Lincoln National Forest

The Lincoln National Forest is a protected national forest in the State of New Mexico in the southwestern United States. It was established in 1902 and covers 1,103,828 acres (1,724.73 sq mi, or 4,467.03 km²). [ [http://www.fs.fed.us/land/staff/lar/2007/TABLE_6.htm Table 6 - NFS Acreage by State, Congressional District and County] - United States Forest Service - September 30, 2007] It was named in honor of Abraham Lincoln, who was 16th president of the United States and is the birthplace of Smokey the Bear, the living symbol of the campaign to prevent forest fires. [ [http://stateparks.com/lincoln.html Lincoln National Forest, a New Mexico State Park near Alamogordo ] ] Forest headquarters are located in Alamogordo, New Mexico.

The Lincoln National Forest borders the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation and stretches across several New Mexico counties, including:
* Chaves County convert|40332|acre|km2
* Eddy County convert|135013|acre|km2
* Lincoln County convert|364731|acre|km2
* Otero County convert|563752|acre|km2

It is also home to the National Solar Observatory at Sacramento Peak at the village of Sunspot.

History

The Lincoln Forest Reserve was established by the General Land Office on July 26, 1902 with 500,000 acres. On July 1, 1908 Gallinas National Forest was absorbed, and on July 1, 1917, Alamo National Forest as well. [citation|title=PDFlink| [http://www.foresthistory.org/Research/usfscoll/places/National%20Forests%20of%20the%20U.S.pdf National Forests of the United States] |341 KB|date=September 29, 2005|author=Davis, Richard C.|publisher=The Forest History Society] Alamo had previously consisted of Sacramento National Forest and Guadalupe National Forest, which still exist as the Sacramento and Guadalupe Districts of Lincoln. [cite web|url=http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/lincoln/aboutus.shtml|date=2008-08-25|work=Lincoln National Forest|title=About Us|publisher=U.S. Forest Service]

Geography

The Lincoln National Forest comprises portions of four mountain ranges:
* Capitan Mountains
* Guadalupe Mountains
* Sacramento Mountains
* Sierra Blanca

Elevations range between 4,000 to 11,500 feet (1,219 to 3,505 meters) and pass through five different life zones from Chihuahuan Desert to subalpine forest. Vegetation ranges from rare cacti in the lower elevations to Engelmann Spruce in the higher.

Climate

Temperatures vary with elevation. At higher elevations (7,000 feet/2,134 meters and up), summer temperatures range between 40°F/4°C (night) to 78°F/26°C (day), while winter temperatures can drop to a -15°F/-26°C at night and rise to 50°F/10°C during the day. At lower elevations (6,000 to 7,000 feet/1,829 to 2,134 meters), summer temperatures range between 50°F/10°C to 85°F/29°C, while during the winter, temperatures rarely fall below 0°F/-18°C and usually run from teens to 50s (-10°C to 10°C). At the lowest elevations (below 6,000 feet/1,829 meters), temperatures are generally 10°F/5°C higher throughout the year.

Spring is the windy season. High winds dry the forest to the point of extreme fire danger. Fire season usually starts in March or April and continues through mid-July. If the fire danger becomes too high, open fires may be prohibited. The rainy season begins in July and continues through September. The first snows fall in late October or early November.

Towns and cities

The following towns and cities lie within the bounds of the Lincoln National Forest:
* Cloudcroft, New Mexico
* Glencoe, New Mexico
* High Rolls, New Mexico
* Mayhill, New Mexico
* Mountain Park, New Mexico
* Nogal, New Mexico
* Pine Lodge, New Mexico
* Ruidoso, New Mexico
* Ruidoso Downs, New Mexico
* Sacramento, New Mexico
* Sunspot, New Mexico
* Timberon, New Mexico
* Queen, New Mexico

Transportation

Airports

* Sierra Blanca Regional Airport, located about 15 miles (24 km)northwest of Ruidoso

Major highways

The following major highways traverse the Lincoln National Forest:
* U.S. Route 70
* U.S. Route 82
* U.S. Route 380
* NM 37
* NM 48

ee also

* Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation

References

External links

* [http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/lincoln/ Lincoln National Forest]