Salmo-Priest Wilderness

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Coordinates: 48°55′40″N 117°10′15″W / 48.92778°N 117.17083°W / 48.92778; -117.17083
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Salmo-Priest Wilderness
wilderness area)[1]
Map showing the location of Salmo-Priest Wilderness
Map showing the location of Salmo-Priest Wilderness
LocationPend Oreille County, Washington, United States
Nearest cityMetaline Falls, Washington
Coordinates48°55′40″N 117°10′15″W / 48.92778°N 117.17083°W / 48.92778; -117.17083
Area41,335 acres (167.28 km2)
Established1984
Governing bodyU.S. Forest Service

Salmo-Priest Wilderness is a 41,335 acre (167.28 km2)

Washington state, within the Colville National Forest and the Kaniksu National Forest
.

Topography

The high-country Salmo-Priest Wilderness is a somewhat wishbone-shaped area atop two Selkirk Range ridges that intersect at 6,828-foot (2,081 m)

Priest River on the east and Sullivan Creek and the Salmo River into the Pend Oreille River on the west.[2]

Climate

The Salmo-Priest Wilderness receives 45 to 55 inches of precipitation each year. Winters are long and snowy, with snow not leaving the ground until July in some areas.

Wildlife

This rugged area is home to several endangered and threatened species, including

pine martens, lynx, bighorn sheep, and moose.[2]

Vegetation

Vegetation in the Salmo-Priest Wilderness is primarily dominated by

whitebark pine, Engelmann spruce, quaking aspen, and cottonwood. Plant association groups include Pseudotsuga menziesii/Symphoricarpos albus, Abies lasiocarpa/Clintonia uniflora, Abies lasiocarpa/Rhododendron albiflorum, Abies lasiocarpa/Rhododendron albiflorum-Xerophyllum tenax, Abies lasiocarpa/Xerophyllum tenax, Tsuga heterophylla/CUntonia uniflora, Tsuga heterophylla/Gymnocarpium dryopteris, Tsuga heterophylla/Menziesia ferruginea, Tsuga heterophylla/Rubus pedatus, Tsuga heterophylla/Xerophyllum tenax, Thuja plicata/Clintonia uniflora, Thuja plicata/Vaccinium membranaceum, and Pinus albicaulis.[6]

In late-summer both the wildflowers and huckleberries on the ridges are spectacular.

Other protected areas

The

National Recreation Trail in 1981, also lies in the wilderness.[8]

While the officially designated Salmo-Priest Wilderness ends at the Idaho border, the 20,000 acre Salmo/Priest Inventoried Roadless Area borders the wilderness.[9] In Washington, three Inventoried Roadless Areas also border the wilderness, some of which are recommended wilderness in the 2019 Colville National Forest Land Management Plan.[10][11] The area of contiguous Inventoried Roadless Areas and Wilderness is approximately 75,000 acres.

See also

  • List of U.S. wilderness areas
  • Wilderness Act
  • List of old growth forests

References

  1. ^ "Protected Planet | Salmo-Priest". Protected Planet. Retrieved 2020-10-16.
  2. ^ a b "Wilderness.net: Salmo-Priest Wilderness". Retrieved 2008-02-14.
  3. ^ "The Salmo-Priest Wilderness and roadless area". Retrieved 2007-12-23.
  4. ^ "Mammals of Eastern Washington". Archived from the original on 2007-12-10. Retrieved 2007-12-23.
  5. ^ "Colville National Forest - Wildlife". Retrieved 2008-02-14.
  6. ^
    doi:10.2737/PNW-GTR-360
    .
  7. ^ "Salmo-Priest Wilderness". Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  8. ^ "Shedroof Divide". American Trails. 2013-04-24. Retrieved 2014-08-14.
  9. ^ "Idaho Inventoried Roadless Areas". Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  10. ^ "Washington State Inventoried Roadless Areas". Retrieved 2020-11-20.
  11. ^ "2019 Colville National Forest Land Management Plan". Retrieved 2020-11-02.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Salmo-Priest_Wilderness&oldid=1132123204"