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Deception Creek Experimental Forest is one of the most productive forests in the Rocky Mountains. The forest is 3,520 acres, with elevations ranging from 2,790 to 4,600 feet. Because this forest, located in the Coeur d'Alene Mountains, represents the heart of the western white pine (Pinus monticola) forest type, the ecology and silviculture of this ecosystem has been a primary research focus. When the forest was established in 1933, large, old-age western white pine was used extensively by the timber industry. 

Ecology

Today 80% of the forest is dominated by western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla). Other common tree species include grand fir (Abies grandis), Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), western larch (Larix occidentalis), and western white pine.