North-central Idaho Research Articles

Strain and kinematics within the Salmon River suture zone and western Idaho shear zone, Idaho, USA: Exploring the contribution of ductile stretching to mass transfer and exhumation in fold-thrust and transpressional systems

Measuring penetrative strain is critical for understanding the 3D strain field of structural systems. Here, we investigate ductile strain and kinematics in two Cordilleran structural systems in north-central Idaho: the Salmon River suture zone (SRSZ), which is a west-vergent ductile fold-thrust system that accommodated shortening associated with terrane collision between ∼144 and 105 Ma, and the north-striking, subvertical western Idaho shear zone (WISZ), which accommodated dextral-transpressional shearing between ∼105 and 86 Ma. We collected finite strain data from stretched clasts in three SRSZ thrust sheets, which define 56–87% average thrust-parallel stretching and 35–48% average thrust-normal thinning. Thrust-parallel stretching contributed >27 km of cumulative displacement to the up-dip portion of the fold-thrust system, comparable to the 34 km of total thrust displacement estimated at down-dip levels. In the WISZ, we documented dextral kinematics in lineation-normal planes, and we measured boudinaged and folded granitic dikes to estimate late-stage (∼91-86 Ma) strain, which yielded 65% minimum lineation-parallel stretching and 50% minimum east-west shortening. Subvertical stretching in the WISZ accommodated >9–10 km of exhumation relative to the Idaho batholith to the east. The SRSZ and WISZ both demonstrate the 1st-order importance of ductile stretching for accommodating the large-scale transfer of mass and exhumation in fold-thrust and transpressional systems.

Mesic mixed-conifer forests are resilient to both historical high-severity fire and contemporary reburns in the US Northern Rocky Mountains

High-severity fires and short-interval reburns strongly influence forest structure and composition and may overwhelm forest ecosystem resilience and catalyze persistent shifts to non-forest conditions. Recent increases in annual area burned and severity in the western United States (US) highlight the need to better understand the long-term effects of high-severity fire, including interactions with subsequent fires. In the early 20th century, the northern US Rocky Mountains experienced several fire seasons with widespread, high-severity fires, under fire weather comparable with extreme conditions today. The Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness in north-central Idaho has remained an active fire regime with limited suppression and management, making it an ideal location to investigate long-term effects of initial high-severity fires, as well as ecosystem resilience to contemporary reburning. Using field sampling informed by fire history data from 1870 to 2020, we investigated the influence of fire frequency (once, twice, and thrice burned from 1910 to 2017) on forest structure, conifer regeneration, and fuel loading in mesic mixed-conifer forests that burned at high severity in either 1910 or 1934. Tree regeneration was abundant across all three burn histories, and 99% of sample sites were <200 m from the nearest conifer seed source when sampled in 2021. Abundance of snags and coarse woody material was less affected by fire frequency and more impacted by time since last fire. High shrub biomass occurred only on steep southwest aspects with low overstory basal area and was not related to burn history. Live tree composition and density differed across forests with contrasting recent fire histories, but even thrice-burned sites supported abundant conifer tree regeneration, indicating that northern Rocky Mountain mesic mixed-conifer forests that experienced fire during the twentieth century currently remain resilient to wildfire. Wildfire as an ecological process in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness likely contributed to ecosystem resilience.

Understanding the spatiotemporal distribution of snow refugia in the rain-snow transition zone of north-central Idaho

Knowledge of snow cover distribution and disappearance dates over a wide range of scales is imperative for understanding hydrological dynamics and for habitat management of wildlife species that rely on snow cover. Identification of snow refugia, or places with relatively late snow disappearance dates (SDDs) compared to surrounding areas, is especially important as climate change alters snow cover timing and duration. The purpose of this study was to increase understanding of snow refugia in complex terrain spanning the rain-snow transition zone at fine spatial and temporal scales. To accomplish this objective, we used remote cameras to provide relatively high temporal and spatial resolution measurements on snowpack conditions. We built linear models to relate SDDs at the monitoring sites to topoclimatic and canopy cover metrics. One model to quantify SDDs included elevation, aspect, and an interaction between canopy cover and cold-air pooling potential. High-elevation, north-facing sites in cold-air pools (CAPs) had the latest SDDs, but isolated lower-elevation points also exhibited relatively late potential SDDs. Importantly, canopy cover had a much stronger effect on SDDs in CAPs than in non-CAPs, indicating that best practices in forest management for snow refugia could vary across microtopography. A second model that included in situ hydroclimate observations (December–February (DJF) temperature and March 1 snow depth) indicated that March 1 snow depth had little impact on SDD at the coldest winter temperatures, and that DJF temperatures had a stronger effect on SDD at lower snow depths, implying that the relative importance of snowfall and temperature could vary across hydroclimatic contexts in their impact on snow refugia. This new understanding of factors influencing snow refugia can guide forest management actions to increase snow retention and inform management of snow-dependent wildlife species in complex terrain.

Identifying Competencies for Leisure and Hospitality Curriculum in a Rural Region

This case study describes how competencies that are common across entities that operate in the leisure and hospitality industry in North Central Idaho were identified. The leisure and hospitality industry is crucial to the economy of many rural regions with scenic surroundings. Tourists’ satisfaction, however, depends on their experiences with frontline staff in the industry and service encounters are among the significant factors for customer satisfaction. Developing curriculum that leads to the proper training of frontline customer service representatives is important. A groupware process using workers in the leisure and hospitality sector was used to identify duties, tasks, general knowledge, skills, and attitudes for a guest relations agent. Issues and future trends were also identified. Results show half of the duties referenced essential interaction with customers, such as communicating to support customers and team, providing customer service, providing product/service/organization information, and providing customer assistance for local and regional activities. Trends and issues also point to the need to be prepared for factors such as outbreak of disease that may affect the operations in the sector.

Tracing δ18O and δ2H in Source Waters and Recharge Pathways of a Fractured-Basalt and Interbedded-Sediment Aquifer, Columbia River Flood Basalt Province

The heterogeneity and anisotropy of fractured-rock aquifers, such as those in the Columbia River Basalt Province, present challenges for determining groundwater recharge. The entrance of recharge to the fractured-basalt and interbedded-sediment aquifer in the Palouse region of north-central Idaho is not well understood because of successive basalt flows that act as restrictive barriers. It was hypothesized that a primary recharge zone exists along the basin’s eastern margin at a mountain-front interface where eroded sediments form a more conductive zone for recharge. Potential source waters and groundwater were analyzed for δ18O and δ2H to discriminate recharge sources and pathways. Snowpack values ranged from −22 to −12‰ for δ18O and from −160 to −90‰ for δ2H and produced spring-time snowmelt ranging from −16.5 to −12‰ for δ18O and from −120 to −90‰ for δ2H. With the transition of snowmelt to spring-time ephemeral creeks, the isotope values compressed to −16 and −14‰ for δ18O and −110 and −105‰ for δ2H. A greater range of values was present for a perennial creek (−18 to −13.5‰ for δ18O and −125 to −98‰ for δ2H) and groundwater (−17.5 to −13‰ for δ18O and −132 to −105‰ for δ2H), which reflect a mixing of seasonal signals and the varying influence of vapor sources and sublimation/evaporation. Inverse modeling and the evaluation of matrix characteristics indicate conductive pathways associated with paleochannels and deeper pathways along the mountain-front interface. Depleted isotope signals indicate quicker infiltration and recharge pathways that were separate from, or had limited mixing with, more evaporated water that infiltrated after greater time/travel at the surface.

Notes on balsam woolly adelgid, Adelges piceae (Ratzeburg, 1844) (Hemiptera: Adelgidae), range expansion in Idaho, Montana and Utah

The earliest reports of balsam woolly adelgid, Adelges piceae (Ratzeburg, 1844), in North America occurred in Maine in 1908 and California in 1928 (Kotinsky 1916, Annand 1928). By the late 1960s, this non-native pest was common throughout the ranges of native true fi r species, Abies spp. (Pinaceae) in the eastern United States and along the Pacifi c Northwest coast. In the interior west, Livingston et al. (2000) detected balsam woolly adelgid in Idaho in 1983, then observed declining health and death of subalpine fir, A. lasiocarpa (Hooker) Nuttall, over the next 15 years, primarily in north-central Idaho. This seemingly slow invasion from the west coast to Idaho may be due, in part, to diffi culty detecting an insect less than one millimeter in size. Another factor may have been a geographic barrier, the Columbia Basin, slowing the west to eastward dispersal between viable host trees.

Reconstruction of the disturbance history of a temperate coniferous forest through stand-level analysis of airborne LiDAR data

AbstractSpatially explicit information about stand-level Time Since the last stand-replacing Disturbance (TSD) is fundamental for modelling many forest ecosystem processes, but most of the current satellite remote sensing mapping approaches are based on change detection and time series analysis, and can detect only disturbances that have occurred since the start of the optical satellite data record. The spatial legacy of stand-replacing disturbances can however persist on the landscape for several decades to centuries, in the form of distinct horizontal and vertical stand structure features. We propose a new approach to reconstruct the long-term disturbance history of a forest, estimating TSD through stand-level analysis of LiDAR data, which are highly sensitive to the three-dimensional forest canopy structure. The study area is in the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest in north-central Idaho, where airborne LiDAR covering about 52,000 ha and ancillary TSD reference data for a period of more than 140 years were available. The root mean square difference (RSMD) between predicted and reference TSD was 17.5 years with a BIAS of 0.8 years; and on 72.8% of the stands the predicted TSD was less than 10 years apart from the reference TSD (78.2% of the stands when considering only disturbances occurred in the last 100 years). The results demonstrate that airborne LiDAR-derived data have enough explanatory power to reconstruct the long-term, stand-replacing disturbance history of temperate forested areas at regional scales.

Telling a New Story: Working Together to Build Place-based Food Systems in the Palouse-Clearwater Region of the U.S. Inland Northwest

From early adopters and the first stirrings of cultural change to development of a thriving local foods culture and economy, the Palouse-Clearwater region of southeastern Washington and north central Idaho has seen remarkable place-based food-system development through decades of hard work by a broad variety of players. These place-based food systems have arisen from a combination of individual entrepreneurism, organizational leadership, partnerships, and synergistic relationships across communities and the larger region. Founded on value-based relationships and a shared vision of the future, the local food narratives that have emerged during the development process have framed and shaped the character of these food systems and their expansion over time. . . .

Spatial, Temporal, and Electrical Characteristics of Lightning in Reported Lightning-Initiated Wildfire Events.

Analysis was performed to determine if a lightning flash could be associated with every reported lightning-initiated wildfire that grew to at least 4 km2. In total, 905 lightning-initiated wildfires within CONUS between 2012 and 2015 were analyzed. Fixed and fire radius search methods showed that 81–88% of wildfires had a corresponding lightning flash within a 14 day period prior to the report date. The two methods showed that 52–60% of lightning-initiated wildfire were reported on the same day as the closest lightning flash. The fire radius method indicated the most promising spatial results, where the median distance between the closest lightning and the wildfire start location was 0.83 km, followed by a 75th percentile of 1.6 km, and a 95th percentile of 5.86 km. Ninety percent of the closest lightning flashes to wildfires were negative polarity. Maximum flash densities were less than 0.41 flashes km2 for the 24 hour period at the fire start location. The majority of lightning-initiated holdover events were observed in the Western CONUS, with a peak density in north-central Idaho. A twelve day holdover event from New Mexico was also discussed; outlining the opportunities and limitations of using lightning data to characterize wildfires.

Assessing a Local Food System: The Palouse-Clearwater Food Coalition Assessment Process

This case study features the Palouse-Clearwater Food Coalition, an alliance of individuals, commu­nity organizations, institutions, agencies, non­profits, and businesses with a shared interest in developing the local food system in southeastern Washington and north central Idaho. The aim of this case study is to demonstrate how a community coalition could utilize the tools in the U.S. Depart­ment of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service’s economic impact toolkit (Thilmany McFadden et al., 2016) to guide its ongoing local food system assessment efforts and to provide structure and direction to its assessment process. The overall goals of the Coalition’s local food economic impact assessment are to (1) make meaningful use of existing data and studies; (2) identify gaps in data, then use the methods presented in the Toolkit to fill in critical data gaps to provide a more complete baseline picture of the region; (3) define and communicate what consti­tutes economic impact to community stakeholders within the construct of a local food system; (4) understand how data and economic impact prin­ciples can help identify leverage points in the local food system; and (5) use information about lever­age points to strategically acquire and invest resources in food system projects and research that will strengthen the economic viability of the region. The Moscow Farmers Market economic assessment is an example of how these goals aligned to influence results. This assessment docu­mented the value of the city of Moscow’s invest­ment to the Moscow Farmers Market Commission and city council. As a result of this assessment, the city moved the farmers market management out of the city’s arts department and funded a full-time community events and farmers market coordinator.

Use of lidar-derived landscape parameters to characterize alternative harvest system options in the Inland Northwest

ABSTRACTAs innovative harvest systems are developed, the extent to which they can be utilized on the landscape based on machine capabilities is often unclear to forest managers. Spatial decision support models may aid contractors and forest planners in choosing appropriate logging systems based on topography and stand characteristics. Lidar and inventory data from 91 sample plots were used to model site characteristics for 2627 stands in the Slate Creek drainage on the Nez Perce Clearwater National Forest in north-central Idaho, USA, and were integrated into a decision support model to compare harvest system selection using five harvest systems and three scenarios. In two of the scenarios, shovel harvester-based logging systems, which are not common in the area, were included to determine potential sites where integration of these systems is possible based on landscape and stand conditions. Lidar-derived predictions for volume and trees per hectare were determined with model accuracies of 76.4% and 70.3%, and together with topographic characteristics it was determined that shovel harvester-based options were feasible across a significant portion of the study area (31% and 34% in the two scenarios). Additionally, increasing operable slope for ground-based systems by 10% increased the area in harvestable classification by 21%. Harvest system classification using lidar-derived products and known system capabilities allows contractors and managers to better evaluate alternative harvest system options on landscape scales and may encourage the utilization of innovative machinery not currently integrated into most logging operations.

“Caring for Their Prisoner Compatriots”: Health and Dental Hygiene at the Kooskia Internment Camp

Between 1943 and 1945, the Kooskia Internment Camp (KIC) in north central Idaho was home to 265 Japanese American men. As detainees of the U.S. Department of Justice, these individuals were treated as foreign prisoners of war and were therefore subject to the conditions of the 1929 Geneva Convention, which guaranteed the right to adequate health care. In 1943, the internees created a petition demanding improved health care and recreational opportunities. The remains of oral-hygiene products recovered archaeologically at Kooskia, such as toothpaste tubes, dentures, and mouthwash, and a review of wartime advertisements for these products suggests that dental health was a means of both assimilation into mainstream American culture and maintenance of Japanese ethnic character. This article examines the petition and dental artifacts as acts of “survivance” and “residence” by the Japanese American internees at Kooskia.

The Holocene exploitation of mammals in the Clearwater and lower Snake River regions of north-central Idaho

The Clearwater River region of north-central Idaho is a distinct cultural region within the Columbia Plateau, yet no studies have comprehensively assessed the composition of recorded faunal assemblages to explore prehistoric subsistence practices by the region's Nez Perce people. We analyzed 27 Holocene zooarchaeological mammalian assemblages from 20 sites across the Clearwater and adjacent lower Snake River regions. A variety of leporids, rodents, carnivores, and artiodactyls were identified in assemblages, including several species (e.g. bison [Bison bison], pronghorn [Antilocapra americana], and grizzly bear [Ursus arctos]) no longer present in the study area. Taxonomic richness and taxonomic evenness suggest a specialized subsistence economy where one or two taxa were the focus of subsistence activities. Relative frequencies of mammals indicate that subsistence practices were focused disproportionately on large mammals (>25kg), and artiodactyl index values indicate subsistence practices were specialized on artiodactyls regardless of cultural phase. Across all artiodactyl species, however, only relative frequencies of deer (Odocoileus spp.) were negatively correlated with taxonomic evenness values. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that deer were a particularly important component of aboriginal diets in the Clearwater River region throughout most of the Holocene.

The 2015 North-Central Idaho Wildfire Season: Impetus for Innovative Disaster Response Programming

The extent and severity of wildfires in western states have increased to record levels in recent years. Now more than ever, Extension can play an important role in wildfire risk reduction and recovery. Extension's response to unprecedented incidents surrounding severe wildfires in Idaho in 2015 included interagency coordination and information sharing in addition to outreach with affected landowners. The approach garnered substantial recognition and could serve as a model for responding to this increasingly common natural disaster, as well as to other types of disasters.

Neoarchean and Paleoproterozoic crystalline basement rocks of north-central Idaho: Constraints on the formation of western Laurentia

Zircon U-Pb analyses of 18 orthogneisses from the Clearwater and Priest River complexes of northern Idaho have identified important exposures of Neoarchean and Paleoproterozoic basement rocks in northwest Laurentia. All samples have ages that fall into two tightly defined age ranges: in the Neoarchean from 2.67 to 2.65 Ga and in the Paleoproterozoic from 1.88 to 1.84 Ga. The Neoarchean orthogneisses show no evidence of older components, whereas some of the Paleoproterozoic orthogneisses have xenocrystic zircon cores with ages overlapping with those of the Neoarchean gneisses. Collectively, these two packages of rocks represent the two main periods of crust formation in northwest Laurentia, one wholly juvenile in the Neoarchean, and the other a mixture of juvenile Paleoproterozoic and inherited Neoarchean components. Based on existing data, the ages of orthogneisses in the Clearwater and Priest River complexes are identical and probably represent one continuous crustal block; we refer to this basement domain as the Clearwater block. The Paleoproterozoic 1.86 Ga magmatism described here is distributed throughout the northwest Laurentian margin and does not coincide with the proposed trend of the Great Falls tectonic zone. Therefore, a model of a single linear arc preserved within the Great Falls tectonic zone is inadequate in describing the majority of the known 1.86 Ga crust in the region.

Forestry Tour Educates Youth in North Central Idaho

The Clearwater County Sixth Grade Forestry Tour is a unique 3-day, 2-night program that provides participants an objective view of the importance and impact of natural resource-based industries while promoting an understanding of issues regarding natural resource uses. The targeted audience is 6th grade youth, but others interested in natural resources also attend. The tour is sponsored by monetary donations from the logging industry, businesses, and private individuals. Participants camp in the woods, tour the Clearwater Bioregion, and engage with natural resource professionals who use visual aids and hands-on educational approaches. Outcomes indicate a 32% increase in knowledge.

Terrain and vegetation structural influences on local avian species richness in two mixed-conifer forests

Using remotely-sensed metrics to identify regions containing high animal diversity and/or specific animal species or guilds can help prioritize forest management and conservation objectives across actively managed landscapes. We predicted avian species richness in two mixed conifer forests, Moscow Mountain and Slate Creek, containing different management contexts and located in north-central Idaho. We utilized general linear models and an AIC model selection approach to examine the relative importance of a wide range of remotely-sensed ecological variables, including LiDAR-derived metrics of vertical and horizontal structural heterogeneities of both vegetation and terrain, and Landsat-derived vegetation reflectance indices. We also examined the relative importance of these remotely sensed variables in predicting nesting guild distributions of ground/understory nesters, mid-upper canopy nesters, and cavity nesters. All top models were statistically significant, with adjusted R2s ranging from 0.05 to 0.42. Regardless of study area, the density of the understory was positively associated with total species richness and the ground/understory nesting guild. However, the relative importance of ecological predictors generally differed between the study areas and among the nesting guilds. For example, for mid-upper canopy nester richness, the best predictors at Moscow Mountain included height variability and canopy density whereas at Slate Creek they included slope, elevation, patch diversity and height variability. Topographic variables were not found to influence species richness at Moscow Mountain but were strong predictors of avian species richness at the higher elevation Slate Creek, where species richness decreased with increasing slope and elevation. A variance in responses between focal areas suggests that we expand such studies to determine the relative importance of different factors in determining species richness. It is also important to note that managers using predictive maps should realize that models from one region may not adequately represent communities in other areas.

Occupancy Modeling of Woodpeckers: Maximizing Detections for Multiple Species With Multiple Spatial Scales

Abstract Numerous forest birds benefit from woodpecker presence or have similar habitat requirements. Monitoring populations of forest woodpeckers can be useful for management decisions regarding these and other forest species. Usefulness of monitoring efforts depends on methods used and the quality of resulting parameter estimates. Estimating the proportion of area occupied by a species can be an attractive and affordable alternative to abundance or survival estimates. The purpose of this study was to assess the distribution and area of occupancy for pileated woodpeckers (Drycopus pileatus) and American three-toed woodpeckers (Picoides dorsalis) in north-central Idaho, and to compare occupancy estimates using silent point counts, playback surveys, and playback surveys that incorporated estimates of detection probability (p). We used a hierarchical multiscale framework that allowed estimation of occupancy at two spatial scales and applied a removal design such that repeat visits to sampling stations was not necessary to estimate p. The initial naïve estimate of occupancy (using presence–absence data) for pileated woodpecker was 0.39, which increased to 0.59 using playback surveys. The corrected estimate of occupancy at the 1-km2 unit scale was 0.70. The naïve estimates of occupancy for American three-toed woodpeckers using silent point counts and playback surveys were 0.14 and 0.34, respectively. The unbiased estimate of occupancy at the 1-km2 unit scale was 0.71. Detection probabilities are known to vary spatially and temporally for numerous reasons. Thus, comparisons of naïve estimates of occupancy to monitor forest woodpeckers would be imprudent and could lead to poor management decisions. We recommend incorporating detection probability for monitoring wildlife species and show how this can be done within a single sampling framework for species that utilize the landscape at disparate scales.

Using climate-FVS to project landscape-level forest carbon stores for 100 years from field and LiDAR measures of initial conditions

BackgroundForest resources supply a wide range of environmental services like mitigation of increasing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). As climate is changing, forest managers have added pressure to obtain forest resources by following stand management alternatives that are biologically sustainable and economically profitable. The goal of this study is to project the effect of typical forest management actions on forest C levels, given a changing climate, in the Moscow Mountain area of north-central Idaho, USA. Harvest and prescribed fire management treatments followed by plantings of one of four regionally important commercial tree species were simulated, using the climate-sensitive version of the Forest Vegetation Simulator, to estimate the biomass of four different planted species and their C sequestration response to three climate change scenarios.ResultsResults show that anticipated climate change induces a substantial decrease in C sequestration potential regardless of which of the four tree species tested are planted. It was also found that Pinus monticola has the highest capacity to sequester C by 2110, followed by Pinus ponderosa, then Pseudotsuga menziesii, and lastly Larix occidentalis.ConclusionsVariability in the growth responses to climate change exhibited by the four planted species considered in this study points to the importance to forest managers of considering how well adapted seedlings may be to predicted climate change, before the seedlings are planted, and particularly if maximizing C sequestration is the management goal.

As Rugged as the Terrain: CCC “Boys,” Federal Convicts, and World War II Alien Internees Wrestle with a Mountain Wilderness by Priscilla Wegars Dick Hendricks

 Reviews held communally or in whatever fashion they so desired.Bland and his group also demanded that acculturation proceed at “a pace dictated by Indian peoples” (p. 121). Bland’s commitment to indigenous autonomy placed him at odds with HerbertWelsh (William’s uncle),the leader of the Indian Rights Association; Senator Henry L. Dawes, the author of allotment legislation in Congress; and, most bitterly, Valentine T. McGillycuddy, the federal agent to the Oglala Lakota. Bland’s resistance to allotment and coercive acculturation,unfortunately for American Indians, was just as futile in the 1880s as Parker’s opposition had been in the early 1870s. Had U.S. policy makers followed Parker’s and Bland’s recommendations, the federal government might have avoided some of the tragedies it inflicted on indigenous individuals and communities. While scholars have tended to imply that a broad consensus for allotment and acculturation existed in the latenineteenth -century United States, GenetinPilawa demonstrates that a more benign and humane path was available forAmerican policy makers. He laments that the two articulate advocates for the alternative track were unable to forestall those bent on expropriation and coerced assimilation. Allotment was the last major step in the decimation of the indigenous land base in the Pacific Northwest, and advocates for acculturation doomed many Natives in the region to the horrors of boarding schools. Students interested in the histories of Native nations and confederated tribes in Oregon and the Northwest will appreciate Genetin-Pilawa’s careful description of the political rivalries that raged before the federal government chose to pursue those devastating policies. It is worth noting that the author also includes brief discussions of the part that the Modoc War and Native rights advocate John Beeson played in this tragedy. Tim Alan Garrison Portland State University AS RUGGED AS THE TERRAIN: CCC “BOYS,” FEDERAL CONVICTS, AND WORLD WAR II ALIEN INTERNEES WRESTLE WITH A MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS by Priscilla Wegars foreword by Dick Hendricks Caxton Press, Caldwell, Idaho, in association with the Asian American Comparative Collection, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, 2013. Illustrations, photographs, maps, tables, notes, index. 394 pages. $21.95 paper. In a foreword to As Rugged as the Terrain, Dick Hendricks of the Federal Bureau of Prisons introduces readers to the isolated Lochsa River region,where he and his family lived from 1935 to 1937. Located in the Bitterroot Mountain range that separates north central Idaho from southeastern Montana, a site that first housed Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) “boys” and then various prisoners, became a selfcontained community, its residents laboring slowly and intermittently on the Lewis-Clark Highway across Lolo Pass. In the first chapter, Priscilla Wegars focuses on the temporary CCC Camp F-38 on the Lochsa River,followed by three chapters about the federal Lochsa Prison Camp in the same locale from 1935 to 1943. Those chapters set the context for road building, document facilities construction, and highlight the work itself,providing insight into the social setting of a prison camp that incarcerated people from various racial,ethnic, regional, and social backgrounds. The book’s appendices relate exclusively to this segment of the book, including two escapees’ interviews, a list of employees, and a list of prisoners that largely documents racial and ethnic background .Those chapters could have easily stood alone,making a fine monograph focusing on a broader history of federal and regional prisons in the region during the Great Depression. The next segment focuses on the Kooskia Internment Camp located at the site from 1943 to 1945. These four chapters distinguish American War Relocation (concentration)  OHQ vol. 115, no. 4 camps such as Minidoka from alien resident and non-resident internment at places, such as Kooskia and Fort Missoula, where the United States also held Germans and Italians. Wegars thus broadens the World War II story humanely and usefully.In the final chapter,the author explores the aftermath of prison camp experiences, documents institutional shifts in management, and brings readers up-to-date on historical investigations. Wegars’s stated goal is for As Rugged as the Terrain to serve as a “prequel” by incorporating material that did not fit in her 2010 book Imprisoned in Paradise, about Japanese alien internment at the site. Although...