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John Cletheroe's
USA and Canada Holiday Hints |
The Forest Service, part of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), administers the 155 National Forests, which amount to nearly 300,000 square miles and are located throughout the USA. For comparison, the area of the entire United Kingdom is 93,727 square miles. The Forest Service is also responsible for the USA's twenty National Grasslands.
While the primary purpose of the National Forests is the growing of trees for timber production, most of the forests are very scenic areas and well worth visiting. As a general rule, any road which runs through a National Forest is likely to be at least very pleasant and often extremely scenic. Many Interstates, US Highways and state highways pass through National Forests. However, most of the Forest roads which provide access to the backcountry in National Forests are unpaved and totally unsuitable for normal cars.
National Forests are almost always shown on road maps. Some National Forests extend across two or more states and some have two or more separate areas. For obvious biological reasons, many forests are located at higher altitudes where temperatures are lower and precipitation is greater.
Some National Forests have visitor centres, accommodation and other similar facilities although these are by no means universal. Most National Forests have backcountry hiking trails and primitive camping sites. As far as I know no National Forest imposes an entrance charge for visitors. Visitor centres tend to be open to the public free of charge but obviously a charge is made for the use of most other visitor facilities.
The wording on the signs seen as you enter and leave each National Forest describes them well: "Land of Many Uses".
States with extensive areas of National Forests include Alaska, California, Idaho, Montana and Oregon. However, National Forests are certainly not restricted solely to the western states.
Most states additionally have their own State Forests.
As well as the National and State Forests, many other parts of the United States are forested. In fact some 29% of the total land area of the USA is classified as forested.
Many National Forests are adjacent to National Parks.
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Most recently modified 12-May-01