill and several Salmon Office: Tim Canaday cabins were built (208) 756-5100 prior to 1930 and North Fork Office: Cammie Sayer supported opera- (208) 865-2700 tions at the White Challis Office: John Rose Goat Mine located (208) 879-4121 on top of the moun- tain on the opposite Payette National Forest side of the river. McCall Office: Larry Kingsbury Gold ore was re- (208) 634-0700 moved from the Powerhouse Mill—Before the 2007 fires mine and trans- Passport in Time (PIT) Clearing ported down the House mountain via a precarious route to the (800) 281-9176 (Continued on page 6)

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Salmon-Challis National Forest 1 Payette National Forest Middle Fork Heritage Times Preserving Native American Traditional Sites The Middle Fork River was home to unknown to most people. For instance, areas are sacred to American Indians the Mountain Sheepeater people for pictographs or “Indian Picture just as our cemeteries are sacred to us. thousands of years and their Writing” as it is sometimes called, has There are other places where large descendants would like you to respect a very important sacred meaning to stone circles, alignments, or stacks the area. During the late 19th century, American Indians. It is believed that can be found that may be the remains the Mountain Sheepeater people were these rock pictures were painted by of ceremonial lodges or sacred sites. removed from the Middle Fork River religious shamans. Traditional Ameri- Isolated terraces along the river and to the Shoshone-Bannock, Shoshone- can Indians believe you should not higher elevation ridge tops may have Paiute and Nez Perce Reservations. visit these sites except with the proper been used for sacred ceremonies and Each Tribe wants the sites along the ceremonies and you should certainly should be avoided whenever possible. Middle Fork to be protected. not deface or disturb the pictographs. Please help us preserve American The special camping procedures that Many other sites contain the remains Indian traditional and religious sites have been adopted are part of river- of American Indian ancestors. by being respectful of these areas. use etiquette to help preserve sites; Pithouses, talus slopes, and rock You may visit these sites, but act as however, some detrimental activities shelters may all contain human burials you would in a church, synagogue, or and cultural concerns are relatively and should not be disturbed. These other place of worship. Centennial Interview with Ted Anderson The Salmon-Challis National Forest tance, but are now recognized for their guide business from their ranch on celebrated its centennial in 2007. In undeniable benefits. upper Camas Creek. One day, Ted’s light of that fact, the Middle Fork father, Andy, was on horseback at the Heritage Times editorial board asked The story that follows is a brief history mouth of Loon Creek when a river Ted Anderson to provide a historical of river management on the Middle outfitter pulled in with a raft loaded perspective on floating the Middle Fork, as told by Ted Anderson. with clients. A guest’s young son Fork of the Salmon River. Ted was wanted to ride a horse, so Andy of- gracious enough to recount his fered his horse to the boy and career on the Middle Fork hitched a ride on the raft which began in 1945 while while the boy rode the horse working with his father in the down to the Tappan Ranch. family’s guide business. Later, By the time Andy came in 1973, Ted took the oars as ashore at the ranch he had the first Forest Service River decided to buy a raft and Manager employed on the make river running part of his Middle Fork. business.

Ted Anderson witnessed big In 1945, the Andersons changes on the river as float guided their first trip down boating became more popular the Middle Fork and averaged and the river more accessible. three to four trips per year Increased river traffic had an after that. Their trips usually effect on the river, bringing started from the Tappan more litter, impacts to archaeo- Ranch, the Flying B, or Tho- logical sites, and spreading mas Creek as the road to invasive weeds. Ironically as more The Early Years: No Permits, No Boundary Creek had not been built people came to the river for its soli- Problems yet. The Andersons advertised their tude and wilderness characteristics, In the mid 1940s, the local economy business at the local lodges, and occa- their numbers began to reduce those along the Middle Fork was changing sionally guided outdoor writers who very qualities. Ted worked hard im- from subsistence homesteading to one published their hunting and fishing plementing policies that reduced use- based on outdoor recreation. The stories in magazines like Field and related impacts, while preserving the Great Depression and World War II Stream, giving the Andersons wel- river and the river-running experience. had ended and across America there come publicity. Some of those policies, such as requir- was renewed interest in enjoying out- ing the use of porta-potties and fire door pursuits. During this time, the During the 1940s and ‘50s, the people pans, initially met with much resis- Anderson family ran a land-based (Continued on page 4)

Salmon-Challis National Forest 2 Payette National Forest Middle Fork Heritage Times Archaeological Sites of the Middle Fork River There are four major prehistoric features made of brush or skins. American Indians consider all of archaeological site types recognized in these sites sacred and request that the Middle Fork Canyon: pithouse Pictograph sites are not overly they be visited using great care and villages, rockshelters, open camps, abundant in the canyon, however, they respect. Please help us protect an and pictographs. may be found on shear rock faces and irreplaceable legacy.

Pithouse villages are found on the For more information see the river larger terraces and consist of groups of guide books, the Middle Fork small circular depressions that were Ranger District, or a Heritage once covered by tipi-like structures Team member. made of willow branches and brush, reed mats, pine bark, or skins. Rattlesnake Cave is an example of a rockshelter. It consists of a large in overhanging rock face in the steep canyon. It may have had a structure of branches that leaned against the wall for protection from the elements. rockshelters. It is not completely clear Open camps are found on many what the pictographs mean, however, terraces. It is not known what kind of they may record a shaman’s visions, shelters were used on these sites, but hunting magic, or reminders of past they may have been small tipi-like events.

Archaeological Sites Connect You to the Past

Archaeological sites are special your direct link to history. There are tion of Native American families lived places that connect us to the past. In no entrance fees, tour guides, gift here successfully for 10,000 years. most cases archaeological sites are shops, or crowds. There is nothing but Their descendants return here today. the physical remains left behind by you, the site, the land and your imagi- During the late 1800s and early 1900s people who lived their lives engaged nation. families moved to the Middle Fork in day to day activities. and built homesteads along the You will see many of these river. Some were successful places along the Middle and became private land, oth- Fork River. There are the ers moved on and made their pit house depressions and homes elsewhere. Descen- rock art sites left by Native dants of many Middle Fork Americans, and the log pioneer families still live in the cabin homesteads built by region. 19th and 20th century set- tlers. The Native American Archaeological sites are fragile people and later historic and irreplaceable. Please feel settlers who lived here were free to pick up any item you concerned about raising find, but when you are done, their children, gathering put it back where you found it. food and preparing meals, All artifacts are protected by discussing the past and preparing for law. Please leave things as you found the future, just as we are today. them. Protect the past for the future Uninterpreted sites offer you a unique and out of respect for those who came The sites along the Middle Fork have and authentic wilderness experience. before us and for those who follow. no signs explaining who lived here, Look around and imagine living here, when they lived here, and what they raising a family, and making a living did. These uninterpreted sites are on this land. Generation after genera-

Salmon-Challis National Forest 3 Payette National Forest Middle Fork Heritage Times Ted Anderson Interview (cont.) (Continued from page 2) Campsites were claimed on a on the river and their gear were differ- first-come, first served basis, ent than today. Most visitors came to and as can be expected, con- the Middle Fork to hunt and fish. flicts arose over the best spots. While they were there, they ate simple This was especially true imme- meals consisting mostly of canned diately above Big Creek where goods cooked over an open fire. Out- a campsite “bottleneck” fitters carried their guests in durable formed due to the lack of military surplus rafts, as there were no campsites in the Impassible recreational raft manufacturers at that Canyon. time. Fewer than a thousand people ventured down the river each year. Increased use created the need The Road to Dagger Falls Brings for trash disposal and out- More People. houses along the river. The In 1959 the Idaho Department of Fish Forest Service built garbage and Game pushed the road into Dag- pits at the most popular camp- ger Falls so they could build a fish sites hoping to reduce litter. ladder. The new ladder made it easier However, the pits soon overflowed and from the boat launch at Boundary attracted bears. Later, when Creek. The number of people, waste the pits were closed, it took a disposal problems, competition for Forest Service crew two campsites, and traffic were creating years to haul out all the trash. problems for the river and the boaters. The Forest Service also built People who cared about the river outhouses, but these quickly knew that something needed to be filled and the river crews done. spent much of their summers digging new outhouse pits. It Management Plan and Today soon became apparent that In 1973, the Forest Service published suitable ground for outhouses “The Middle Fork Management Plan” was in short supply. Most which set new rules for the river. The places were either too rocky plan was controversial, but most or steep, and the dry climate thought it would reduce resource dam- kept the waste from decom- age and user conflicts if given a posing, making it impossible chance. The plan also created a new to reuse old pits. One back- job with the title “River Manager”. country employee thought Knowing that a plan is only as good as that blasting overfull pits the people who implement it, the For- with dynamite would solve est Service hired Ted Anderson as the the problem, and it did, for first River Manager. for fish to swim upstream, and the the few short seconds between the (Continued on page 5) road made it easier for boaters to blast and when the stuff fell launch and float downstream. Around back to the ground. this time outdoor gear improved and rafts became less expensive and more Despite these problems, the responsive. Increased access, im- Middle Fork’s outstanding quali- proved gear, and a surge in the num- ties were recognized in 1968 ber of people seeking outdoor recrea- when it was among the first riv- tion during the 1960s greatly in- ers protected by the Wild and creased the number of boaters on the Scenic Rivers Act. That year Middle Fork. 1600 people floated the river. Recreational pressure was erod- During this time private trips needed ing the very qualities that made no permit. The river was open to eve- the river wild and scenic. By ryone who showed up, and parties 1970 auto and truck traffic sometimes reached 60 people in size. sometimes backed up 1½ miles

Salmon-Challis National Forest 4 Payette National Forest Middle Fork Heritage Times Ted Anderson Interview (cont.) (Continued from page 4) out. They tried several systems before Each night someone would get mad One of the first tasks was to survey, successfully installing the facility you and walk away, but there was no place designate, and clean up campsites. will use at the end of your trip. to go, and they had to come back and Each campsite had numerous campfire After becoming a Wild and Scenic rejoin the debate. The group reached rings, because parties wanted their River, the Middle Fork attracted politi- agreement by trip’s end, a feat that campfires in different spots. The cal dignitaries. Ted served as boatman Ted believes would not have hap- campfire rings were litter magnets. for Jimmy Carter’s security team when pened in any other setting. People threw trash in them and left behind charred cans and The biggest changes Ted sees on bottles. At first campers were the river today are an increased required to make their fires on a number of blowouts caused by fireproof cloth and dump the wildfires along the river. He also ashes into the river. Unfortu- notes that there are fewer people nately the trash still made its per raft than in the past and more way into the campfires and now boats per group. The increased it wound up in the river. Even- popularity of rafting has brought tually the Forest required fire a more experienced group of pans and asked boaters to carry river employees to the Forest their unburned material out. Service. When the fire pan rule first started, it was hard to find a suit- Ted Anderson served as the Mid- able fire pan, so some groups dle Fork River Manager for 20 used the metal beds from their years and made seven to nine kids’ Red Rider wagons. trips down the river each of those he floated the river. Later he helped years. Somehow he still had time to The human waste problem along the when President George H.W. Bush help create the American River Man- Middle Fork was solved by getting rid floated from Indian Creek to Loon agement Society, which brings to- of the outhouses and using porta- Creek. Ted also helped with a trip gether river managers from all over potties. Since the waste and the river hosting representatives from environ- the world. When asked which was his flow downhill, the North Fork Ranger mental and industry groups, who favorite trip, Ted answered that it was District had to solve the problem of would get down to business discussing a maintenance trip that he floated by what to do with the waste at the take tough issues around the campfire. himself. Join Us in Preserving the Past The Middle Fork River users set the lower sandy beaches. Some areas will analyzed for protein residues such as standard for low impact use. be closed to camping and the checkers deer, sheep, and fish blood. Please However, it is possible to hone those at Boundary Creek can tell you where pack out your food waste and sprinkle skills to provide extra protection for those camps are located. When you set gray water away from camp. Middle Fork archaeological and up your tent or kitchen please do not historical sites. make level platforms or dig rain Please photograph, draw, and handle trenches around the edge of the area. any artifacts you find on the ground The first step is learning to recognize Disturbance of the site destroys the surface, and then place them back archaeological materials and features. information archaeologists rely on to where you found them. Their location Information in this newsletter will tell the site’s story. on the site, in relation to other artifacts help, as will other materials made and features, tells us much about their available by the Salmon-Challis and Be sure to use porta-potties and fire age and use. A stone point can tell Payette National Forests (see page 1 pans and dispose of gray water archaeologists the site’s age, tribe it for names and phone numbers). appropriately. Human waste, food was made by, and the kind of waste, gray water, and charcoal can activities taking place on the site. The next step is placing your camp in contaminate archaeological sites by However, once removed from the site, an appropriate place. For instance, do contaminating the wood and charcoal artifacts lose much of their meaning. not set up your tent or kitchen on the in archaeological deposits. This will If you find something of special upper terraces where pithouses may be cause false radiocarbon dates. In significance please let the river patrol located; instead try to stay on the addition, these materials can provide or the Heritage Team know where you false readings when artifacts are found it. Salmon-Challis National Forest 5 Payette National Forest Middle Fork Heritage Times

Pungo Creek Archaeological Excavations Provide Clues to the Past and Present Our understanding of Native present in areas where no surface obviously disturbed top soils. American history and the effects of depressions exist. The archaeologists also looked at float camps on archaeological sites Two places were chosen for soil layers and the position of artifacts took a major leap forward in 1999. excavation at Pungo. One was in a to determine if floater use was Excavations at Pungo Creek surface depression that was readily impacting the house pits. Unlike the documented the presence of ancient visible and the other was in a kitchen perfectly preserved house pit in the Native American houses and provided area that had no visible depression. In undisturbed area, the upper portion of clues to understanding how float the first case, the depression was the buried house in the kitchen area camps affect these important sites. verified as a house pit by the presence had a disturbed zone or layer of soil While not the first archaeological of a central fire pit and by a resulting in the destruction of the up- excavation on the Middle Fork River, per house layers. While the intact this work cleared up some of the house had only 5 inches of disturbed confusion about the mysterious soil and a single historic bullet, depressions found on terraces along numerous non-Indian artifacts were river. The depressions have been found within the top 5-15 inches of the thought to be “house pits” (see story disturbed house. Many of these arti- on page 3), prospect holes, elk facts date to the 1950s-1980s. While wallows, or “tree throw”, (i.e., the majority of disturbance certainly blown-down trees leave depressions was not caused by present day floater where roots once were). The Pungo use, the lack of vegetation and highly excavations clearly showed that the concentration of artifacts on the floor churned nature of the sandy soils depressions are the remains of Ameri- of the living surface. In the second suggests continued floater use on top can Indian houses. They also demon- case the same dish shaped depression of these features will eventually cause strated that filled-in house pits are and features were found below their destruction. Archaeological Resources Protection Act Under the 1979 Archaeological sites or for the collection of The surface collection of artifacts is Resources Protection Act (ARPA) all archaeological materials. also prohibited under ARPA. Please materials of archaeological Under ARPA, it is illegal to damage help preserve the Native American significance over 100 years old an archaeological site. A person who and historic sites of the Middle Fork located on Federal Lands are protected damages or excavates an River so that future boaters can enjoy by law. The law provides for archaeological site or collects artifacts them too. misdemeanor, felony, and/or civil without authorization, is subject to penalties for disturbing archaeological fines, loss of property, and prison time. Effects of the 2007 Fires on Heritage Resources (con’t.)

(Continued from page 1) by being extremely careful when river by mule. A cable car system was visiting these sites. The banks of the then employed to bring the ore across river where the fire consumed vege- the river for processing at the mill. tation may have become unstable and Ore was processed at the site until the should be accessed with care. Ma- 1950’s. chinery that was once supported by wooden frameworks may now be Sadly, the Powerhouse Mill and at unstable. Artifacts, which can tell us least four other significant historic so much about past lives and liveli- sites with standing structures were hood, should be observed in their consumed by the 2007 fires that also Powerhouse Mill—After the 2007 fires natural context and then left for oth- closed the Middle Fork River and the ers to enjoy. main stem of the Salmon River to recreational use for up to 40 days last past remain. Archaeologists will be summer. These closures were neces- assessing the effects of the fires to sary for health and safety reasons. these sites throughout the coming While the wooden components of summer. You can help with this effort these sites are now gone, clues to the Salmon-Challis National Forest 6 Payette National Forest