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40-500: Roughly 215,000 acres (335 sq mi; 870 km) of the recreation area are designated the Hells Canyon Wilderness . There are nearly 900 miles (1,400 km) of hiking trails in the recreation area. The largest portion of the area lies in eastern Wallowa County, Oregon . Smaller portions lie in southwestern Idaho County, Idaho , northwestern Adams County, Idaho , and northeastern Baker County, Oregon . It

80-649: A Scottish nurseryman. It was adopted as the official state tree of Montana in 1949. Pinus ponderosa is a large coniferous pine ( evergreen ) tree. The bark helps distinguish it from other species. Mature to overmature individuals have yellow to orange-red bark in broad to very broad plates with black crevices. Younger trees have blackish-brown bark, referred to as "blackjacks" by early loggers. Ponderosa pine's five subspecies , as classified by some botanists, can be identified by their characteristically bright-green needles (contrasting with blue-green needles that distinguish Jeffrey pine ). The Pacific subspecies has

120-432: A ponderosa. Various animals nest in the ponderosa pines, such as the piliated woodpecker . Pinus ponderosa is affected by Armillaria , Phaeolus schweinitzii , Fomes pini , Atropellis canker , dwarf mistletoe , Polyporus anceps , Verticicladiella , Elytroderma needle cast , and western gall rust . Pinus ponderosa is classed as a " wilding pine " and spreads as an invasive species throughout

160-1415: A portion of the Wild and Scenic Imnaha is located within Hells Canyon Wilderness. 26.8 miles (43 km) of Idaho's Rapid River from the headwaters of the main stem to the National Forest boundary, and the segment of the West Fork from the wilderness boundary to the confluence with the main stem, are designated "wild." The river contains three threatened fish species - chinook salmon , steelhead , and bull trout . There are approximately 360 miles (580 km) of trails crossing Hells Canyon Wilderness. The extensive trail system mostly follows old Forest Service access routes to fires, and stock trails used by ranchers to move livestock to remote salting areas and watering holes. Many routes follow ridges and traverse moderate slopes and benchlands, while others climb steep slopes. These trails are extreme in difficulty, and any water sites should be viewed with skepticism, especially in mid summer to mid fall. U.S. Wilderness Areas do not allow motorized or mechanized vehicles, including bicycles . Although camping , hunting , and fishing are allowed with proper permit, no roads or buildings are constructed and there

200-469: A sharp point. Sources differ on the scent of P. ponderosa . Some state that the bark smells of turpentine , which could reflect the dominance of terpenes (alpha- and beta-pinenes, as well as delta-3-carene). Others state that it has no distinctive scent, while still others state that the bark smells like vanilla if sampled from a furrow. Sources agree that the Jeffrey pine is more strongly scented than

240-493: A solution to treat coughs and fevers. In the 19th and 20th centuries, old-growth trees were widely used by settlers as lumber, including for railroads. Younger trees are of poor quality for lumber due to the tendency to warp. Cultivated as a bonsai , ponderosas are prized for their rough, flaky bark, contorted trunks, flexible limbs, and dramatic deadwood. Collected specimens can be wildly sculpted by their environment, resulting in beautiful twisted trunks, limbs and deadwood. In

280-720: Is Pinus ponderosa var. washoensis . An additional variety, tentatively named P. p. var. willamettensis , found in the Willamette Valley in western Oregon, is rare. This is likely just one of the many islands of Pacific subspecies of ponderosa pine occurring in the Willamette Valley and extending north to the southeast end of Puget Sound in Washington. The subspecies of P. ponderosa can be distinguished by measurements along several dimensions: Notes Names of taxa and transition zones are on

320-656: Is a wilderness area in the western United States , in Idaho and Oregon . Created 49 years ago in 1975, the Wilderness is managed by both the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service and contains some of the most spectacular sections of the Snake River as it winds its way through Hells Canyon , North America 's deepest river gorge and one of the deepest gorges on Earth. The Oregon Wilderness Act of 1984 added additional acreage and currently

360-628: Is characterized by the fewest needles (1.4 per whorl, on average); stout, upright branches at narrow angles from the trunk; and long green needles— 5 + 3 ⁄ 4 –7 in (14.8–17.9 cm)—extending farthest along the branch, resembling a fox tail. Needles are widest, stoutest, and fewest (averaging 2 + 1 ⁄ 4 – 2 + 3 ⁄ 4  in or 56–71 mm) for the species. The egg-shaped cones, which are often found in great number under trees, are 3–5 in (8–13 cm) long. They are purple when first chewed off by squirrels, but become more brown and spherical as they dry. Each scale has

400-594: Is characterized by three geologic-vegetative regions. The upper areas are alpine and subalpine with several lakes and geologic formations of glacial origin. Vegetation is sparse and broken by large areas of rock. The middle portions contain dense forests of larch , lodgepole pine , and true firs . Lower elevations are characterized by dry, rocky, barren, steep slopes breaking into the Snake River and its major tributaries. Trees are sparse, consisting mostly of ponderosa pine and Douglas fir . This entire area

440-678: Is characterized by two steep breakland areas in excess of 60 percent paralleling the Snake River. These are separated by a benchland at mid-elevation between the river and canyon rim between Saddle Creek and Dug Bar. The dominant vegetation is native bunchgrasses and shrubs. Trees are scattered throughout the Oregon side of the Wilderness, but concentrated on north-facing slopes and in stream bottoms - primarily ponderosa pine and Douglas fir . The three topographic provinces are dissected by many drainages including Saddle, Temperance, Salt, and Sluice Creeks. The Idaho portion of Hells Canyon Wilderness

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480-486: Is dissected by several major drainages including Sheep Creek, Granite Creek, and Deep Creek. The highest peaks are the Seven Devils Mountains , the tallest is "He Devil" at 9,393 feet (2,863 m) above sea level . Humans have historically used the Hells Canyon Wilderness area for farming, ranching and mining activities. Historically sheep and cattle have grazed this area of Northeastern Oregon since

520-771: Is generally associated with mountainous topography. However, it is found on banks of the Niobrara River in Nebraska. Scattered stands occur in the Willamette Valley of Oregon and in the Okanagan Valley and Puget Sound areas of Washington. Stands occur throughout low level valleys in British Columbia reaching as far north as the Thompson, Fraser and Columbia watersheds. In its Northern limits, it only grows below 4,300 feet (1,300 m) elevation, but

560-404: Is introduced in sapwood of P. ponderosa from the galleries of all species in the genus Dendroctonus ( mountain pine beetle ), which has caused much damage. Western pine and other beetles can be found consuming the bark. The seeds are eaten by squirrels, chipmunks, quail, grouse, and Clark's nutcracker , while mule deer browse the seedlings. American black bears can climb up to 12 feet up

600-647: Is most common below 2,600 feet (800 m). Ponderosa covers 1 million acres (4,000 km ), or 80%, of the Black Hills of South Dakota . It is found on foothills and mid-height peaks of the northern, central, and southern Rocky Mountains , in the Cascade Range , in the Sierra Nevada , and in the maritime-influenced Coast Range . In Arizona , it predominates on the Mogollon Rim and

640-756: Is no logging or mining , in compliance with the 1964 Wilderness Act . Ponderosa pine Pinus ponderosa , commonly known as the ponderosa pine , bull pine , blackjack pine , western yellow-pine , or filipinus pine , is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America . It is the most widely distributed pine species in North America. Pinus ponderosa grows in various erect forms from British Columbia southward and eastward through 16 western U.S. states and has been introduced in temperate regions of Europe and in New Zealand. It

680-539: Is scattered on the Mogollon Plateau and on mid-height peaks (6,000 to 9,300 feet; 1,800 to 2,800 m) in Arizona and New Mexico . Arizona pine ( P. arizonica ), found primarily in the mountains of extreme southwestern New Mexico, southeastern Arizona, and northern Mexico and sometimes classified as a variety of ponderosa pine, is presently recognized as a separate species. Ponderosa pine are also found in

720-580: The Chisos , Davis , and Guadalupe Mountains of Texas , at elevations between 4,000 and 8,000 feet (1,200 and 2,400 m). The fire cycle for ponderosa pine is 5 to 10 years, in which a natural ignition sparks a low-intensity fire. Low, once-a-decade fires are known to have helped specimens live for half a millennium or more. The tree has thick bark, and its buds are protected by needles, allowing even some younger individuals to survive weaker fires. In addition to being adapted to dry, fire-affected areas,

760-550: The United States Forest Service and transported to Area 5 of the Nevada Test Site , where they were planted into the ground and exposed to a nuclear blast to see what the blast wave would do to a forest. The trees were partially burned and blown over. Pinus ponderosa is the official state tree of Montana. In a 1908 poll to determine the state tree, Montana schoolchildren chose the tree over

800-516: The 1730s as the Nez Perce grazed horses and cattle in the main canyons. By the 1800s homesteaders on the Oregon benchland were grazing sheep, cattle, and horses throughout the valley and canyons. Cattle grazing continues today in a small portion of the Wilderness, as permitted in the 1964 Wilderness Act, which allows some traditional activities to continue as long as wilderness values are not compromised. Some mining has also occurred, primarily on

840-596: The 1930s. Access to the SRNRT can be gained via road to the trailhead at Pittsburg Landing on the north end of the trail, or, by boat access near Hells Canyon Dam on the south end of the trail. Access can also be gained via trails leading from Seven Devils Wilderness Area trail head at Windy Saddle (elevation 7200' or 2,200 metres) via either the Granite Creek trails or Sheep Creek trails. Hells Canyon Wilderness (Oregon and Idaho) The Hells Canyon Wilderness

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880-454: The Idaho side of the Wilderness. A variety of vegetation grows in Hells Canyon Wilderness. Sagebrush and bunchgrass grow in lower parts of the canyon with deciduous bushes and trees along the numerous streams that run into Hells Canyon. Engelmann spruce and sub-alpine fir grow at the highest levels of the Wilderness, with western larch , Douglas fir , and ponderosa pine found between

920-586: The Idaho side, and there are seven on the Oregon side. The Snake River National Recreation Trail #102 (SRNRT) lies within the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area and along the Idaho side of the Snake River, from near Lamont Springs, downstream, to Pittsburg Landing. The SRNRT was designated in 1980 under the National Trails System Act . It was constructed during the period of the late 1800s to about

960-613: The Imnaha River from its headwaters are designated Wild and Scenic. The designation comprises the main stem from the confluence of the North and South Forks of the Imnaha River to its mouth, and the South Fork from its headwaters to the confluence with the main stem. In 1988, 15 miles (24 km) were designated "wild," 4 miles (6 km) were designated "scenic," and 58 miles (93 km) were designated "recreational," though only

1000-773: The area protects a total area of 217,927 acres (88,192 ha). It lies entirely within the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area except for a small 946-acre (383 ha) plot in southeastern Wallowa County, Oregon which is administered by the Bureau of Land Management . The area that is administered by the Forest Service consists of portions of (in descending order of acreage) the Wallowa , Nez Perce , Payette , and Whitman National Forests. The Oregon portion of Hells Canyon Wilderness

1040-583: The area, and moose, peregrine falcon , bald and golden eagles can also be seen. Recent research has photodocumented the presence of wolverines. Three National Wild and Scenic Rivers run through the Wilderness - the Snake , Imnaha , and Rapid rivers. 66.9 miles (108 km) of the Snake River, from Hells Canyon Dam 35 miles (56 km) downstream, are designated Wild and Scenic. 32.5 miles (52 km) are designated "wild" and 34.4 miles (55 km) are designated "scenic." 77 miles (124 km) of

1080-514: The high country of New Zealand, where it is beginning to take over, causing the native species of plants not to be able to grow in those locations. It is also considered a "weed" in parts of Australia. Native Americans consumed the seeds and sweet inner bark. They chewed the dried pitch, which was also used as a salve. They used the limbs and branches as firewood and building material, and the trunks were carved into canoes. The needles and roots were made into baskets. The needles were also boiled into

1120-403: The largest of which are Buffalo Eddy, with more than five hundred pictographs, and Pittsburg Landing, where nearly thirty boulders are covered with them. An interpretive site has a short trail to interpretive panels displaying petroglyphs and pictographs. There are 17 campgrounds in the national recreation area. Pittsburg Landing, with a river boat launch is the only area with RV camping on

1160-719: The longest— 7 + 3 ⁄ 4 inches (19.8 centimetres)—and most flexible needles in plume-like fascicles of three. The Columbia ponderosa pine has long— 4 + 3 ⁄ 4 –8 in (12–20.5 cm)—and relatively flexible needles in fascicles of three. The Rocky Mountains subspecies has shorter— 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 – 5 + 3 ⁄ 4  in (9.2–14.4 cm)—and stout needles growing in scopulate (bushy, tuft-like) fascicles of two or three. The southwestern subspecies has 4 + 1 ⁄ 2 – 7 + 3 ⁄ 4  in (11.2–19.8 cm), stout needles in fascicles of three (averaging 2 + 3 ⁄ 4 – 3 + 1 ⁄ 2  in or 68.5–89 millimetres). The central High Plains subspecies

1200-456: The map. Numbers in columns were derived from multiple measurements of samples taken from 10 (infrequently fewer) trees on a varying number of geographically dispersed plots. Numbers in each cell show calculated mean ± standard error and number of plots. Pinus ponderosa is a dominant tree in the Kuchler plant association, the ponderosa shrub forest . Like most western pines, the ponderosa

1240-435: The mountains they can be found growing in pockets in the rock, stunting their growth. The main challenge for this species in bonsai cultivation is the natural long length of its needles, which takes years of training and care to reduce. This species is grown as an ornamental plant in parks and large gardens. During Operation Upshot–Knothole in 1953, a nuclear test was performed in which 145 ponderosa pines were cut down by

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1280-428: The ponderosa pine previously considered the world's tallest pine tree. Modern forestry research has identified five different taxa of P. ponderosa , with differing botanical characters and adaptations to different climatic conditions. Four of these have been termed "geographic races" in forestry literature. Some botanists historically treated some races as distinct species. In modern botanical usage, they best match

1320-504: The ponderosa pine. When carved into, pitch -filled stumps emit a scent of fresh pitch. The National Register of Big Trees lists a ponderosa pine that is 235 ft (72 metres) tall and 27 ft (8.2 m) in circumference. In January 2011, a Pacific ponderosa pine in the Rogue River–Siskiyou National Forest in Oregon was measured with a laser to be 268 ft 4 in (81.79 m) high. The measurement

1360-592: The rank of subspecies and have been formally published. Distributions of the subspecies in the United States are shown in shadow on the map. Distribution of ponderosa pine is from Critchfield and Little. The closely related five-needled Arizona pine ( Pinus arizonica ) extends southward into Mexico. Before the distinctions between the North Plateau and Pacific races were fully documented, most botanists assumed that ponderosa pines in both areas were

1400-484: The same. In 1948, when a botanist and a geneticist from California found a distinct tree on Mt. Rose in western Nevada with some marked differences from the ponderosa pine they knew in California, they described it as a new species, Washoe pine Pinus washoensis . Subsequent research determined this to be one of the southernmost outliers of the typical North Plateau race of ponderosa pine. Its current classification

1440-518: The species often appears on the edges of deserts as it is comparatively drought resistant, partly due to the ability to close its leaf pores. It can also draw some of its water from sandy soils. Despite being relatively widespread in the American West, it is intolerant of shade . Pinus ponderosa needles are the only known food of the caterpillars of the gelechiid moth Chionodes retiniella . Blue stain fungus , Grosmannia clavigera ,

1480-429: The two extremes. Prickly pear cactus and poison ivy are fairly common as well. Wildlife is abundant in Hells Canyon Wilderness. Black bear , cougar , elk , deer , mountain goat , chukar , and bighorn sheep are common. There have been reports, documented as recently as the late 1970s by local Forest Service and agriculture workers, of grizzly bears in the Wilderness. Wolves have established small packs in

1520-420: Was first documented in modern science in 1826 in eastern Washington near present-day Spokane (of which it is the official city tree). On that occasion, David Douglas misidentified it as Pinus resinosa (red pine). In 1829, Douglas concluded that he had a new pine among his specimens and coined the name Pinus ponderosa for its heavy wood. In 1836, it was formally named and described by Charles Lawson ,

1560-636: Was formally dedicated in 1976, in June in Idaho, and in late July in Oregon. All or partly included in the HCNRA is the Hells Canyon Archeological District , a 12,000-acre (19 sq mi; 49 km) historic district listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places . It includes 536 contributing sites , 23 contributing buildings , and 58 other contributing structures . There are many sites with pictographs ,

1600-487: Was performed by Michael Taylor and Mario Vaden, a professional arborist from Oregon . The tree was climbed on October 13, 2011, by Ascending The Giants (a tree-climbing company in Portland, Oregon ) and directly measured with tape-line at 268 ft 3 in (81.77 m) high. As of 2015, a Pinus lambertiana specimen was measured at 273 ft 9 + 1 ⁄ 2  in (83.45 m), which surpassed

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