View source for National forest (United States)

{{Short description|Classification of federal lands in the United States}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2025}}
{{More citations needed|date=May 2018}}[[File:Sequoia Forest Nima 03.JPG|thumb|[[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]] in the [[Sequoia National Forest]], [[California]]]]
[[File:Rain Forest of El Yunque, Puerto Rico.jpg|thumb|[[Rainforest]] in the [[El Yunque National Forest]], [[Puerto Rico]]]]
[[File:House of Kings.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|[[Mount Hood National Forest]], [[Oregon]]]]
[[File:Flickr - Nicholas T - Tionesta Research Natural Area (Revisited) (2).jpg|thumb|[[Allegheny National Forest]], [[Pennsylvania]]]]
[[File:Henry Lake Fall Colors - Autumn at Ottawa National Forest, Upper Peninsula, Michigan (29936917032).jpg|thumb|Fall colors in [[Ottawa National Forest]], [[Michigan]]]]
In the [[the United States|United States]], '''national forest''' is a classification of [[protected area|protected]] and managed [[federal lands]] that are largely [[forest]] and [[woodland]] areas. They are owned collectively by the American people through the [[Federal government of the United States|federal government]] and managed by the [[United States Forest Service]], a division of the [[United States Department of Agriculture]]. The U.S. Forest Service is also a forestry research organization that provides financial assistance to the state and local forestry industry.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=History & Culture {{!}} US Forest Service|url=https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/heritage|access-date=2020-10-16|website=www.fs.usda.gov|date=29 July 2016|archive-date=2020-10-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201016202252/https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/heritage|url-status=live}}</ref> There are [[List of U.S. National Forests|154 national forests]] in the United States.

{{anchor|Forest Reserve}}

==History==
{{See also|History of the United States Forest Service}}
The [[Land Revision Act of 1891]], enacted during the presidency of [[Benjamin Harrison]],<ref>{{Cite journal|last=McCarthy|first=G. M.|date=1977-01-01|title=Hour of trial: the conservation conflict in Colorado and the West, 1891--1907|osti=5021710|url=https://www.osti.gov/biblio/5021710|language=en}}</ref> allowed the president to set aside forest reserves on public lands.<ref>{{cite web |title=Gifford Pinchot National Forest: Early History |url=http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/forest-research/heritage/early1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090621142351/http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/forest-research/heritage/early1.html#top |archive-date=21 June 2009 |access-date=9 April 2020 |website=U.S. Forest Service}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=McCarthy|first=G. M.|date=1977-01-01|title=Hour of trial: the conservation conflict in Colorado and the West, 1891--1907|osti=5021710|url=https://www.osti.gov/biblio/5021710|language=en}}</ref> Harrison established 15 '''forest reserves''' containing more than 13&nbsp;million acres of land.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=The Planet--A Brief History of National Forests|url=https://vault.sierraclub.org/planet/199706/history.asp|access-date=2020-10-16|website=vault.sierraclub.org|archive-date=2020-10-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017205550/https://vault.sierraclub.org/planet/199706/history.asp|url-status=live}}</ref> The bill was the result of concerted action by [[Los Angeles]]-area businessmen and property owners who were concerned by the harm being done to the watershed of the [[San Gabriel Mountains]] by ranchers and miners. [[Abbot Kinney]] and forester [[Theodore Lukens]] were key spokesmen for the effort.

===Timeline of legislation===
* 1897: The [[Organic Act of 1897|Organic Act]] was passed to protect watersheds and forests while still allowing the timber industry to continue.<ref name=":0" />
* 1905: The [[Transfer Act of 1905]] established the US Forest Service as a division of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).<ref name=":0" /> This agency was formed to map, maintain, and protect forests as well as provide water and timber for national benefit. Gifford Pinchot was appointed the head of the US Forest Service by [[Theodore Roosevelt|President Roosevelt]].<ref name=":0" />
* 1907: 99&nbsp;million acres were added to the national forests.<ref name=":0" />
* 1922: The Secretary of Agriculture authorized the selling of national forest land in exchange for private land of equal value, which changed the national forest service from a conservation organization to one that focuses on the [[logging]] industry.<ref name=":0" />
* 1925: National forests were authorized to grant grazing permits for 10 years.<ref name=":0" />
* 1944: The Sustained-Yield Forest Management Act was passed, which encouraged the building of logging mills throughout the west.<ref name=":0" />
* 1960: The [[Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960|Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act]] directs national forests to be managed for their timber, range, water, recreation, and wildlife, with no use greater than another.<ref>Godfrey, Anthony ''The Ever-Changing View-A History of the National Forests in California'' USDA Forest Service Publishers, 2005 p. 399</ref>
* 1970: The National Environmental Policy Act was passed, which required the [[environmental impact statement]]s to be made for federal actions that may impact the environment. This allowed a legal standing to challenge the logging industry.<ref name=":0" />
* 1973: The [[Endangered Species Act of 1973|Endangered Species Act]] passed, giving forest advocates a legal basis to challenge logging if it threatened an endangered species.<ref name=":0" />
* 1976: The [[National Forest Management Act of 1976|National Forest Management Act]] was enacted to protect lands and ecosystems.<ref name=":0" /> It was to protect national forests from destructive logging practices, so Congress told the Forest System to develop regulations on the size of clear-cuts, protect waterways, and restrict the cutting rate to protect reforestation.<ref name=":0" />
* 1994: The Northwest Forest Plan was announced by President [[Bill Clinton]] to try to slow logging in old-growth forests.<ref name=":0" />

There have been multiple legislative acts to expand the scope of the national forest system, as well as shrinking it. In 2020, the [[First presidency of Donald Trump|Trump administration]] encouraged more forest products to be harvested to support a struggling economy. There was a plan to develop around 190&nbsp;million acres of protected National Forests to increase logging, grazing, and energy resources.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Grandoni|first=Dino|title=Analysis {{!}} The Energy 202: Forest Service sparks controversy for pushing logging, oil during pandemic|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-energy-202/2020/06/15/the-energy-202-forest-service-sparks-controversy-for-pushing-logging-oil-during-pandemic/5ee6835d602ff12947e8c134/|access-date=2020-10-16|issn=0190-8286|archive-date=2020-10-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022091854/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-energy-202/2020/06/15/the-energy-202-forest-service-sparks-controversy-for-pushing-logging-oil-during-pandemic/5ee6835d602ff12947e8c134/|url-status=live}}</ref> This would be facilitated through shrinking the rules and regulations required to get permits to conduct such business. In October 2020, the Trump administration proclaimed its goal of "strengthening markets for wood products and incentivizing innovative manufacturing techniques" and reported "The Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service sold 3.3 billion board feet of timber from national forests in fiscal year 2019 — the highest output since 1997".<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|title=Proclamation on National Forest Products Week, 2020|url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/proclamation-national-forest-products-week-2020/|access-date=2020-12-01|via=[[NARA|National Archives]]|work=[[whitehouse.gov]]|language=en-US|archive-date=2021-01-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120201949/https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/proclamation-national-forest-products-week-2020/|url-status=live}}</ref> Furthermore, President Trump signed an [[executive order]] to "establish the United States One Trillion Trees Interagency Council" in order to further the Federal Government's participation in this effort and repeal the current $30&nbsp;million annual funding cap for the Reforestation Trust Fund.<ref name=":4" />

==Geography==
The United States national forest comprises about 132 million acres.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Houck |first=Oliver A. |date=2022 |title=This Land Is Your Land: The Dark Canon of the United States Supreme Court in Natural Resources Law |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27108388 |journal=Natural Resources Journal |volume=62 |issue=1 |pages=1–48 |jstor=27108388 |issn=0028-0739}}</ref> There are 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands containing 193&nbsp;million acres (297,000&nbsp;mi<sup>2</sup>/769&nbsp;000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) of land.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=By the Numbers {{!}} US Forest Service|url=https://www.fs.usda.gov/about-agency/newsroom/by-the-numbers|access-date=2020-10-16|website=www.fs.usda.gov|date=February 2016|archive-date=2020-10-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201015171301/https://www.fs.usda.gov/about-agency/newsroom/by-the-numbers|url-status=live}}</ref> These lands comprise 8.5 percent of the total land area of the United States, an area about the size of [[Texas]].<ref name=":1" /> About 87 percent of national forest land lies in the [[Western United States]], mostly in mountain ranges. [[Alaska]] has 12 percent of all national forest lands.<ref name=":2" />

Within the national forest system, there are 1,200 sites listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] and 23 are [[National Historic Landmarks]].<ref name=":1" /> The [[National Historic Preservation Act]] requires the Forest Service to identify, investigate, and protect cultural resources on lands it manages.<ref name=":1" />

The U.S. Forest Service also manages all of the [[United States National Grassland|United States national grasslands]] and nearly 50% of the [[National Recreation Area|United States national recreation area]]s.

==Management==
[[Land management]] of these areas focuses on [[habitat conservation|conservation]], [[timber harvesting]], [[livestock]] [[grazing]], [[Drainage basin|watershed]] protection, [[wildlife]], and [[recreation]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|title=Managing the Land {{!}} US Forest Service|url=https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land|access-date=2020-10-16|website=www.fs.usda.gov|date=29 September 2015|archive-date=2020-10-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201015171116/https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land|url-status=live}}</ref> Unlike national parks and other federal lands managed by the [[National Park Service]], extraction of natural resources from national forests is permitted, and in many cases encouraged.<ref name=":3" /> Forest products are the resources removed and harvested from national forests. They may be for commercial or personal use such as “lumber, paper, and firewood as well as 'special forest products' such as medicinal herbs, fungi, edible fruits and nuts, and other natural products”.<ref name=":3" /> However, the first-designated [[National Wilderness Preservation System|wilderness areas]], and some of the largest, are on national forest lands.

There are management decision conflicts between [[conservation movement|conservationists]] and [[environmentalist]]s and natural [[Extractivism|resource extraction]] companies and lobbies (e.g. logging & mining) over the protection and/or use of national forest lands. These conflicts center on [[endangered species]] protection, logging of [[old-growth forest]]s, intensive [[clear cut logging]], undervalued [[stumpage]] fees, mining operations and [[mining claim]] laws, and logging/mining access roadbuilding within national forests. Additional conflicts arise from concerns that the [[grassland]]s, [[shrubland]]s, and forest [[understory]] are grazed by [[sheep]], cattle, and more recently, rising numbers of [[elk]] and [[mule deer]] due to loss of [[predator]]s.

Many [[ski resort]]s and summer [[resort]]s operate on leased land in national forests.

National forests include 14 [[National monument (United States)|national monuments]] where resource extraction is restricted.

== List of national forests ==
{{Main|List of national forests of the United States}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Trees|United States}}
* [[Weeks Act]] 1911 law for purchase of private lands
** [[Clarke–McNary Act]], an expansion in 1924
* [[Environmental history of the United States]]
*[[Protected areas of the United States]]
*[[State forest]]
*{{C|National forests of the United States|National forests of the United States topics}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|National forests of the United States}}
*[https://www.fs.usda.gov/ USDA Forest Service]
*[[iarchive:CAT77680529/page/n1/mode/2up|Trees of Our National Forests: Their Beauty and Use]] from the U.S. Forest Service, 1975.

{{US Protected Areas}}
{{National Forests of the United States}}
{{Benjamin Harrison}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:National forests of the United States| 01]]
[[Category:United States Forest Service protected areas|*Forest]]
[[Category:Protected areas of the United States|Forests]]
[[Category:United States Forest Service|*National forest]]
[[Category:Bureau of Land Management areas|National forest]]
[[Category:National forests]]
[[Category:Benjamin Harrison]]