Apache National Forest was established by the

U.S. Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency inc ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

and

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

on July 1, 1908, with from portions of

Black Mesa National Forest Black Mesa National Forest was established as the Black Mesa Forest Reserve by the General Land Office in Arizona on February 22, 1897 with . After the transfer of federal forests to the U.S. Forest Service in 1905, it became a National Forest ...

. In 1974 the entire forest was administratively combined with Sitgreaves National Forest to create Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests. The New Mexico section is now administered by the Gila National Forest. 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 d ...

(excepting the southernmost part of the county), southern

Apache County, Arizona Apache County is in the northeast corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. Shaped in a long rectangle running north to south, as of the 2020 census, its population was 66,021. The county seat is St. Johns. Most of the county is occupied by part ...

, and part of western

Catron County, New Mexico Catron County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 3,725, 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 A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...

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 Clifton may refer to: People * Clifton (surname) * Clifton (given name) Places Australia *Clifton, Queensland, a town ** Shire of Clifton *Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong * Clifton, Western Australia Canada * Clifton, Nova Sc ...

, and

Springerville Springerville is a town in Apache County, Arizona, United States, within the White Mountains. Its postal ZIP Code is 85938. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 1,961. Springerville sits at an elevation of above sea level. ...

.USFS Ranger Districts by State
/ref> (Springerville is also the headquarters of the combined Apache–Sitgreaves.) Apache National Forest (5532039951)

Wilderness areas

There are four

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

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 federally managed wilderness areas designated for preservation in their natural condition. Activity on formally designated wilderness areas is coordinated by the Na ...

: *

Bear Wallow Wilderness The Bear Wallow Wilderness is an wilderness area in eastern Arizona in the United States. The wilderness, located in the Apache National Forest, is managed by the U.S. Forest Service. The area has been severely affected by the Wallow Fire of Ju ...

Blue Range Wilderness Blue Range Wilderness, along with Aldo Leopold Wilderness and Gila Wilderness, is part of Gila National Forest. It is located on the western border of New Mexico and west of U.S. Route 180 between Reserve and Glenwood. The wilderness is crosse ...

(partly in Gila NF) * Escudilla Wilderness *

Mount Baldy Wilderness Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

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