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Elk City
Historical Pictures and Information
Located in the heart of the Nez Perce National Forest; Elk City lies 50 miles east of Grangeville, Idaho in Idaho County. If you combine the other small communities within a 40 mile radius you might scourge up 400 full time residents. This area has many attractions but without any bright lights. Old mining communities that boomed starting in 1860's provide interesting history. Finding the remains of an old mining camp is a thrill and you'll be amazed that someone actually lived in some of these far out areas. Trout fishing in the rivers and high mountain lakes are to be enjoyed by the fisherman that likes to travel to the backcountry. Some
great hunting for elk, cougar, bear and white tail deer is
to be found in this area.
The Forest Service keeps the backcountry trails well marked on their maps for hikers and horseback riding into the Wilderness areas. We have lots of beautiful areas to explore and relax in while vacationing. Elk City area is one of the most relaxing places in Idaho, because you can hike for days and never see another soul. The wildlife varies from the large (moose, elk, deer, bear, coyote), to grouse and squirrels. Old lookout towers provide terrific views, some of which very few take the effort to travel to but are well worth the time. In the winter we have over 250 miles of groomed trails to snowmobile and cross-country ski on.
Elk City Radio Station 100.5 FM XFRE
For more area information visit Nez Perce National Forest
Every Tuesday - Tons of Fun - weight loss group 12 noon at Baptist Church
1st Monday - Water Board Meeting - 7pm Forest Service
1st Tuesday - Elk City Volunteer Fire Department
2nd Monday - Elk City Area Alliance - 7pm Forest Service
2nd Tuesday - E.M.T. Meeting 6pm
2nd Tuesday - Elk City PTO 3:15 - school
2nd Wednesday - American Legion Meeting - 7pm
2nd Wednesday - American Legion Aux. Meeting - 4pm
2nd Thursday - V. F. W. & Aux. Meeting 7pm
2nd Friday - High Country Snowmobile Club - 7pm - P.O. box 102 , Dixie, Idaho 83525
3rd Tuesday - Elk City & Red River 4-H Meeting
Last - Tuesday - Sew Help Me Quilters Meeting - 7pm
April 2, 2008 -History (contributed by Bill Salmon): Those in Elk City who complained about the below-zero temperatures lately should feel grateful it wasn't colder. On March 27-29, 1975, the official low temperatures were -11, -20 and -15. And although Elk City had 28 inches of snow on the ground last Friday, that didn't come close to the 50 inches of snow on the ground on March 27, 1964. In that year, there was two feet on the ground as late as April 16 and six inches remained on May 3.
Elk City by Wanda Parton September 19, 2006
ELK CITY -- I know it's officially autumn now and I shouldn't be surprised by the cooler weather, but I am always a little unprepared for the turning of the leaves. It seems like some trick of nature: one day it's summer, the next I'm digging for winter sweaters. The hunters will probably be glad for the snows we got recently in higher elevations, not to mention the easing of fire closures in several hunting unit areas, and I guess, snowmobilers get ready to ride!
Did you all get to attend the VFW end of summer, beginning of autumn celebration? Unfortunately, the karaoke entertainment did not show, but dinner was good and the company was fun. Honored at the event was 2006 VFW Post 8311 Ladies Auxiliary Scholarship recipient, Jessica Martin. Jessica's mother, the Ladies Auxiliary Jr. Vice President, Teresa Bryant presented the check which was made possible through monies raised at the annual Elk City Days Duck Derby and Auction. The Ladies Auxiliary offers the scholarship to students who have attended school in Elk City and have graduated high school. Students who would like to complete an application should contact the Elk City Auxiliary. This was Jessica's application essay:
"Elk City"
By: Jessica Martin
"There are few words to describe the feelings that you get when you drive into the small, quaint, mountainous town of Elk City, Idaho. As you begin your drive down the "straight stretch," depending on the time of year, you are surrounded by a sea of blue and purple camas intermingled with the cows and calves that will soon be headed up to the range. In the summer you are welcomed with the crisp smell of freshly cut hay and the sound of men hard at work. As you make the last turn that gradually pulls to the left, past the sewer ponds, you know that you are home. A feeling of comfort and happiness surrounds you like a warm, soft blanket on a cold winter's night. You have just driven into a place that makes you realize how truly beautiful the world really is.
Growing up in the town of Elk City has provided me with challenges and opportunities that I feel really fortunate to have been able to experience. How many children can say that they've grown up in a one bedroom shack, heated their water on the woodstove, had no television except for the occasional three local stations you could reach with an antennae, and used an outhouse? Who can say they've build forts, made campfires (which might explain being such a firebug), rode horses, and drove an old "Toro" riding lawn-mower around for a good time? Elk City is a place of adventure and wonder, where you can use your imagination as a child -- play, grow and be free. It gives you a chance to take a moment, breathe and appreciate the things that really matter in life. It's important to remember who you are and where you come from and it's important to take the time and tell your family that you love them, because in an instant it could all be gone.
Elk City is a place that makes you realize that there are people out there who care. I'm proud to say that I'm from a community who is loving and supportive of each and every community member. It seems that no matter how much the community gives, when everyone pulls together in hard times, there is always more to give.
I thank my lucky stars every day for the opportunities I've had while growing up in Elk City. I recall on numerous occasions this summer, memories of working with dad cutting trees and being thankful for the opportunity to learn a dying art from such an experienced and talented woodsman. I'm thankful for mom making me go out and do my chores everyday, taking care of animals, cleaning house, mowing the lawn or building fence. It's these types of moments that made me who I am, that have taught me honesty, respect and integrity. I have Elk City to thank because no matter how many hay fields I drive by, there is only one that gives me the peace in knowing that I'm home and surrounded by the people that I love."
And, finally, the word is in on the library fund raised by the Fun Run and the Bookin' It donations: $5,227.10 is the amount that will be matched by Bennett Forest Industries to help continue staffing and supplying the Elk City Library for community and school use. Much thanks is deserved to those who gave their support through donations and fund-raising efforts and to Bennett Forest Industries for their continued support of this community. Immeasurable credit is due Delise Denham and ReaAnn Loomis for all their work on this cause. Friends of the Library will work to find future ways of sustaining and improving the library. If you are interested in becoming involved with Friends of the Library, contact Sue Phillips or Susie Borowicz.
| Look around in Idaho County and take heart |
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| Letter - Jahn |
Anyone who has ever entertained the notion that they were born a hundred years too late should make note of the Tempus Fugit section in the Feb. 15 edition of the Idaho County Free Press. There is hope. One hundred years ago, the population of Idaho County was a little more than 15,000 people. It's the same today. The population of Grangeville was a little more than 3,000. It's the same today. White Bird, Stites and Elk City have lost population during the century. Denver and Buffalo Hump have all but vanished, as discrete communities. And the mining town of Roosevelt, in the headwaters of Monumental Creek, has since become Roosevelt Lake due to a landslide that dammed the creek and inundated the town. Two mining districts, Marshall Mountain and the Elk City township, still exist in the county and still hold reserves of precious metals awaiting a gold price that would make their extraction profitable. Rivers and streams in the county remain free flowing and the air is clean. Diverse wildlife populations abound. A person can still walk or ride a horse for hundreds of miles through several million acres of rugged public lands without crossing a fence. The Nez Perce Tribe maintains a visible presence and much of this area is still considered "Indian country." It's not that times haven't changed. They have. Progress has occurred. A century ago, "wireless communication" usually involved a horse or someone with a loud voice. "Air traffic" only occurred in the spring and fall during the annual migrations of wildfowl. Today it is no longer "uphill both ways" for school kids. And some would say the roads are better, for the most part. It could be argued that Idaho County is truly one of the "last best places." And for anyone in this county who believes they were born a hundred years too late, look around and take heart. You can't go back. But around here, maybe you don't have to. Phil Jahn Grangeville |
http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/summary/climsmid.html
| Records and Averages - Elk City | Elk City Forecast |
| View: English | Metric | |
| Month | Avg. High |
Avg. Low |
Avg. Precip. |
| January | 37.8° F | 22.4° F | 2.34 in |
| February | 45.7° F | 26.5° F | 1.85 in |
| March | 55.0° F | 30.5° F | 2.55 in |
| April | 64.4° F | 35.9° F | 2.96 in |
| May | 73.6° F | 42.2° F | 3.00 in |
| June | 80.6° F | 48.2° F | 2.67 in |
| July | 91.1° F | 51.6° F | 0.99 in |
| August | 90.5° F | 49.7° F | 1.06 in |
| September | 79.9° F | 43.2° F | 1.65 in |
| October | 64.6° F | 36.2° F | 2.41 in |
| November | 47.1° F | 29.9° F | 2.88 in |
| December | 38.8° F | 25.2° F | 2.34 in |
ELK CITY RANGER Station, IDAHO (102875)
Period of Record Monthly Climate Summary
Period of Record : 12/1/1950 to 12/31/2000
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Annual | |
| Average Max. Temperature (F) | 34.3 | 41.3 | 46.1 | 53.4 | 62.3 | 70.8 | 80.7 | 81.0 | 72.4 | 59.3 | 42.4 | 34.0 | 56.5 |
| Average Min. Temperature (F) | 11.0 | 14.3 | 18.6 | 25.9 | 32.9 | 39.0 | 40.6 | 38.6 | 32.2 | 26.5 | 20.6 | 12.4 | 26.0 |
| Average Total Precipitation (in.) | 3.44 | 2.50 | 2.62 | 2.59 | 3.02 | 3.10 | 1.52 | 1.45 | 1.72 | 2.21 | 3.08 | 2.94 | 30.18 |
| Average Total SnowFall (in.) | 31.9 | 18.9 | 20.8 | 9.9 | 2.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.6 | 16.9 | 25.8 | 128.9 |
| Average Snow Depth (in.) | 17 | 19 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 5 |
Percent of possible observations for period of record.
Max. Temp.: 91.3% Min. Temp.: 91.1% Precipitation: 93.3% Snowfall: 92.5% Snow
Depth: 91.5%
Check
Station
Metadata or Metadata graphics for more detail about data completeness
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George S. Oliver
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| Healthy forests, healthy communities |
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| Guest Opinion - U.S. Senator Larry Craig (R., Idaho) |
"To waste, to destroy our natural resources, to skin and exhaust the land instead of using it so as to increase its usefulness, will result in undermining in the days of our children the very property which we ought by right to hand down to them amplified and developed." President Teddy Roosevelt, the man responsible for establishing today's U.S. Forest Service, uttered these words almost 100 years ago. Roosevelt is well-known as a conservationist, a man who fully enjoyed nature and the outdoors, and thought we should preserve them for future generations. If you read the passage closely, however, it is easy to see that Roosevelt believed federal lands should be used as well as conserved. In establishing our national forests, Congress and President Roosevelt intended that they would be managed in a sustained multiple-use manner in perpetuity, providing revenues for local counties and the federal treasury in perpetuity, as well. Public forests were never intended to be locked up with "keep out" signs at the entrances. Those who live near a national forest likely understand why. Since the federal government does not have to pay property taxes, many counties across the West, some of which are 90 percent owned by the federal government, find it nearly impossible to develop a solid property tax base. Only a few years after creating the national forest system, this problem became painfully clear. In 1908, Congress passed a bill which created a revenue sharing mechanism to offset for forest counties the effects of removing these lands from economic development. From 1908 until about 1993, the revenue sharing mechanism worked extremely well. Rural counties with lots of federal land received 25 percent of all revenues generated on public lands. As many Idahoans know, these revenues helped counties provide many of the schools and road projects their residents needed. However, from 1986 to the present, we have, for a variety of reasons, reduced our sustained active multiple-use management of the national forests, and the revenues have declined sharply. Most counties have seen a decline of more than 85 percent in actual revenues generated on our national forests and therefore an 85 percent reduction in "25 Percent" payments to counties. These payments are used to help fund schools, roads, bridges, snowplows and sandtrucks. Five years ago, Senator Ron Wyden and I, along with a few other colleagues in the House and Senate, took strong action to address what was a growing problem. The law we succeeded in passing came to be known as the Craig-Wyden bill, and it established a formula that stabilized the revenues counties receive from the national forests. Participating counties receive the greater of 25 percent of the current year's receipts or the average of the highest three years since 1986. Counties may also direct funds toward a variety of projects, such as teen work crews, urban forestry, or forest-related education. Craig-Wyden also established Resource Advisory Committees (RACs), diverse groups of 15 people who direct a share of the monies to projects on the local forest. RAC members include county commissioners, school superintendents, businessmen and women, members of conservation groups and a variety of other individuals in the decision-making process. The program has been judged a success by nearly all involved, because everyone gets a real say in how their local forests are used, and how their communities will benefit. It truly is a collaborative process. RAC projects have addressed a wide variety of improvements drastically needed on our national forests. Projects have included fuels reduction, habitat improvement, watershed restoration, road maintenance and rehabilitation, reforestation, campground and trail improvement, and noxious weed eradication. In spite of its success, Craig-Wyden is not guaranteed to continue. The law is set to expire in 2006, which is why Ron Wyden and I have joined together in an effort to extend it for another seven years. The bill to extend Craig-Wyden enjoys strong support from both parties in the House and the Senate, and I am very optimistic that it will be approved by Congress and signed by President Bush. Rural communities are the lifeblood of western states such as Idaho, and quite often, public forests are the lifeblood of those communities. Without the revenue to pay for basic services, these communities struggle, and sometimes waste away. However, I will continue to work for solutions like Craig-Wyden that help maintain Idaho's counties and towns as great places to live. "Speak softly and carry a big stick," was one of Teddy Roosevelt's most famous sayings. Clearly, he knew where that stick came from.
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History
People and a parking lot full of log trucks converged on the Nez Perce National Forest Headquarters in Grangeville Tuesday afternoon as part of a protest organized by the Elk City chapter of Idaho Women in Timber. Protesters placed a “graveyard” representing regional forest products companies that went out of business due to Forest Service timber policy. Much of the approximately three-hour picket was to protest inadequate timber harvests in the Elk City region which is plagued with dead and dying lodge pole pine. March 4th, 2003
GRANGEVILLE -- Dennis Cox circled in front of the Nez Perce National Forest headquarters with a chain saw slung over his shoulder and a sign reading "Save our Jobs."
Proponents of continued logging around the Elk City area
walk with signs in front of the U.S. Forest Service building at Grangeville in
a show of both support for their community and protest against Forest Service
logging policies.
| Elk City |
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| by Wanda Parton 7/12/2006 |
ELK CITY -- Hi, I'm Wanda Parton and I'm thrilled to be your new Elk City news correspondent! My husband and I came up here a year and a half ago, bought the little house just down from the general store and have been living here (full-time) since February. You could say I came here via the Montana road...the long way. I was born and raised in Missoula/Helena, Mont., spent some time in Virginia, Texas, Washington, and the last 13 years in the Redmond, Ore., area where my husband and I had a printing, mailing and distribution business. Two years ago, my husband (from the Jerome/Burley area) and I began looking for a place that would get us out of the unimpeded booming growth of central Oregon and closer to our respective home states. Our search brought us to Elk City. Friends and family who have yet to visit, don't understand why we would locate to such a remote area. Even if they never come to understand, we know just how blessed we are to have been guided here. For my part in reporting the Elk City news, I hope to provide interesting, informative bits that will keep us all more closely linked to this community so, if there is news that needs reporting, I'm counting on all of you to fill me in! Feel free to phone, e-mail, or tell me in person your stories, your dates and facts, your special news. Has it been hot enough lately (with August still to come!)? And yet, I stepped outside my back door this evening, the stones still warm on my bare feet, and a cool breeze was blowing, the trees and grasses remain green, wildflowers bloom on the hillside, and come to think of it I've yet to ride 4-wheeling along the mountain trails without a light jacket. Of what could I possibly complain? As promised, I'd like to fill you in on the "rest" of the 4th of July weekend, although it's kind of difficult to determine when the weekend actually ended. With the 4th falling midweek this year, seems we had a continuum from the July 4th weekend into this past weekend as far as folks in town and events going on. As reported, the Reno Club had barbecue, karaoke singing and a fireworks display on Monday night. From my excellent vantage point in town, I was able to enjoy the fireworks of not only the Reno Club, but also several neighbors who put on quite the show of their own! I wasn't able to make the karaoke last weekend, but I did get off a few songs this weekend at the VFW. Now I know there are those of you who don't like karaoke because you think it's just a bunch of bad singers ruining some good songs, but we actually have quite a bit of talent in Elk City. We had patriotic sing-a-longs to some standard favorites and even had our own Bert and (B)Ernie show, here. (No offense, guys, but when the monicker was coined it really was quite funny.) Dick, I think your voice would do fine justice to some Eddy Arnold tunes. Saturday afternoon, the VFW District 2 picnic went off successfully. In attendance at the large turnout for this function were district commander and numerous other officers. Tentatively scheduled to run in conjunction with senior meals on July 24 is the 55 Alive Driving session presented by AARP. This program is designed to help discount auto insurance rates for drivers 55 years of age and older. The EMT-basic course is under way. We have six enrolled in the course that, so far, has covered safety, patient lifting and moving, scene evaluation, and anatomy and physiology. Some class members have had the opportunity to accompany ambulance runs recently, which is an integral part of training. Reminder, the Altman potluck dinner is scheduled for July 22 at the VFW Hall. The Nelson dinner is scheduled for Aug. 5. Mark your calendars and plan to attend. Elk City Days is not too far off and so the planning begins. Anyone interested in joining up for the tug-of-war event should contact Marlene George at 842-2804. There will be teams for both a children's event and an adult's event. Sounds like fun -- "old fashioned" fun! Contact: wanda@parton1.com or 842-2892 |