Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Washington detail page - Bureau Of Indian Affairs Photographs Finding Aid

Stanley Squetinkim of Keller, a member of the Colville Indian Tribe, is shown drilling bed castings for local use in one of the project's modern dorms.
Forest Guard Mathew Dick using propane gas backfiring torch to set backfire near fire line. For fire suppression purposes, as well as for slash buning, the forestry staff of Colville Reservation consideres this torch the most effective.
Slash fire burning. Near the center of the picture can be seen Scaler Walter Moomaw setting fire to dry pine snag by means of a propane torch.
The Biles-Coleman slash piling tractor with blade raised. Over the top of the tractor there can be seen a slash pile that has just been completed. Photo taken in the Kartar Unit on the summit of the Omak Lake Ridge.
Another view of the slash piling tactor in actin. This phote well illustrates the piling conducted on the Omak Lake Ridge. Though the ground between the piles appeaers grassy, close inspection will reveal that many little ponderosa pine seedlings are also growing.
This slash pile is typical of the work accomplished by the Biles-Coleman slach piling tractor. Notice the new terminal and lateral growth shoots on the ponderosa pine poles in the background.
The photo shows burning of tractor piled slash in progress somewhere atop Omak Lake Ridge. As can be observed the burners have also ignited other forest floor debris in several spots. On such areas the fire usually crept about through the needle mats under the groups of pines until almost all of the ground surface was covered.
Morris Lodoen burning tractor piled slash
Broadcast slash burning in progress. At least two of the burners are visible in this picture. As illustrated, the burning progressed down the ridge and against the wind.
Broadcast slash burning in progress on the Manila Creek Indian Logging unit.
Appearance of Omak Lake Ridge before logging. Edward J. Whalen, Forester, was marking timber for selective logging on the Kartar Unit during the summer. The last wildfire had burned in August 1920. As is here apparent, reproduction of the associated Douglas fir was becoming predominant uner the mature over-story Ponderosa pine.
Summer of 1945 photo of a portion where logging slash was tractor piled during the previous summer and was burned during late fall of that year. As indicated in the reports an effort was made to ignite all snags, windfall, and other debris as well as the slash piles.
Forester selecting mature pines for cutting. He carefully inspects for overmaturity or tother signs of weakness that may predispose the tree to insect or disease attack. All single trees or groups of trees past their prime are harvested. Most of the larger trees in this photo were "marked" for cutting.
Power saw felling of a tree marked for cutting by the foreter. One of the men operating the electrically powered chain saw is a Colville Indian. It is one of the first successful power sws on the Colville Reservation. The electric generator was mounted on a small tractor parked in a safe area out of the picture.
Appearance of a pine forest after it had been selectively logged in 1941. Younger, thrifty trees as here depicted were reserved for accelrated grwth. Logging slash, including limbs up to four inched in diameter, had been neatly piled by hand, preparatory to disposal by burning during favorable fall weather.
Burnign of hand piled slash during the fall of 1941
Summit Lake and Upper Omak Creek Basin, looking NE from eastern end of Omak Lake Ridge. Apporximately half of the area appearin gin the photo had been selectively logged by 1944.
One of the largest ponderosa pines on the Colville Indian Reservation. Photo taken at the edge of Moses Meadow. L-R: Allan Galbraith, Harold Weaver and Edward Whalen.
Felling crew at work on the Kartar unit
Slavage loggin in progress on the Tunk Creek logging unit in the NE corner of the Colville Reservation. In the background, across the valley, is Tunk Mountain, now on the Okanogan National Forest.
Harold Weaver, Walt Moomaw and Pete Whitelaw on the summit of Grizzly Mountain. Most of these mountains had been swept by big fires during the 1900's. In the midd-ground can be seen restocking areas from the most recent burn, probably that of 1926. Beyond it can be seen a dense even-aged stand of lodgepole pine that restocked follwoing an earlier burn.
Walt Moomaw, at left, with enrollee crew in valley of Onion Creek. This crew was cutting fence posts from western red cedars killed by the Elbow Lake fire of 1931.
Part of the damage that resulted from the 700-acre Brush Crrek fire in the lower San Poil Canyon.
Gunther Heeren indicating a one-year old ponderosa pine seedling on the Keller Ridge burn of August 1958. Almost the entire burn seed to pine. Many seedlings have been destroyed by drought, by slavage logging and by cattle grazing. It is hoped, however, that the burn is still adequately stocked.
Photo by Ladd of fresh grade for a logging railroad in the Moses Mountain unit. Double tracks were laid along this tangent to enable loaded and empty trains to pass.Grading was by pick and shovel and horse-pulled "Fresnos".
Photo by Ladd showing general view of Omak Creek Valley from a ridge top. Note old model auto in greshly cut-over area in foreground. Smoke is from the sawmill of Omak Fruit Growers, Inc. at Desautel on the Omak Creek logging unit.
Ladd photo of hand-piled slash on freshly cut-over area
Ladd photo of log cutter felling timber on Moses Mountain logging unit.
Ladd photo of horse skidding of logs on the Moses Mountain logging unit. For skindding to landings along the railroad the logs were bunched, the rolled onto "dollies" as here depicted.
Ladd photo of "ten ton" Holt tractors skidding tree-length logs on "bummers" on the Moses Mountain logging unit. The machines fast supplanted horses for log skidding.

Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Washington

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