Klamath National Forest is a national forest, in the

Klamath Mountains The Klamath Mountains are a rugged and lightly populated mountain range in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon in the western United States. As a mountain system within both the greater Pacific Coast Ranges and the California Coast ...

and

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

, located in

Siskiyou County Siskiyou County (, ) is a county in the northernmost part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,076. Its county seat is Yreka and its highest point is Mount Shasta. It falls within the Cascadia bioregion ...

in northern

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, but with a tiny extension (1.5 percent of the forest) into southern Jackson County in

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. The forest contains continuous stands of

ponderosa pine ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is the ...

Jeffrey pine ''Pinus jeffreyi'', also known as Jeffrey pine, Jeffrey's pine, yellow pine and black pine, is a North American pine tree. It is mainly found in California, but also in the westernmost part of Nevada, southwestern Oregon, and northern Baja Califo ...

Douglas fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three v ...

red fir ''Abies magnifica'', the red fir or silvertip fir, is a western North American fir, native to the mountains of southwest Oregon and California in the United States. It is a high-elevation tree, typically occurring at elevation, though only rare ...

white fir ''Abies concolor'', the white fir, is a coniferous tree in the pine family Pinaceae. This tree is native to the mountains of western North America, including the Cascade Range and southern Rocky Mountains, and into the isolated mountain ranges ...

lodgepole pine ''Pinus contorta'', with the common names lodgepole pine and shore pine, and also known as twisted pine, and contorta pine, is a common tree in western North America. It is common near the ocean shore and in dry montane forests to the subalpin ...

, Baker Cypress (

Cupressus bakeri ''Cupressus bakeri'', reclassified as ''Hesperocyparis bakeri'',incense cedar ''Calocedrus'', the incense cedar (alternatively spelled incense-cedar), is a genus of coniferous trees in the cypress family Cupressaceae first described as a genus in 1873. It is native to eastern Asia and western North America. The generic n ...

Old growth forest An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological feature ...

is estimated to cover some of the forest land. Forest headquarters are located in

Yreka, California Yreka ( ) is the county seat of Siskiyou County, California, United States, near the Shasta River; the city has an area of about , most of it land. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 7,807, reflecting a meager increase fr ...

. There are local ranger district offices located in Fort Jones, Happy Camp, and Macdoel, all in California. The Klamath was established on May 6, 1905. This forest includes the Kangaroo Lake and the

Sawyers Bar Catholic Church Sawyers Bar Catholic Church (St. Joseph's Catholic Church) is a historic church building in the Klamath National Forest in Sawyers Bar, California, within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento. The church was built in 1855 under the directi ...

is located within the boundaries of the Forest. The Forest is managed jointly with the Butte Valley National Grassland.

Wilderness areas

There are four officially designated

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 in Klamath 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 ...

. Two of them extend into neighboring national forests, and one of those into land managed by the

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's ...

. * Marble Mountain Wilderness *

Russian Wilderness The Russian Wilderness is a wilderness area of located approximately northeast of Eureka in northern California. It is within the Klamath National Forest in Siskiyou County and is managed by the US Forest Service. It was added to the Nationa ...

Red Buttes Wilderness The Red Buttes Wilderness is a wilderness area in the Klamath and Rogue River national forests in the U.S. states of Oregon and California. It comprises , approximately of which is located in California, and in Oregon.Siskiyou Wilderness The Siskiyou Wilderness is a federal wilderness area designated by the passage of the California Wilderness Act of 1984. Originally, the land area was The Northern California Wild Heritage Act of 2006 added for the current total of . All of th ...

(mostly in Six Rivers NF) *

Trinity Alps Wilderness The Trinity Alps Wilderness is a designated wilderness located in northern California, roughly between Eureka and Redding. It is jointly administered by Shasta-Trinity, Klamath, and Six Rivers National Forests. About are administered by th ...

(mostly in Trinity NF; partly in Shasta NF, Six Rivers NF, and BLM land) Klamath National Forest-16N05 March 05

Local Activism

Between the late 1980s and 2010, the Klamath Forest Alliance played major roles in the "timber wars" in the Klamath/Siskiyou Bioregion of Northwest California and Southwest Oregon, including timber sale appeals and litigation to defend roadless areas, the Northern Spotted Owl controversy, and efforts to protect Ancient Forests through federal legislation.

References

External links

*
Klamath National Forest official website

Mid Klamath Watershed Council website

Salmon River Restoration Council website
* Pictures:''

* Panoramic Videos:''
Outskirts of Klamath National ForestDrone footage of the Klamath National Forest
National Forests of California National Forests of Oregon Klamath Mountains Klamath River Protected areas of Jackson County, Oregon Protected areas of Siskiyou County, California Protected areas established in 1905 1905 establishments in California 1905 establishments in Oregon {{Oregon-protected-area-stub