Jim Ford Creek, a tributary of the Clearwater River above Orofino, was named for a Lewiston merchant who cut trees on the creek and rafted them to a mill in Lewiston, according to Idaho Place Names.

Decades earlier William Clark and five men from the Corps of Discovery hiked down the hillside above the creek looking for the camp of Twisted Hair who they had met the night before, according to Clearwater Country: A Traveler's Guide. The rest of the expedition had not yet reached the Weippe Prairie. Clark and his group found the camp on an island west of where the creek enters the Clearwater River. They smoked the pipe of friendship. The friendship would become very important to the group.

Jim Ford Creek flows 20 miles northwest from an elevation of 4,068 feet to 1,050 feet at its confluence with the Clearwater. It drains a 65,838 acre watershed that has two distinct portions. In the upper portion, it flows through rolling forested uplands and the Weippe prairie until it reaches the City of Weippe. Below Weippe, the creek enters the narrow, steep basalt canyon nearly 14 miles in length, according to the Jim Ford Creek Watershed Enhancement Project 319 Final Report.

In 1994, the creek was classified as a priority water quality limited segment stream under a section of the Clean Water Act. A Watershed Advisory Group was formed through Clearwater Soil and Water Conservation District to address and discuss the land and water resource issues in the watershed. With the efforts of the group involving many landowners and various governmental entities, the WAG was able to help in drafting one of th efirst TMDLs in the region and it was approved by EPA in May 2000. The WAG then sought funding for project implementation. Grants were used to follow Best Management Practices to reduce the targeted pollutants.

There were initially five sub-projects with participation from Idaho Department of Lands, Potlatch Corporation, Cleawater Highway District and numerous private landowners.

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