History of the The Modoc National Forest United States Forest Service - California Region Compiled By Wm. S. Brown, Sr., Information Specialist SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA SEPTEMBER 1, 1945 Modoc National Forest History Compiled in 1945 History Of The Modoc National Forest California Region United States Forest Service * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Chapter I - General Description.................................................................................................................................1 Location And Relation To Surrounding Areas ......................................................................................................1 Place Names ..........................................................................................................................................................5 Chapter II - Early History..........................................................................................................................................9 Indian Use and Occupancy ....................................................................................................................................9 Emigrant Trails and Indian Warfare ....................................................................................................................11 Chapter III - Creation And Purpose.........................................................................................................................19 Reasons for Setting Aside....................................................................................................................................19 Forest Reserve Withdrawals ................................................................................................................................20 Chapter IV - Topography, Flora And Climate.........................................................................................................23 Diversified Terrain ..............................................................................................................................................23 Tree. Shrub and Plant Growth .............................................................................................................................24 Modoc Weather ...................................................................................................................................................27 Chapter V - Administration And Personnel.............................................................................................................29 Supervisors in Charge and Terms of Service.......................................................................................................29 Old Time Rangers and Other Employees ............................................................................................................31 Ranger Districts ...................................................................................................................................................35 Chapter VI - Resource Managment .........................................................................................................................37 Water ...................................................................................................................................................................37 Timber .................................................................................................................................................................37 Range...................................................................................................................................................................42 Recreation............................................................................................................................................................47 Fish and Wild Life...............................................................................................................................................49 Minerals...............................................................................................................................................................54 Chapter VII - Progress In Forest Development .......................................................................................................57 Land Claims, Forest Homesteads and Special Use Uses .....................................................................................57 Land Exchange ....................................................................................................................................................59 Road and Trail .....................................................................................................................................................59 Communication Systems .....................................................................................................................................60 Structural Improvements .....................................................................................................................................61 Water Development.............................................................................................................................................62 Reforestation........................................................................................................................................................63 Cooperation .........................................................................................................................................................63 CCC, NIRA and WPA (ERA) .............................................................................................................................64 War Activities......................................................................................................................................................65 Degree and Types of Fire Hazard.......................................................................................................................66 Fire Prevention and Pre-Suppression...................................................................................................................67 Fires Through the Years ......................................................................................................................................70 Modoc National Forest History Compiled in 1945 History Of The Modoc National Forest California Region United States Forest Service Compiled by Wm. S. Brown, 1945 Chapter I - General Description Location And Relation To Surrounding Areas Having the California-Oregon state line as its north boundary for some 60 miles, the Modoc National Forest is the most northeasterly of the national forest units of the California Region, the eastern boundary of the Forest also paralleling the Nevada state line a few miles distant there from for approximately 65 miles. Embracing within its boundaries a gross area of about two million acres, it is the second largest national forest in area in the State of California, and one of the largest in the United States. Somewhat divorced by location from the national forest units of the Southern Cascades and those of the main Sierra Nevada Range, it lies about the headwaters of Pit River, largest feeder of the Sacramento. There are two distinct divisions of the Modoc Forest, 15 percent of it being included in the Warner Mountain Range, a rugged offshoot of the main Sierra Nevada, and the balance of its area covering the more level timbered and woodland areas of Modoc county, with a considerable acreage extending over into the neighboring counties of Siskiyou, Lassen and Shasta. The gross area of the Modoc National Forest lying in Modoc County is 1,619,253 acres; in Siskiyou County, 98,824 acres; in Lassen County, 193,909 acres, and in Shasta County, 8,967 acres. Separated from the more heavily-populated and intensively-used areas of the Sacramento Valley by a series of mountain ranges, the Modoc territory is - and always has been - very much of a self-contained and independent area, devoted mainly to livestock production and in later years to lumbering also. The entire mountain area is interspersed with and paralleled by valleys of unusual fertility, dependent for their best use on the adjacent national forest lands. The climate in the valley areas is somewhat comparable to that of Western Illinois, involving four distinct seasons and a general average precipitation of 13 inches, a large part of which comes in the form of snow during the winter months of December to March, inclusive. Surprise Valley hugs the east slopes of the Warner Mts. for some 65 miles north and south, ranging in width east and west from two to six miles, its eastern boundary reaching into the sagebrush expanses of the lower-lying mountains of Western Nevada. Four thriving little towns, Fort Bidwell, Lake City, Cedarville and Eagleville represents the urban centers of Surprise Valley, one of the most unusual land-locked valleys of the State. The center of Pit River Valley is 1 Modoc National Forest History Compiled in 1945 Alturas, county seat of Modoc County and the Metropolis of northeastern California. The north and south forks of Pit River form a junction at this point, the South Fork Valley extending from Likely twenty miles north to Alturas. The Pit River Valley lies along the course of the main stream for some 25 miles from Alturas to the timbered hills west of the lumbering town of Canby. Goose Lake Valley