Salmo - Priest B

Salmo - Priest B is an 11,869-acre Inventoried Roadless Area in the Colville National Forest, set in the montane Selkirk Mountains of northeastern Washington just east of the Salmo-Priest Wilderness. The terrain rises across Crowell Mountain, Uncas Gulch, and Blue Bird Ridge. The area protects the headwaters of the North Fork Sullivan Creek (HUC12 170102160403), gathered from South Fork Slate Creek, Threemile Creek, Slumber Creek, and Elk Creek. Crater Lake and Mill Pond are small still-water features within the block. These cold streams carry inland-maritime moisture down toward Sullivan Creek and the Pend Oreille River.

The forest reflects inland-maritime influence rare in eastern Washington. On the lower benches and along the creeks, Northern Rockies Foothill Streamside Woodland holds western red-cedar (Thuja plicata) and western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla), with Pacific yew (Taxus brevifolia, near threatened) and devil's-club (Oplopanax horridus) in the shaded understory. Mid-slope Southern Rockies Mixed Conifer Forest carries Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), grand fir (Abies grandis), western larch (Larix occidentalis), and western white pine (Pinus monticola, near threatened) above bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum), twinflower (Linnaea borealis), wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis), and single-flowered clintonia (Clintonia uniflora). Higher and in cold draws, Rocky Mountain Wet and Dry Subalpine Spruce-Fir Forest brings in Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii) and subalpine fir, with white-flowered rhododendron (Rhododendron albiflorum) and pink mountain-heath (Phyllodoce empetriformis). On exposed ridges, scattered whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis, endangered) marks the upper limit of tree cover. Yellow skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanus) flowers in the conifer-swamp wetlands.

This is the most ecologically diverse block in the Colville. Grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis), Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis), and North American wolverine (Gulo gulo luscus) move through the high country, and Southern Mountain Caribou (Rangifer tarandus ssp. caribou) — the southernmost herd of woodland caribou — historically used these forests. Wapiti (Cervus canadensis), moose (Alces alces), white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), cougar (Puma concolor), and gray wolf (Canis lupus) occupy the cover-forage edges. In the canopy, pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) excavates standing dead cedar, varied thrush (Ixoreus naevius) calls from the cedar-hemlock interior, and Clark's nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) caches whitebark pine seeds on the ridges. Boreal owl (Aegolius funereus) hunts the spruce-fir at night. In the cold streams, harlequin duck (Histrionicus histrionicus) and American dipper (Cinclus mexicanus) feed in fast riffles, and westslope cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus lewisi) hold along the pools. Common loon (Gavia immer) and trumpeter swan (Cygnus buccinator) visit Mill Pond seasonally. Portions of this area fall within the potential range of several federally listed species; see the Conservation section for details.

A walker climbing from a North Fork Sullivan Creek crossing onto Blue Bird Ridge passes from a cedar-hemlock cathedral into closer-spaced fir, the understory shifting from devil's-club to twinflower as elevation rises. The path tops out on Crowell Mountain in subalpine meadow, where western pasqueflower (Pulsatilla occidentalis) blooms in early summer and Clark's nutcracker call from the ridge whitebarks. In October, larch gold separates the dark spruce-fir; in late spring, mountain lady's-slipper (Cypripedium montanum, vulnerable) comes up through the cedar duff.

The North Fork Sullivan Creek country lies in Kalispel ancestral territory in the Selkirk Mountains. A 1987 archaeological dig at Sullivan Lake "established that Native Americans inhabited the Metalines area as long ago as 8,000 to 11,000 years" [3]. When the first outside explorers and fur traders came into the region in the early 1800s, the Kalispel tribe populated the area, with hundreds of camps and villages along the Pend Oreille River [3]. David Thompson of the North West Company explored the Pend Oreille — which he called the Saleesh — in 1809, becoming the first non-Indian recorded in the valley [3]. Hudson's Bay Company and North West Company trappers followed.

Roman Catholic priests began working with the Kalispel in 1844 [2], and Father Jean Pierre De Smet established the St. Ignatius Mission upriver from Metaline Falls near present-day Cusick [3]. In 1855 the Upper Kalispel ceded their lands and moved to the Jocko Reservation in Montana, but "the Lower Kalispel Tribe, ancestors of today's Kalispel members, refused to give up ancestral lands" and remained in the Pend Oreille region [2]. Congress proposed a treaty in 1872 that the Tribe refused to sign because the terms were poor, leaving the Kalispel without formal federal protection for decades [2].

Gold drove the first wave of non-Indian settlement on Sullivan Creek. "In 1859, prospectors found gold in placer sediments between Sullivan Lake and the Pend Oreille River and in the river from Metaline Falls to past Z Canyon" [3]. After the easier placer gold played out in the 1870s, prospectors turned to hard-rock deposits: "By the late 1870s, outcroppings of lead, zinc, and some silver had been discovered around the Metalines" [3]. George Linton filed the first hard-rock claims in 1887, and the Metaline Mining District eventually became the state's largest supplier of lead and zinc [3]. In 1909, Lewis Larsen's Inland Portland Cement Company began work on the Sullivan Lake hydroelectric project to power the mines and the new town of Metaline Falls [3]. The Idaho & Washington Northern Railroad reached Metaline Falls in October 1910 [3].

Federal protection of the surrounding mountains was set in motion in the same decade. "The Colville Forest Reserve was established by proclamation from President Theodore Roosevelt on March 1, 1907" [1]. The Sullivan Lake and Newport Districts were originally part of the Kaniksu National Forest before joining the Colville [1]. James McAbee served as the first Sullivan Lake District Ranger from 1907 to 1912 [1]. Pend Oreille County itself was carved out of Stevens County on June 10, 1911 — the last county formed in Washington [3].

Today the 11,869-acre Salmo - Priest B Inventoried Roadless Area, in the headwaters of the North Fork Sullivan Creek, is administered by the Sullivan Lake Ranger District of the Colville National Forest under the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. The area lies just east of the Salmo-Priest Wilderness, in the heart of historical Kalispel territory.

Vital Resources Protected

• Grizzly, Lynx, and Wolverine Habitat Connectivity: The Salmo - Priest B roadless block lies in the Selkirk Mountains immediately adjacent to the Salmo-Priest Wilderness and the Selkirk grizzly recovery area — one of the few zones in the lower 48 where grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis), Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis), and North American wolverine (Gulo gulo luscus) overlap. The roadless condition preserves the low-disturbance corridor these species require to move between Washington, Idaho, and British Columbia, and it sustains the dense conifer cover, downed wood, and snowpack-protected denning sites essential to each.

• Inland-Maritime Old-Growth Cedar-Hemlock Structure: Continuous Northern Rockies Foothill Streamside Woodland along North Fork Sullivan Creek, Threemile Creek, Slumber Creek, and Elk Creek holds western red-cedar and western hemlock stands rare east of the Cascades — supported by Pacific yew (Taxus brevifolia, near threatened) and devil's-club. The roadless designation preserves the closed-canopy microclimate, multi-aged structure, and large-diameter snags that pileated woodpecker, varied thrush, and federally threatened whitebark pine populations downstream of these forests depend on.

• Cold Headwater Stream Integrity for Bull Trout: The area protects the North Fork Sullivan Creek headwaters, gathered from South Fork Slate Creek, Threemile Creek, Slumber Creek, and Elk Creek, plus Crater Lake and Mill Pond. Without an internal road network, the streams retain shaded canopy, stable banks, and low fine-sediment loads — the conditions threatened bull trout require for spawning substrate quality, and that westslope cutthroat trout, harlequin duck, and American dipper share.

Potential Effects of Road Construction

• Loss of Grizzly, Lynx, and Caribou Connectivity: New road construction across the Selkirk Mountain corridor introduces motorized access, traffic mortality, and human-bear conflict into a recovery zone where grizzly population numbers remain critically low. Roads — already a documented threat for lynx and bear under the IUCN Roads and Railroads category — fragment the multi-aged conifer structure on Crowell Mountain and Blue Bird Ridge, and they intersect the historical movement routes of the Southern Mountain Caribou DPS (Rangifer tarandus ssp. caribou), whose recovery in the U.S. Selkirks has depended on intact roadless habitat above 4,000 feet.

• Old-Growth Cedar-Hemlock Edge Effect and Snag Loss: Linear road corridors through Northern Rockies Foothill Streamside Woodland and Southern Rockies Mixed Conifer Forest create high-light, high-wind edges that extend 50 to 100 meters into the interior, drying out the moist understory that vulnerable mountain lady's-slipper (Cypripedium montanum) and Pacific yew depend on. Post-construction salvage typically removes the standing dead cedars that pileated woodpecker excavate and that boreal owl roost in; re-establishment of pre-disturbance cedar-hemlock structure requires multi-century succession.

• Sedimentation of Sullivan Creek Spawning Habitat and Whitebark Pine Loss: Road construction across the steep cut slopes feeding the North Fork Sullivan Creek tributaries would deliver chronic fine-sediment pulses into bull trout critical habitat with every storm and snowmelt cycle. Sediment embeds cobble interstices that bull trout require for egg incubation, and culvert crossings can sever upstream-downstream movement entirely. At the highest elevations, road corridors and salvage activity carry white pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola) and mountain pine beetle into endangered whitebark pine stands on Crowell Mountain — already the primary cause of whitebark mortality region-wide — and eliminate the standing dead trees that nutcracker-dispersed regeneration depends on.

Access to the Salmo - Priest B roadless block is from five perimeter trailheads on the Sullivan Lake Ranger District of the Colville National Forest: Lakeshore North, Mill Pond Flume, Halliday, Red Bluff, and Elk Creek. Mill Pond Campground, on the lower edge of the area near Sullivan Creek, is the developed overnight base. Seven native-surface trails lead into the interior: North Fork Sullivan Creek (507) at 5.6 miles, Red Bluff (553) at 5.3 miles, Halliday (522) at 4.2 miles, and Slate Creek (525) at 4.2 miles are the longer routes; Elk Creek (560) at 1.9 miles, Sullivan Creek (565) at 1.4 miles, and South Mill Pond (550) at 0.3 miles are shorter access spurs. North Fork Sullivan Creek, Red Bluff, and Halliday are designated for horse use; the others are hiker-only. The trail system covers about 23 miles, enough for multi-day loops and longer through-trips into the adjacent Salmo-Priest Wilderness.

Big-game hunting is a primary use. The block holds wapiti (Cervus canadensis), white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), and moose (Alces alces) — the willow and aspen edges along Threemile Creek and Slumber Creek concentrate the larger animals. American black bear (Ursus americanus) are abundant, and cougar (Puma concolor) and gray wolf (Canis lupus) follow the deer cycles. Grizzly bear and Canada lynx are present in the Selkirks, and hunters should know and respect species identification requirements; both are federally protected. Dusky grouse (Dendragapus obscurus) and ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) work the conifer-meadow edges. Check current Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife regulations and Game Management Unit boundaries; the perimeter trailheads are the standard pack-in points.

Fishing focuses on the cold headwater streams — North Fork Sullivan Creek, South Fork Slate Creek, Threemile Creek, and Elk Creek — and the still water of Crater Lake and Mill Pond. The streams hold native westslope cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus lewisi) and brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis). Bull trout occur in the Sullivan Creek system and are federally protected; anglers must identify catch carefully and follow WDFW special regulations, including any closures protecting threatened species. Mill Pond offers easier still-water fishing for visitors with limited mobility.

Birding here is exceptional. The inland-maritime cedar-hemlock forest holds interior species — varied thrush (Ixoreus naevius), pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus), hermit thrush (Catharus guttatus), brown creeper (Certhia americana), and MacGillivray's warbler (Geothlypis tolmiei) — uncommon farther east. Boreal owl (Aegolius funereus) calls from the spruce-fir at night; Clark's nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) caches whitebark seeds on the ridges. The fast streams support harlequin duck (Histrionicus histrionicus) and American dipper (Cinclus mexicanus). Mill Pond and adjacent Sullivan Lake bring in common loon (Gavia immer), trumpeter swan (Cygnus buccinator), and great blue heron (Ardea herodias). Seven eBird hotspots within 24 km record up to 149 species, including Sullivan Lake (149), Noisy Creek Campground (136), Salmo Pass (104), and Mill Pond (99).

Paddling is available on Mill Pond and Sullivan Lake just outside the area boundary — quiet-water canoeing and kayaking with views into the roadless ridges. Photographers find subjects in the western larch gold of mid-October against dark cedar-hemlock; in the inland-maritime understory along Slate Creek where mountain lady's-slipper, devil's-club, and white-flowered rhododendron flower; and on the Crowell Mountain ridges where scattered whitebark pine frames views west into the Salmo-Priest Wilderness. Horse-packing on the Halliday, Red Bluff, and North Fork Sullivan Creek trails is a long-established use here, with forage and water along the routes.

The recreation on offer at Salmo - Priest B depends directly on the roadless condition. Grizzly bear, lynx, and wolverine range stays intact because the interior is undisturbed by motorized travel; bull trout persist because Sullivan Creek tributary sediment loads remain low; and the inland-maritime old-growth that defines the birding here is a function of no internal road network. The five perimeter trailheads and Mill Pond Campground keep access available while protecting the conditions that make this country worth walking into.