Leadore Ranger District

The Leadore Ranger District has gone through many changes over the years, yet much of the area looks the way it did 100 years ago. While traveling the upper Lemhi Valley area it is easy to imagine the Indians hunting along the Lemhi River, or the Lewis and Clark Expedition crossing to the west of the "Great Divide", envision the freight wagons, heavy with supplies, slowly making their way to the mines of the area. This rural undeveloped area provides numerous opportunities to revisit and visualize the past.

The location of the Salmon-Challis National Forest as the northernmost Forest of the USDA-Forest Service's Intermountain Region places it within a unique wildlife area. Due to its location, it is a transition forest between the high desert and shrub/steppe habitats to the south and the coniferous forest habitats to the north. In such a geographic location, the District is home to wildlife species from both of these habitats.

Big game animals:
elk, moose, white-tailed and mule deer, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, and pronghorn antelope

Mammalian predator species:
gray wolf, wolverine, American marten, Canada lynx, bobcat, and several species of bats

Game birds:
blue and spruce grouse, turkey, ring-necked pheasant, and sage grouse

Predator bird species:
bald eagle, goshawk, rough-legged hawk, and great gray owl

Neotropical migratory bird species:
mountain bluebird, vesper and Brewer's sparrow, pileated woodpecker, and yellow warbler

Reptiles:
rattlesnakes (are found only on portions of the District.)