Gifford Pinchot National Forest

Infobox_protected_area | name = Gifford Pinchot National Forest
iucn_category = VI

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caption =
locator_x = 26
locator_y = 21
location = Washington, USA
nearest_city = Amboy, WA
lat_degrees = 46
lat_minutes =45
lat_seconds = 29
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 121
long_minutes = 27
long_seconds = 0
long_direction = W
area = 1,319,650 acres (5,340.4 km²)
established = 1908
visitation_num = 1,800,000
visitation_year = 2005
governing_body = U.S. Forest Service Gifford Pinchot National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in southern Washington, USA. With an area of 1.3 million acres (5300 km²), it extends 116 km along the western slopes of Cascade Range from Mount Rainier National Park to the Columbia River. It includes the 110,000 acre (445 km²) Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, established by Congress in 1982. In addition, Congressional action since 1964 has established the following wilderness areas:
* Goat Rocks - 105,600 acres (427 km²)
* Tatoosh - 15,800 acres (63.9 km²)
* Mount Adams - 47,420 acres (19.1 km²)
* Indian Heaven - 20,400 acres (82.6 km²)
* Trapper Creek - 6,000 acres (24 km²)

Also, William O. Douglas Wilderness is administered jointly with Wenatchee National Forest. The forest offices are located in Vancouver, Washington. The forest is named after the first chief of the United States Forest Service, Gifford Pinchot. Washington towns near entrances of the forest include Cougar, Randle, and Carson.

History

Gifford Pinchot National Forest is one of the older national forests in the United States. Included as part of the Mount Rainier Forest Reserve in 1897, the area was set aside as the Columbia National Forest in 1908. It was renamed the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in 1945. [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]

The forest was named after Gifford Pinchot, one of the leading figures in the creation of the national forest system of the United States.

Geography

Gifford Pinchot National Forest is located in a mountainous region approximately between Mount St. Helens in the west, Mount Adams in the east, White Pass in the north, and the Columbia River in the south. This region is noted for its complex topography and volcanic geology. About 65 percent of the forest acreage is located in Skamania County. In descending order of land area the others are Lewis, Yakima, Cowlitz, Klickitat, and Clark counties. [http://www.fs.fed.us/land/staff/lar/2007/TABLE_6.htm]

Points of interest

* Wind River ArboretumThe Forest is home to several Threatened and Endangered species including: bald eagle, bull trout, chinook, coho and steelhead, and northern spotted owl. The Forest also provides habitat for gray wolf, grizzly bear, and marbled murrelett.

References

External links

* [http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/ Official web site]
* [http://www.gptaskforce.org Gifford Pinchot Task Force]