History & Culture

The History of Modoc National Forest

This picture was taken in 1924 in the Modoc National Forest. The two men were biologists working on a bark beetle project.

The Modoc National forest is named after a Native American tribe, the Modocs. In 1826, Euro-American settlers moved into Modoc County. They relied on the natural foods available to them - wild game, fish, and fowl as well as edible plants. They hunted and gathered all of these resources on an annual basis from lakes, rivers, wetlands, mountains, plateaus, and valleys in the region. There are three Native American tribes who still live in the region today:  the Modoc, the Pit River or Achomawi, and the Northern Paiute.

In 1904, the Modoc National Forest was set aside by President Theodore Roosevelt at the request of local ranchers. William S. Brown Senior, a Forest Service Information Specialist, compiled a history of the Modoc in eight chapters in 1945.

America's past is protected and preserved by the U.S. Forest Service. Whenever you discover an archaeological object or historic site, you should not disturb it. Call the Forest Archaeologist with a report of your discovery (530) 233-8730.