We hope you enjoy the tour. Have a safe trip!

Lick Creek

Demonstration/Research Forest

Interpretive Auto Tour

Bitterroot National Forest

Welcome!

This 7-mile drive through the heart of 

Lick Creek Demonstration/Research Forest 

includes 10 stops at points of interest. 

You will see views of the majestic 

Bitterroot and Sapphire Mountains, 

and learn about scientific research and 

resource management occurring in this 

beautiful ponderosa pine forest. On 

completion, you should have a better 

sense of the unique history of this area 

and the different kinds of activities 

happening here. 

This brochure will help guide you.

The tour follows road 5621 beginning 

at its junction with the Lake Como 

Recreation Area road on the north side 

of the lake and continuing to Lost Horse 

Creek. It takes about an hour. Stops are 

at turnouts marked by brown posts 

with white numerals. In some cases, you 

may want to walk for short distances to 

fully appreciate what you see. The road 

is narrow and open to traffic in both 

directions, so be alert for oncoming 

traffic. Please keep your speed under 

20 mph, and drive defensively! 

ROCKY MOUNTAIN RESEARCH STATION

RMRS


Lick Creek

Demonstration/Research Forest

Interpretive Auto Tour

Bitterroot National Forest

1.	 Start the Tour

2.	 Lake Como

3.	 Dispersed Camping/

Logging Camp

4.	 Early Photo Site

5.	 Demonstration/

Research Forest

6.	 Demonstration/

Research Forest

7.	 Como Peaks

8.	 Sapphire Mountains/

Valley Viewpoint

9.	 Lost Horse Canyon

and Bitterroot

Valley View

10.	 End of Tour

Como Peaks

Lick Creek Auto Tour Stops

Cover Photo: Lick Creek drainage, 

Como Peaks in the background

Demonstration/Research Forest
Lick Creek

Demonstration/Research Forest

Interpretive Auto Tour

Bitterroot National Forest

Stop 2. Lake Como

1. Start of the Tour. 

The route winds from Lake 

Como, through Lick Creek 

Demonstration/Research Forest, 

to a spectacular end at Lost Horse 

Creek. From there you may return 

along the tour route or make a loop, returning on Lost 

Horse Creek Road to Highway 93, then south (right) to 

Lake Como road. When stopping use turnouts or pull over 

to the far right side of the road. We hope you will enjoy 

learning about current as well as historical research and 

management in this beautiful forest area. The distance to 

Stop 2 is 0.2 miles.

2. Lake Como. Father Anthony Ravalli, an early 

day missionary in western Montana, named the lake in 

fond remembrance of Lake Como near his birthplace in 

northern Italy. The lake was enlarged by construction of 

Lake Como Dam in 1910. Located entirely on National 

Forest land, the Bitterroot Irrigation District owns and 

operates the dam under a special use permit. It provides 

agricultural irrigation water via the “Big Ditch,” that flows 

some 72 miles along the eastside of the Bitterroot Valley. 

The Irrigation District reconstructed the dam during 

the winter of 1992-3 and raised the water level again in 

1995 to improve late summer fisheries’ habitat along the 

Bitterroot River. Usually by mid-summer, more water exits 

the lake than flows in and, by summers end the lake level 

is quite low. 

The Bitter Root Valley Irrigation Company logged the 

lakebed during construction of the original dam. To 

remove logs, railroad tracks were laid from Lick Creek, 

over the ridge (behind you), under this road and down to 

the lakeshore. You can still see remnants of the railroad 

grade winding its way through the trees below the road.

As you travel to the next stop, note the slight dips in 

steeper portions of the road. On unpaved roads, rainwater 

can form deep gullies in tire ruts. Dips channel water off 

the roadway, preventing surface erosion and reducing 

chances of road sediments affecting streams or riparian 

habitat.

Keep right at the intersection near the top of the hill. 

The left road goes up the ridge, ending at a viewpoint 

overlooking the lake. It is closed from September 1 until 

mid-June to increase wildlife security, protect elk calving 

areas and reduce rutting and erosion during wet weather.

Lake Como from Como Dam


Lick Creek

Demonstration/Research Forest

Interpretive Auto Tour

Bitterroot National Forest

Just past the intersection, notice the trails

created by wildlife going up the bank into the 

trees as they go to and from the natural mineral 

deposit nearby. This “lick” gives the area its 

name. Bedrock forming the Bitterroot Range is 

low in nutritive value, and wildlife need these 

natural mineral concentrations for an important 

part of their diet. Stop 3 is 1.1 miles. 

3. Dispersed Camping/Logging Camp. 

This stop is just past the Lick Creek Bridge, 

reconstructed in 2004 by the Forest Service to 

better allow for fish passage. Left of the road is 

a site used for “dispersed camping,” a popular 

use of National Forest land. The Forest Service 

maintains these areas in a natural state for 

campers preferring a more remote experience 

than campgrounds provide. 

Another temporary railroad crossed the road 

here, continuing to a logging camp active during 

a 1907–1911 timber sale. Walk up the right side 

of the creek for 100 feet, staying about 50 feet from 

the stream, and you will see remnants of the temporary 

railbed—ground indentations where ties were pulled up 

and moved to the next railroad location. 

From this point, you will start to see evidence of timber 

harvest. You are entering the Lick Creek Demonstration/

Research Forest. Stop 4 is 0.2 miles.

4. Early Photo Site. At this stop, notice the contrast 

between the area harvested in the early 1990s (left) and 

the un-harvested area with its thick understory (right). 

The Forest Service uses prescribed fire following timber 

harvest to remove undesirable understory vegetation 

(mostly excess Douglas-fir seedlings) and eliminate harvest 

debris. It also aids ponderosa pine regeneration, and 

promotes growth of native grasses, forbs and shrubs. Over 

time, this area will return to an open stand of magnificent 

large ponderosa pines. 

Take time to walk across the road. Most of the large 

trees here are ponderosas. They are identified by their 

flaky reddish-orange bark with deep fissures. Smell the 

bark. The aroma of vanilla emanates from between these 

fissures on warm days.

 After the 1907-1911 timber sale, the Forest Service 

established photo points at several places in the 

harvest area. Over the years, each point has been rephotographed several times. This picture series provides 

dramatic evidence of changes in forest vegetation over 

time. A 15 minute walk down the road to the right leads 

to a photo point corresponding with pictures in “The 

Dynamics of Forest Change” section of this pamphlet. 

Signs are posted along the route to guide you. Stop 5 is 

1.1 miles. You will pass two intersections on the way. Keep 

right at both.

Stop 3. Logging Camp

Along the way, raod bank wildlife trail
Lick Creek

Demonstration/Research Forest

Interpretive Auto Tour

Bitterroot National Forest

5. Demonstration/Research Forest. This stop shows 

an example of an ongoing study. Implemented in 1992/93, this 

study focuses on developing stands of large trees as might have 

occurred historically, while also generating timber products. 

Objectives were to compare the effectiveness of selection cutting, 

with and without prescribed underburning (a low intensity controlled 

fire that burns close to the ground), in order to 1) maintain and 

regenerate an uneven-aged stand of ponderosa pine, 2) improve the 

health of old-growth trees, 3) accelerate development of large trees 

for the future, and 4) reduce severe wildfire potential.

The area below the road was harvested and most of the larger 

Douglas-fir trees were removed using hand felling (chainsaws). Logs 

were dragged to the road (skidded) using a crawler tractor (bulldozer) 

and taken to a sawmill for processing into lumber. Forest managers 

later used prescribed fire to reduce ground fuels together with most 

remaining Douglas-fir saplings, leaving an open stand of ponderosa 

pines of different sizes.

 Above the road, the area to the right was harvested (as below), but 

not burned. To picture how it looked before treatment, observe the 

untreated stand above the road on the left. 

Now, more than 10 years after treatment, researchers monitoring 

the site have observed the following changes: Compared to the uncut 

areas, the “cut-only” treatment accentuated the uneven-agedness 

of the stand, reduced Douglas-fir from the site, induced natural 

regeneration of hundreds of pine seedlings per acre, and increased 

growth rate (and vigor) of remaining trees. The “cut-burn” treatment 

had similar positive effects but modest tree damage from the burning 

resulted in slower growth rates than observed in the “cut-only” 

treatments, but slightly faster than uncut areas. Wildfire hazard is least 

in the cut-burn treatment. Forest scientists continue to monitor the 

site. Stop 6 is 0.2 miles.

6. Demonstration/Research Forest. This stop shows 

more research plots. Above the road, the area to the right received no 

treatment. The area on the left was harvested and burned. Below the 

road, the area on the left was harvested and burned and, on the right, 

only harvesting occurred. 

One goal of demonstration/research forests is to 

scientifically monitor the effects of different 

treatments. Observe the difference in tree 

densities between these areas. Can you 

distinguish between the areas where 

prescribed fire occurred and where it did 

not? Notice how logging and burning 

together are creating an open, more parklike forest reminiscent of historical conditions. 

Also observe the trees killed during burning 

that now contribute valuable habitat for cavity 

nesting birds and other wildlife. 

Forest conditions before treatment

Stop 5. No Treatment vs Treatment of Plots

Forest conditions after treatment

Stop 6. Demonstration/Research Forest

Prescribed burning at Lick Creek
Lick Creek

Demonstration/Research Forest

Interpretive Auto Tour

Bitterroot National Forest

Tree growth response is not 

the only thing researchers are 

investigating. For instance, 

one study analyzed soil 

samples both before and after 

treatments and discovered a shortterm fertilization effect from burning. 

A different study found thinning improved the general 

health of remaining trees giving them better resistance 

to disease and insect attacks. Another measured the 

effects of various treatments on wildlife browse plants and 

found that fire stimulated willow growth but killed many 

bitterbrush plants.

In another, visitors were asked to rate their responses 

to visual impacts of various treatments. Most found the 

forest appearance unappealing right after treatment, but 

were impressed with the aesthetic improvement over 

time. Because of the loose, 

flaky nature of ponderosa 

pine bark, charring caused 

by burning eventually fades. 

Likewise, re-growth of ground 

vegetation reduces the visual 

impact of burning over the 

years. The Forest is planning 

harvest and underburning 

here on a 20-30 year rotation 

to mimic natural fire cycles, 

sustain forest health and 

productivity, and provide 

multiple resource values 

such as timber products, 

wildlife habitat and 

recreational opportunities. 

Stop 7 is 0.7 miles.

7. Como Peaks View 

Point. Removing obstructing 

trees and brush here has 

enhanced the view. There are several things to see here. 

Most spectacular is the view of Como Peaks rising over 

9,600 feet to the southwest. These peaks are known 

locally as the Three Sisters (for the three more prominent 

points) and Lonesome Bachelor (the lesser pinnacle to the 

far right).

You can pick out some interesting glacial features 

from here:

Horns– sharp pointed rocky peaks carved on all sides by 

glacial action

Cirques– steep-walled bowls at the head of glacial valleys, 

often containing a lake

Arêtes– steep, serrated knife-edge ridges formed by 

glaciers flowing on either side

Moraines– jumbled soil and rock formed along the edge 

of glaciers that remain after it melts. 

A large 1988 wildfire scar is visible on the ridge below 

Como Peaks. Much of this burn has been reforested 

by planting and natural regeneration after the fire. The 

washout on the same ridge results from an irrigation ditch 

that failed in 1991. A pipe replaced the ditch, making a 

recurrence unlikely.

Between this stop and the next, the area west (left) of 

the road was harvested in the mid 1990s. Here loggers 

used horses to drag logs out of the woods. Although 

more costly, this technique does a good job of protecting 

the soil and smaller trees from damage during harvest. 

They removed mostly Douglas-fir over-story trees infected 

with dwarf mistletoe, a small, leafless, parasitic plant. 

Dwarf mistletoe causes host trees to develop poorly 

with misshapen branches (called witches brooms). The 

larger diseased trees infect Douglas-fir seedlings growing 

beneath them and eventually the entire stand can 

become afflicted. The larger ponderosa pines have been 

left. Over many years some will die, providing snags (dead 

standing trees), primary habitat for woodpeckers and 

other cavity nesters.

Stop 7. Como Peaks
Lick Creek

Demonstration/Research Forest

Interpretive Auto Tour

Bitterroot National Forest

Also, this area previously received much unauthorized 

off-road vehicle use. The now rehabilitated 4-wheeler 

trail is still evident coming down the ridge and across 

the road. Use like this has negative effects on wildlife and 

compacts soil, forming ruts that easily erode and can 

spread weeds as well as destroy cultural resource sites. 

The Bitterroot Forest now manages off-road vehicle use, 

limiting it to areas of minimal impact. It is restricted here 

to prevent further damage and permit the forest to heal. 

Stop 8 is 0.8 miles.

8. Sapphire Mountains/Valley Viewpoint. This 

stop provides views of the Bitterroot Valley and Sapphire 

Range to the east. Deer Mountain rises on the horizon to 

the right of center. Look closely and you can see a small 

building at the top – Deer Mountain Lookout, one of the 

few fire lookouts still staffed on the Bitterroot Forest.

Notice the rumpled, pastoral appearance of the 

Sapphire Range compared to the Bitterroots. The 

Sapphires once actually capped the Bitterroot Mountains 

but slowly slid to their present location eons ago. They lie 

in the rain shadow of the higher Bitterroots making them 

warmer and drier.

 The mosaic of trees and other vegetation you see in the 

Sapphires from here results from wildfires that occurred in 

2000. These fires affected more than 358,000 acres of the 

Bitterroot Valley (307,000 acres on the Bitterroot National 

Forest alone). All forests of the northern Rocky Mountains 

are wonderfully 

adapted to 

fire as a natural 

process. These 

“fire-dependent” 

forests are always 

changing and fire is just one agent of 

change that affects them. These forests, in 

fact, need periodic fire to sustain them and 

keep them healthy. 

Nevertheless, wildfires today often 

involve unacceptable social 

tradeoffs that preclude them 

from playing their natural role. 

Instead, forest managers often 

use prescribed fires, ignited 

and permitted to burn under controlled 

conditions. Used like this, prescribed fire 

attempts to mimic natural wildfires to 

create conditions favorable for forests to 

develop more as they would under natural, 

historic conditions.

From here, you will cross a ridge, leaving the Lick Creek 

Demonstration/Research Forest and entering Lost Horse 

Canyon. As you proceed, notice the trees with large bushy 

clumps of limbs. They are Douglas-firs, heavily infected 

with dwarf mistletoe. The road drops off quickly so please 

drive carefully. Stop 9 is 0.9 miles.

9. Lost Horse Canyon and Bitterroot Valley 

View. Looking north, you can see the Bitterroot Valley 

toward Hamilton. At night, the multitude of lights from 

Hamilton and the surrounding area graphically show the 

impact of increasing population. Directly below is an 

area where trees were harvested and replanted several 

years ago. 

Looking up Lost Horse Creek, you see Brandy Peak 

(elev. 7,478’), a spectacular mountain named for 

Guy Brandborg, a former (1935–1955) Bitterroot NF 

Supervisor. Notice also the classic “U” shape and steep 

walls of the canyon. Only glaciers produce this shape and 

Lost Horse Canyon demonstrates it perfectly.

 All major canyons west of the Bitterroot Valley 

contained glaciers to within a mile or so of their mouths 

as recently as 12,000 to 13,000 years ago. As the climate 

warmed, the glaciers melted. An ice dam in northern 

Idaho impounded runoff, creating Glacial Lake Missoula. 

This lake filled the Bitterroot Valley to a depth of about 

700 feet above the present town of Hamilton. 

Stop 8. Sapphire Mountains

Southern Bitterroot Valley looking east toward the Sapphire Mountains
With continued warming, 

lake waters melted the ice dam. 

When it broke, the lake drained 

rapidly down the Columbia 

River to the Pacific Ocean. Within 

a few years the ice dam re-formed, 

as did the lake. Geologists tell us this 

process may have recurred over 40 times 

during 2,500 years at the end of the last ice age. Warming 

finally prevented the re-formation of the dam (and lake), 

allowing the types of forests we see now to establish and 

flourish.

Across Lost Horse Creek, on the opposite side of the 

canyon, notice burned trees that resulted from a personcaused fire in July 2000. This 120 acre fire was a precursor 

to the extensive lightning-caused “Fires of 2000” only a 

few weeks that affected much of the Bitterroot Forest later. 

It is 1.4 miles to stop 10, the end of the tour.

10. End of Tour. The tour ends at the intersection with 

Lost Horse Road. Here you can either turn around and 

retrace the route to Lake Como, or turn right and return 

to Highway 93 (5 miles). You may also turn left and go up 

Lost Horse Canyon. This road continues for about 15 miles, 

terminating at Twin Lakes near the Bitterroot divide. This 

road is not maintained for use by passenger cars.

We hope you enjoyed the tour. We encourage you to 

retake it in succeeding years to observe different research 

treatments and the vegetation changes that occur over 

time here in the Lick Creek Demonstration/Research Forest.

Lake Como

Lick Creek

Demonstration/Research Forest

Interpretive Auto Tour

Bitterroot National Forest

Recreation at Lake Como

Fr. Anthony Ravalli a missionary in the Bitterroot Valley 

during the mid-nineteenth century, named Lake Como 

for its similarity to a lake near his boyhood home in the 

Italian Alps. In 1910, the original lake was expanded to 

913 acres with the construction of Como Dam. It holds up 

to 35,600 acre-feet of water used to irrigate nearly 17,000 

acres of Bitterroot Valley farmland.

Lake Como, one of few easily accessible lakes in 

the Bitterroot Valley, provides enjoyment for almost 

everyone—truly one of the most attractive recreational 

complexes in western Montana. Swimmers and 

sunbathers enjoy sandy beaches on the north shore near 

the dam while boaters use the boat-launch 

and trailer parking area on the south 

side. Other popular activities include 

hiking, camping, picnicking, fishing, 

and horse riding. There are 3 developed 

campgrounds and 2 picnic areas near the 

water, each with handicapped accessible 

facilities. 

A National Recreation Trail circles the lake 

for foot and mountain bike use. There are two 

trailhead facilities—one each on the north and 

south side of the lake. Horses are restricted to 

the south lake trail. Horse handling facilities, 

including a unique horse-mounting platform 

for people with disabilities, are located there. 

At the upper end of the lake, Rock Creek Trail 

continues to the west accessing the SelwayBitterroot Wilderness, the largest wilderness in 

the lower 48 states. 

History

The Bitterroot Valley has been home to people for at 

least 8,000 years and likely much longer. Those early 

occupants lived by their wits, hunting and gathering 

a variety of plants and animals throughout the region. 

When Euro-Americans first came, they found the Salish 

people living here. Now known as the “Bitterroot 

Salish” many of their descendants live on the Flathead 

Reservation north of Missoula. Nez Perce, Kootenai, Pend 

d’Oreille and Shoshone Indians also frequented this area.

The Lewis and Clark Expedition that passed here 

in 1805/6 was the first substantiated contact of EuroAmericans with the natives here. For the next several 
Lick Creek

Demonstration/Research Forest

Interpretive Auto Tour

Bitterroot National Forest

decades, trappers and traders 

from the British-owned 

Northwest, and later Hudson 

Bay Company worked the area, 

but none stayed. In the 1840s, 

Jesuit priests established St. 

Mary’s Mission near Stevensville, 

but it was not until 1855 that the 

U S government made treaties 

with local tribes (Stevens Treaty).

Euro-American occupation 

accelerated in the 1860s when 

gold was discovered, first in 

Idaho, then in Montana. By 

1865, most of the valley’s 100 

Euro-American residents were 

growing produce for regional 

mining districts. By 1900, there 

were 891 farms and ranches in 

Ravalli County and over 177,000 

acres in cultivation. 

The lumber industry 

developed in the Bitterroot 

Valley in the 1880s. The railroad 

arrived in 1885 and, in 1890, 

Butte’s Copper King Marcus 

Daly constructed a lumber mill in Hamilton. Alarmed by 

unregulated timber cutting on public lands, Congress 

established the Bitterroot Forest Reserve in 1897 as part of 

a plan to conserve western forests. In 1905, the fledgling 

Forest Service assumed management responsibilities, and 

despite minor boundary changes, the Bitterroot National 

Forest still contains much of the original Reserve.

The Lick Creek Timber Sale (1907–1911) was the 

first large National Forest timber sale (2,135 acres) in a 

ponderosa pine forest and attracted national attention. 

The Big Blackfoot Milling Company, a subsidiary of the 

Anaconda Copper Company, purchased the timber, 

producing 37,600,000 board feet of timber. During 

harvest operations, workers lived in logging camps in 

the woods. One was located within the Demonstration/

Research Forest.

Loggers used horses to skid timber downhill to landings. 

There, they loaded logs onto railcars to be hauled to the 

mill by steam engines. As they harvested each area, they 

pulled the track and ties and moved them to a newly built 

railroad bed. Along with horse skidding trails, old railroad 

beds together with footprints of railroad ties removed 

long ago, are still visible in the side draws of Lick Creek. 

During construction of railroad grades, horses pulled 

large, shovel-shaped pans (known as “slips” or “fresnos”) 

to move soil and rock. One of these, discovered here at 

Lick Creek, is on display at the Visitor Information Center 

next to Darby Ranger Station in Darby.

The Lick Creek Demonstration/Research Forest, officially 

established in February 1991, is a cooperative agreement 

between the Bitterroot National Forest and Rocky 

Mountain (formerly Intermountain) Research Station in 

Missoula. It evolved through the work of Bitterroot Forest 

employees in partnership with research scientists, private 

individuals, special interest groups, and county officials 

to plan the management of natural resources here. The 

group developed a vision, a desired future condition for 

the area. Forest managers then prepared a list of projects 

that, over time, would best move toward that condition. 

These included establishing the Demonstration/Research 

Forest, various interpretative sites and other projects, 

some of which are discussed on the auto tour. Researchers 

participated by establishing studies that examined the 

impact of management activities on the forest ecosystem.

Unlogged forest at Lick Creek, 1909
Lick Creek

Demonstration/Research Forest

Interpretive Auto Tour

Bitterroot National Forest

Wildlife

You may often see mule deer, whitetail deer and elk 

along the tour route during early morning or evening 

hours, especially from mid-winter through early summer. 

Mule deer and elk usually move to higher country where 

it’s cooler and where forage is abundant. They’ll stay here 

until deep snow drives them back down to wintering 

areas. Lick Creek is named for a local, natural mineral 

deposit (lick), that provides important nutrients to the 

diets of these animals.

With continued private development in the valley, low 

elevation public land like this provides critical winter range 

and spring birthing areas for wildlife. To enhance wildlife 

use, the drainage, including most roads, has been closed 

to off-road vehicle use.

Many smaller mammals–chipmunks, pine squirrels, 

hares, badgers, wolverines, pine martens, mink, and 

weasels–live in these forests. Likewise, you may also see 

a variety of birds. One of the most striking is the pileated 

woodpecker, the largest woodpecker commonly seen in 

the United States. Growing to a height of about 17 inches, 

it has a prominent red crest and a white stripe down 

the sides of its neck. Pileated woodpeckers nest in large 

standing snags. Carpenter ants are their major food. As 

part of the vision to improve their habitat, timber harvest 

is being implemented here in ways favorable to these 

birds and fuel wood gathering is no longer allowed.

A neo-tropical migratory bird study is also underway in 

Lick Creek and nearby Rock Creek. These birds breed in 

temperate forests of North America and winter in Central 

and South America. Lick Creek provides habitat for several 

species, including MacGillivray’s warbler and Swainson’s 

thrush. Adult birds arrive in the spring, after traveling 

thousands of miles from their winter homes. Researchers 

trap, band and release many of these small sojourners 

using fine-meshed mist nets. Later, after young birds 

hatch, trapping is repeated and the juveniles banded. 

Netting in subsequent years shows trends in productivity 

and survival. This Forest Service study is a cooperative 

effort with the Bitterroot Audubon Society and the 

Institute for Bird Populations. 

Geology

The Bitterroot Valley 

measures 65 miles from 

north to south and 

up to 10 miles wide. 

On the west, the 

Bitterroot Mountains 

rise abruptly as an 

even face, cut by 

deep parallel canyons 

carved by glaciers. 

To the east, foothills 

gradually rise to 

the more subdued 

Sapphire Mountains. 

These mountains look 

distinctly different from the 

Bitterroots, but the two are 

intricately connected. 

The Bitterroots are part of the 

Idaho Batholith, an enormous 

mass of granitic rock stretching 

almost unbroken for 50 miles into Idaho. Beginning about 

200 million years ago, this huge expanse cooled from 

smaller masses of molten rock that rose one by one into 

the earth’s crust. The process lasted nearly 150 million 

years, bulging the earth’s surface upward and creating a 

high area. Then, over eons, a large chunk slid off the top, 

moving east, forming what is now the Sapphire Range.

Cross section of fire scars 

on stump 

CUT APROX. 1902

1890 FIRE

FIRES

1871

1861

1850

1838

1828

1821

1818

1811

1806

1798

1790

1783

1776

1771

1752
Lick Creek

Demonstration/Research Forest

Interpretive Auto Tour

Bitterroot National Forest

After the Sapphires slid, the earth’s crust to the west floated upward again, 

raising the Bitterroot Mountains to present levels. Meanwhile, the land to the east 

sank beneath the load of the great slab that had just moved. So now there are 

two mountainous areas, neither as high as the original would have been had the 

Sapphire block stayed put.

The Bitterroot Valley lies between the slabby gneiss forming the Bitterroot 

front (on which the Sapphire block slid), and the Sapphires. The valley filled 

with sediment during past dry climatic episodes. This is because dry soils in the 

mountains erode rapidly, plant cover being too sparse to hold it in place, but 

streams are too short-lived to carry the sediment away. We are now in a wetter 

period that allows streams to slowly carve through this fill and send it to the ocean. 

The Dynamics of Forest Change

Although formal studies at Lick Creek only began in the 1940s, the 

documentation of forest change here can be traced to 1909 when Forest 

Service Photographer, W. J. Lubkin, documented scenes during, and shortly 

after an early timber sale (see history section). In November 1925, Forest Service 

photographer K. D. Swan, accompanied by W. W. White, Bitterroot Forest 

Supervisor, relocated the original photo points. Swan repeated the original 

photos in 1925, 1927, and 1937. In 1938, Forest Supervisor Guy M. Brandborg 

and Ranger Charles Schockley permanently marked the points with brass caps. 

Subsequent photos were taken in 1949, 1958, 1969, 1979, 1989 and 1997. These 

photos present a rare opportunity to witness nearly a century of forest succession 

(that is, vegetation change over time) in managed ponderosa pine stands. 

These photos and other accounts of forest conditions, give evidence that, prior 

to the early 1900s, most low elevation Bitterroot Valley forests consisted of parklike stands of large ponderosa pines towering over shrubs and grass (See photo 

on page 7). Low intensity surface fires from (lightning, native burning, and other 

causes.) regularly swept through these forests at intervals from 5 to 20 years, 

or so. With little time for ground fuel to accumulate between fires, they had 

minimal effect on the larger pines except for fire scars at their base (See stump 

cross section on page 8). Even young ponderosas, with their thick bark and large, 

fire-resistant buds, often survived while small Douglas-firs and other trees were 

thinned out because they have less natural fire resistance and are readily killed by 

low-intensity fires.

Since the early logging, there has been considerable change in vegetation. A 

well-intentioned national policy of fire suppression virtually eliminated frequent 

surface fires from the natural processes that established and maintained these 

forests since the last ice age. Without fire, Douglas-fir and other trees have been 

able to compete successfully where there was once mostly ponderosa pine. 

Likewise, in the absence of fire, tree stands have become thicker than the 

limited water and soil nutrients can support. This allows conditions like dwarf 

mistletoe, insects and diseases to successfully attack the weakened trees 

struggling for survival so general forest health declines. Ground fuels are no 

longer eliminated periodically, thus the risk of high intensity wildfires increases. 

Wildlife habitat has declined because dense stands of trees have shaded out and 

replaced many forage plants in the understory. All of these changes are brought 

to life vividly in the photo series taken from the camera points established in 

1909 (See photos at right).

1909

1937

1968

1997
Forest Research and the Bitterroot Ecosystem Management Research Project

Forest researchers began studying implications of various timber harvest methods at Lick Creek in the 1940s, 

continuing through the 1960s. More recently, researchers are addressing the undesirable changes in forest conditions 

described earlier. Formal ecosystem research began in 1990 as forest scientists together with Bitterroot National Forest 

managers began working together to provide sustainable answers to forest health and fire hazard problems threatening 

these low elevation ponderosa pine forests. Examples demonstrated here include experiments to determine how to 

best improve forest health and productivity, reduce the likelihood of severe 

wildfire, enhance wildlife habitat and improve forest appearances. Methods 

include tree thinning and prescribed fire. Selective thinning leaves a 

significant number of large ponderosa pines on the landscape and prescribed 

fire thins small, competing trees and reduces surface fuels. Native shrubs and 

grasses will once again occupy their normal habitats, improving forest health 

and providing forage and cover for wildlife.

Established in 1994, the Bitterroot Ecosystem Management Research 

Project (BEMRP), resulted largely from years of cooperative work here in the 

Lick Creek Demonstration/Research Forest. In this ongoing project, the Rocky 

Mountain Research Station (USDA FS) and the Bitterroot National Forest 

together with the Northern Region of the Forest Service and the University 

of Montana, collaborate in a formal partnership promoting science-based 

forest ecosystem management projects that may be replicated and used elsewhere in similar forests both public and 

private. BEMRP scientists with backgrounds in fields like plant ecology, wildlife biology and fire science, are working 

with land managers and the public to evaluate ecosystem responses and big picture (landscape) approaches to forest 

management decisions that consider “all pieces of the puzzle.” BEMRP research includes all biological and physical 

aspects of the ecosystem and features computer modeling to compare potential outcomes of management decisions. 

Since natural resource management involves social tradeoffs, the human dimension is intertwined into all aspects of 

the work. To date, there have been over 160 published studies resulting from BEMRP. Many more are still in various 

operational or planning stages.

For more information contact:

Darby Ranger District		 	 Bitterroot National Forest Supervisor’s Office

712 Highway 93 N	 	 	 1801 North First Street

P.O. Box 388	 	 	 	 Hamilton MT 59840

Darby, MT, 59829	 	 	 (406) 363-7161

(406) 821-3913

The policy of the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, 

age, religion, sex, or disability, familial status or political affiliation. Persons believing they have been discriminated against in any Forest Service 

related activity should write to: Chief, Forest Service, USDA, P.O. Box 96090, Washington, D.C. 20090-6090. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Montana State University and the Montana State University Extension Service prohibit 

discrimination in all of their programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, 

sexual orientation, and marital and family status. Issued in furtherance of cooperative extension work in agriculture and home economics, acts 

of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Douglas L. Steele, Vice Provost and Director, Extension 

Service, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN RESEARCH STATION

RMRS