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Taylor Ranch Wilderness Field Station is in the heart of the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness in central Idaho.
Surrounded by over 4 million acres of wilderness, the station provides outstanding access, facilities, and logistical support for research on natural environments and processes. |
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Special attributes of the area include:
- A pristine environment within a large intact ecosystem
- Naturally functioning ecological processes
- A full compliment of native large carnivores including gray wolf, cougar, black bear, lynx, bobcat, coyote, wolverine, fisher, and otter.
- Diversity of fish species including anadromous Chinook salmon and steelhead, as well as westslope cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, bull trout, mountain whitefish, and sculpin, and an absence of nonnative species.
- Native animal species that are common here, such as tailed frogs, spotted frogs, several bat species, Lewis' woodpeckers, and black backed woodpeckers are threatened, endangered or rare in other areas.
- The terrain of the Salmon River Mountains is deeply dissected and complex, creating a high level of biodiversity.
- Plant communities range from low elevation xeric grasslands or lush riparian shrub corridors to high elevation mesic alpine meadows or barren windblown mountain peaks. Forested plant communities inbetween include Douglas fir, Ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, spruce/subalpine fir, and whitebark pine forests.
- Large-scale ecological perturbations - primarily wildfires - have significantly influenced the landscape in recent years.
- Geology of the area is diverse and fine-grained, with an abundance of fault lines and intrusions. The granitic Idaho batholith covers much of the area, but Challis volcanics and quartzite are common.
- Climate varies dramatically within the area due to the extremes in elevation change and "rain shadow" effect of high elevation peaks. Effects of global climate change will be readily apparent within this steep environment.
- The small "human footprint" on this area provides an excellent comparison to more human dominated or managed environments.
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Location. Taylor Ranch Wilderness Field Station is located in central Idaho in the heart of the Frank Church River of No Return area. The Taylor Ranch Wilderness Field Station is marked by a red star below. |
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See a pre-fire aerial photo of the area around Taylor Ranch Field Station. (Longitude -114.85 and Latitude 45.10) on this website TerraServer. |
On the website, Taylor Ranch is along Big Creek, the stream in the lower part of the photo. Zoom in on the sharp river bends in the middle of the view and just to the west you will see the cabins on the alluvial fan and the airstrip on the riverbar along Big Creek. Zoom out to see the digital elevation map of the surrounding area.
Climate. Taylor Ranch has been a NOAA National Weather Service Cooperative Weather Station since 1974. Summary data can be accessed through the Western Region Climate Center. Annual precipitation is 37 cm (14.5 inches). Highest precipitation occurs in April, May, and June. |
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Taylor Ranch - Fire 2000 |
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 "From the Frying Pan
into the Fire"
Read Jim & Holly Akenson's account of being caught in the midst of a wilderness forest fire, twice; first when they fled Taylor Ranch on muleback as the 175,000 acre Diamond Point Fire swept over the field station in August 2000, then again 4 days later when the fire burned over the top of them at the "neighbor's", a wilderness inholding 21 miles away.
"Jumping from the Frying Pan"
Read Holly Akenson's story published in M.C. Blew and P. Druker, editors, Forged in Fire: Essays by Idaho Writers, published by University of Okalahoma Press.
Photos of the Golden Creek Fire 1988 |
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