White Mountain National Forest
Coordinates: 44°06′N 71°24′W / 44.1°N 71.4°W
The White Mountain National Forest (WMNF) is a federally managed forest contained within the White Mountains in the northeastern United States. It was established in 1918 as a result of the Weeks Act of 1911;[1] federal acquisition of land had already begun in 1914.[2] It has a total area of 784,505 acres (3,175 km2) (1,225 sq mi). Most of the WMNF is in New Hampshire; a small part (about 5.65% of the forest) is in the neighboring state of Maine.[3] While often casually referred to as a park, this is a National Forest, used not only for hiking, camping, and skiing, but for logging and other limited commercial purposes. The WMNF is the only National Forest located in either New Hampshire or Maine. Most of the major peaks over 4,000 feet high for peak-bagging in New Hampshire are located in the National Forest. Over 100 miles (160 km) of the Appalachian Trail traverses the White Mountain National Forest. In descending order of land area the forest lies in parts of Grafton, Coos, Carroll, and Oxford counties. (Oxford County is the only one that is in Maine.)
The Forest Supervisor's office is located in Campton, and there are three ranger districts: the Pemigewasset District, with offices in Bethlehem and Plymouth; the Androscoggin District, based in Gorham; and the Saco District, based in Conway. Furthermore, there are several visitor centers, including those located at Lincoln, Campton (off Interstate 93), and Lincoln Woods (on the Kancamagus Highway), and the Evans Notch Information Center, located in Bethel, Maine.
The National Forest consists of three discontinuous areas. The area to the west of Franconia Notch (a narrow north-south valley primarily within a state park) consists of the regions surrounding Cannon Mountain, Kinsman Mountain, and Mount Moosilauke (though the majority of Moosilauke is privately owned). The main body of the National Forest includes the Presidential Range and many other ranges - most notably, the Franconia, Twin, Bond, Sandwich, Willey, and Carter-Moriah ranges. An exclave of the Forest lies to the north of U.S. Route 2 in Stark and Randolph, New Hampshire.
Six designated Federal Wilderness Areas exist within the Forest: the 27,380-acre (110.8 km2) Presidential Range/Dry River Wilderness, the 5,552-acre (22.47 km2) Great Gulf Wilderness, the 45,000-acre (180 km2) Pemigewasset Wilderness, the 35,800-acre (145 km2) Sandwich Range Wilderness, the 12,000-acre (49 km2) Caribou/Speckled Mountain Wilderness, and the 23,700-acre (96 km2) Wild River Wilderness. These areas are protected from logging and commercial industries and are used solely for recreational and scientific purposes. They were formed under the Federal Wilderness Protection Act of 1984, and its amendments. The New England Wilderness Protection Act of 2006 increased the Sandwich Range Wilderness to its present size and created the Wild River Wilderness area.
Because of its beauty, its proximity to major metropolitan areas, its 1,200 miles (1,900 km) of hiking trails, 23 campgrounds, and the presence of a large number of ski areas within or near its boundaries, the WMNF is one of the most visited outdoor recreation sites east of the Mississippi.[4]
[edit] See also
- New England/Acadian forests
- John W. Weeks, sponsor of the Weeks Act
[edit] References
- ^ "Chronology of National Forests Established Under the Weeks Act". The Forest History Society. http://www.foresthistory.org/ASPNET/Policy/WeeksAct/WeeksActForests.aspx. Retrieved March 7, 2011.
- ^ "History of the White Mountain". White Mountain National Forest. http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/white_mountain/about/history/. Retrieved March 7, 2011.
- ^ "Table 6 - NFS Acreage by State, Congressional District and County". U.S. Forest Service. 2007-10-07. http://www.fs.fed.us/land/staff/lar/2007/TABLE_6.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
- ^ "Socio-Economic Assessment, Chapter 1". White Mountain National Forest. http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/white_mountain/projects/forest_plan_revision/survey/chapter_1.pdf. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Official Map (20M PDF)
- Detailed personal website
- White Mountain National Forest FAQs
- NE Wilderness Act press release
- White Mountain National Forest travel guide from Wikitravel
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