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An early entry in the history of American forest management, this land classification map of the Bitterroot Forest Reserve was issued by the U.S. Geological Survey for the 20th annual report and compiled under the direction of John Bernhard Leiberg. It exemplifies the transitional period in federal land use policy when the General Land Office's extractive orientation gave way to scientific forestry and conservation under the newly formed Division of Forestry, soon to be the U.S. Forest Service.
Covering what was then the Bitterroot Forest Reserve (later divided into several National Forests spanning western Montana and central Idaho), the map presents an intricate classification of timberland and land use. The extensive use of color allows for a precise visual distinction among eleven land types, including five gradations of merchantable timber density (ranging from less than 2,000 to over 50,000 board feet per acre), grazing areas, agricultural tracts, recent and historical burn zones, logged-over land, and rocky non-forested terrain. Elevation markers, township and range lines, mining areas, and named peaks such as Blue Nose Peak and Buffalo Hump are carefully annotated, grounding the classification in topographic specificity.
Leiberg’s survey work was part of a broader scientific effort to reform forest policy and prevent catastrophic depletion of western timberlands. The map’s precision and typological complexity reflect the USGS’s changing focus on fieldwork and data-driven governance.
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