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Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest

Coordinates: 48°33′06″N 120°23′06″W / 48.5517°N 120.385°W / 48.5517; -120.385
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Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest
View from Maple Pass showing Lake Ann and Crooked Bum
Map showing the location of Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest
Map showing the location of Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest
Location in the United States
Map showing the location of Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest
Map showing the location of Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest
Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest (the United States)
LocationOkanogan County, Washington
Nearest cityOmak, Washington
Coordinates48°33′06″N 120°23′06″W / 48.5517°N 120.385°W / 48.5517; -120.385
Area1,499,023 acres (6,066.33 km2)[1]
EstablishedJuly 1, 1911[2]
Visitors397,000 (in 2005)
Governing bodyUnited States Forest Service
www.fs.usda.gov/okawen/
The North Cascades from the northern Okanogan Valley showing Whistler Mountain and Cutthroat Peak

The Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in Okanogan County in north-central Washington, United States.

The 1,499,013-acre (2,342.208 sq mi; 6,066.29 km2) forest is bordered on the north by British Columbia, on the east by Colville National Forest, on the south by the divide between the Methow and the Stehekin–Lake Chelan valleys, and on the west by North Cascades National Park. The closest significant communities are Omak and Okanogan. Managed by the United States Forest Service, its headquarters are in Wenatchee. There are local ranger district offices located in Tonasket and Winthrop. It is the second-largest national forest (after the Nez Perce National Forest in Idaho) that is contained entirely within one county and largest of which in Washington.

Most of the Pasayten Wilderness (excluding its westernmost part, which lies in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest), and the northeast portion (about 63%)[3] of Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness are part of the forest, with the balance lying in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.

The western part of the forest is wetter than the dry and less temperate east. The vegetation varies similarly, from the western boreal forest, to the eastern high-elevation steppe. A 1993 Forest Service study estimated that the extent of old growth in the forest was 316,000 acres (128,000 ha),[4] a majority of which was lodgepole pine forests. Wildfires are not uncommon in the Okanogan National Forest. Notable fires include the 2006 Tripod Complex, the 2014 Carlton Complex and the 2015 Okanogan Complex fires.

The Okanogan National Forest was established on July 1, 1911, from a portion of the Chelan National Forest. On July 1, 1921, the entire forest was transferred back to the Chelan National Forest, but on March 23, 1955, the transfer was reverted.[2]

The Wenatchee National Forest has an area of 1,735,394 acres (2,711.55 sq mi, or 7,022.89 km2);[5] it extends about 137 miles along the eastern slopes of the Cascade Range of Washington, USA from Okanogan National Forest to Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The forest is located in Chelan, Kittitas and Yakima counties.

Wilderness areas

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There are six officially designated wilderness areas within Wenatchee National Forest that are part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. All of them lie partially in neighboring National Forests (as indicated).

Waptus Lake

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A view of Waptus Lake

Nearly two miles long and accessible only by hiking or horse trails, Waptus Lake is the largest Alpine lake in the National Forest. Drained by the Waptus River, it is notable for its views of Summit Chief and Bears Breast mountains.

Ecology

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A 1993 United States Forest Service study estimated that the extent of old growth in the Forest was 318,800 acres (129,000 ha).[4] Wildfires are not uncommon in the National Forest. In September 2012, a severe lightning storm ignited hundreds of fires, the largest of which were located southwest of the city of Wenatchee and east of Blewett Pass. Significant wildfires occurred again in July 2014, in the Chiwaukum and Entiat Mountains.[6] A lightning strike near Jolly Mountain on August 11, 2017, ultimately burned more than 38,000 acres and forced significant evacuations.[7]

Panoramic view of the Wenatchee River watershed, Wenatchee National Forest

Administration

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The Okanogan National Forest was administratively combined with the Wenatchee National Forest in 2000, although the boundaries for each forest remained unchanged, and in 2007, it administratively became known as the Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest.[8][9] The headquarters are in Wenatchee, Washington. There are local ranger district offices located in Chelan, Cle Elum, Entiat, Methow Valley, Leavenworth, Tonasket, Wenatchee River and Naches. The first forest supervisor of Wenatchee National Forest was Albert H. Sylvester, who named over a thousand natural features in the region.

History

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Sign marking the entrance to the Goat Rocks Wilderness

The Forest Reserve Act of 1891 gave the President the authority to establish forest reserves for the United States Department of the Interior.[10] After passage of the Transfer Act of 1905, forest reserves became part of the United States Department of Agriculture in the newly created United States Forest Service.[8][11] The Chelan National Forest was established by the Forest Service on July 1, 1908,[12] from 2,492,500 acres (1,008,700 ha) from a portion of the Washington National Forest, and was named after the city of Chelan, where its headquarters were. The forest's initial area of 1,732,820 acres (701,250 ha) extended from the northern Okanogan River near the Canada–United States border to divide the Lake Chelan and Entiat watersheds to the southern Cascade Crest.[13] On July 1, 1911, the forest partly transformed into Okanogan National Forest. However, Chelan National Forest was still existent, then only occupying the drainage basin of Lake Chelan and Entiat.[14]

The Conconully, Loomis, Squaw Creek, Sweat Creek, Twisp and Winthrop ranger districts were formed between 1911 and 1915.[8] On July 1, 1921, the entire forest reunited back into the Chelan National Forest, and the term Okanogan was discontinued.[14] Subsequently, another ranger district was established, the Chelan Ranger District. Portions of the Loomis Ranger District, along with the Sweat Creek Ranger District, absorbed to become the Loomis State Forest, later abandoned. The forest's ranger area underwent a number of smaller changes until the mid-1940s. The Squaw Creek Ranger District was absorbed by the Twisp Ranger District in the early 1930s, while the Forest Service Monument 83 lookout was constructed in neighboring British Columbia as an accident. The Pasayten Ranger District was later created from a portion of the Winthrop Ranger District, and the Conconully Ranger District became the Okanogan Ranger District.[8] The western part of the Colville National Forest transferred into the Chelan National Forest in 1943. On March 23, 1955, Chelan National Forest again became the Okanogan National Forest, then headquartered in the city of Okanogan. As per the change, the rename of the Conconully Ranger District was reverted.[14]

In 1968, the Pasayten Wilderness was established, introducing over 200,000 acres (81,000 ha) to the forest.[8] The United States Congress designated almost 65 percent of the forest's area as the Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness under the National Wilderness Preservation System around 1984, upon land formerly occupied by the former Chelan Division of the Washington Forest Reserve.[15]

The first forest supervisor of Wenatchee National Forest was Albert H. Sylvester, who named over a thousand natural features in the region.

360° panorama near the summit of Goat Peak in the Okanogan National Forest. Photographed on a September afternoon, this photo includes sweeping views of the Methow Valley and the greater Cascade Range including glaciated Silver Star Mountain. High ice clouds create sun dogs on either side of the sun. Goat Peak Lookout is prominent on the righthand side.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Land Areas of the National Forest System" (PDF). United States Forest Service. January 2012. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
  2. ^ a b Davis, Richard C., ed. (1983). "Appendix I. National Forests of the United States" (PDF). Encyclopedia of American Forest and Conservation History, Volume 2. MacMillan Publishing Company for the Forest History Society. pp. 743–788. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-10-28. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
  3. ^ "Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness acreage breakdown, Wilderness.net". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  4. ^ a b Bolsinger, Charles L.; Waddell, Karen L. (1993), Area of old-growth forests in California, Oregon, and Washington (PDF), United States Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Resource Bulletin PNW-RB-197
  5. ^ "Land Areas of the National Forest System" (PDF). U.S. Forest Service. January 2012. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
  6. ^ Mapes, Lynda V. (July 23, 2015). "Collateral Damage: Rushing to stop a fire that never came, Forest Service logged miles of big trees, critical habitat". Seattle Times. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  7. ^ Bush, Evan (September 7, 2017). "Smoke? Fire? Destruction? The little towns near Lake Cle Elum have seen it before". Seattle Times. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest – A Brief History". United States Forest Service. 2008. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
  9. ^ "Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest Cascade Lookout" (PDF). U.S. Forest Service. 2020. p. 17. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  10. ^ Steen, Harold K. (May 1, 1991). "Reserve Act and Congress: Passage of the 1981 Act". The Beginning of the National Forest System. Washington, D.C.: United States Forest Service. pp. 18–23. Archived from the original on September 18, 2016. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
  11. ^ "The U.S. Forest Service – An Overview" (PDF). United States Forest Service. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 14, 2009. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
  12. ^ "The National Forests of the United States" (PDF). ForestHistory.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 28, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
  13. ^ "The National Forests of the United States" (PDF). Forest History Society. p. 34. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 16, 2011.
  14. ^ a b c "United States Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region (Region 6)". University of Oregon. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
  15. ^ "Wilderness Evaluation – Sawtooth, 608027" (PDF). United States Forest Service. 2009. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
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