Apache National Forest was established by the

U.S. Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands covering of land. The major divisions of the agency are the Chief's ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

and

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

on July 1, 1908, with from portions of Black Mesa National Forest. In 1974 the entire forest was administratively combined with

Sitgreaves National Forest Sitgreaves National Forest was established by the U.S. Forest Service in Arizona on July 1, 1908 with from portions of the Black Mesa and Tonto National Forests. In 1974 the entire forest was administratively combined with Apache National For ...

to create Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests. The New Mexico section is now administered by the

Gila National Forest The Gila National Forest is a United States national forest in New Mexico. Established in 1905, it now covers approximately , making it the sixth largest national forest in the continental United States. The Forest administration also manage ...

. The area of the former Apache National Forest covers most of

Greenlee County, Arizona Greenlee County is a county in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,563, making it Arizona's least populous county. The county seat is Clifton. The economy of Greenlee County is ...

(excepting the southernmost part of the county), southern

Apache County, Arizona Apache County is a County (United States), county in the northeast corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. Shaped in a long rectangle running north to south, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 66,021. The county ...

, and part of western

Catron County, New Mexico Catron County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,579, making it New Mexico's third-least populous county. Its county seat is Reserve. Catron County is New Mexico's largest county by area. ...

. The former Apache is much the larger than the former Sitgreaves. As of 30 September 2008, its area was , representing 68.9% of the combined Apache–Sitgreaves total area. There are local ranger district offices in

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...

, Clifton, and Springerville. (Springerville is also the headquarters of the combined Apache–Sitgreaves.)

Wilderness areas

There are four

wilderness area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural) are Earth's natural environments that have not been significantly modified by human activity, or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally ...

s within Apache National Forest that are part of the

National Wilderness Preservation System The National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) of the United States protects federal government of the United States, federally managed Wilderness, wilderness areas designated for preservation in their natural condition. Activity on formally ...

: * Bear Wallow Wilderness * Blue Range Primitive Area (bordering the Blue Range Wilderness managed by the Gila NF) * Escudilla Wilderness * Mount Baldy Wilderness

References

External links

Forest History Society

Listing of the National Forests of the United States and Their Dates
(

Forest History Society The Forest History Society is an American non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of forest and conservation history."Forest History Society." Echo Project. Center for History and New Media, George Mason University. http://echo.gmu. ...

website) Text from Davis, Richard C., ed. ''Encyclopedia of American Forest and Conservation History''. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company for the Forest History Society, 1983. Vol. II, pp. 743–788. {{Authority control Protected areas of Apache County, Arizona Protected areas of Catron County, New Mexico Former national forests of Arizona Former national forests of New Mexico Protected areas of Greenlee County, Arizona Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests 1908 establishments in Arizona Territory 1908 establishments in New Mexico Territory Protected areas established in 1908 1974 disestablishments in Arizona 1974 disestablishments in New Mexico Protected areas disestablished in 1974