Wenatchee National Forest is a

U.S. National Forest In the United States, national forest is a classification of protected and managed federal lands. National forests are largely forest and woodland areas owned collectively by the American people through the federal government, and managed by t ...

located in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. With an area of 1,735,394

acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...

s (2,711.55 sq mi, or 7,022.89 km²), it extends about 137 miles along the eastern slopes of the

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, ...

of Washington, USA from

Okanogan National Forest Okanogan (US) or Okanagan (Canada) may refer to: People and regions *Okanagan Country, a divided region in British Columbia and Washington *Okanagan people, a Native American (USA) or First Nations (Canada) people, known as the ''Syilx'' in their ...

Gifford Pinchot National Forest Gifford Pinchot National Forest is a National Forest located in southern Washington, managed by the United States Forest Service. With an area of 1.32 million acres (5300 km2), it extends 116 km along the western slopes of Cascade Ran ...

. The forest is located in Chelan, Kittitas and

Yakima Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, and the state's 11th-largest city by population. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The uni ...

counties.

Wilderness areas

There are six 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 within Wenatchee 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 ...

. All of them lie partially in neighboring National Forests (as indicated). *

Alpine Lakes Wilderness The Alpine Lakes Wilderness is a large wilderness area spanning the Central Cascades of Washington state in the United States. The wilderness is located in parts of Wenatchee National Forest and Snoqualmie National Forest, and is approximately b ...

(partly in Snoqualmie NF) *

Glacier Peak Wilderness Glacier Peak Wilderness is a , , wilderness area located within portions of Chelan, Snohomish, and Skagit counties in the North Cascades of Washington. The area lies within parts of Wenatchee National Forest and Mount Baker National Forest ...

(partly in Mount Baker NF) * Goat Rocks Wilderness (mostly in Gifford Pinchot NF) * Henry M. Jackson Wilderness (partly in Snoqualmie NF (46.2%); Mount Baker NF (27.2%)) *

Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness The Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness is a protected wilderness area located within the Okanogan and Wenatchee national forests in Washington State. The wilderness borders Lake Chelan National Recreation Area and North Cascades National Park ...

(mostly in Okanogan NF) * William O. Douglas Wilderness (partly in Gifford Pinchot NF)

Waptus Lake

Nearly two miles long and accessible only by hiking or horse trails, Waptus Lake is the largest Alpine lake in the National Forest. Drained by the Waptus River, it is notable for its views of Summit Chief and Bears Breast mountains.

Administration

The Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forests are managed together as the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest with headquarters in

Wenatchee, Washington Wenatchee ( ) is the county seat and largest city of Chelan County, Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925, and was estimated to have increased to 34,360 as of 2019. Located in the north-central part ...

. There are local ranger district offices located in Chelan, Cle Elum, Entiat, Methow Valley, Naches, Tonasket, and Wenatchee River. The first forest supervisor of Wenatchee National Forest was Albert H. Sylvester, who named over a thousand natural features in the region.

Ecology

A 1993

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 United States National Forest, national forests and 20 United States Nationa ...

study estimated that the extent of old growth in the Forest was .

Wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identi ...

s are not uncommon in the National Forest. In September 2012, a severe lightning storm ignited hundreds of fires, the largest of which were located southwest of the city of

Wenatchee Wenatchee ( ) is the county seat and largest city of Chelan County, Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925, and was estimated to have increased to 34,360 as of 2019. Located in the north-central part ...

and east of Blewett Pass. Significant wildfires occurred again in July 2014, in the Chiwaukum and Entiat Mountains. A lightning strike near Jolly Mountain on August 11, 2017 ultimately burned more than 38,000 acres and forced significant evacuations.

References

External links

*
Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest
U.S. Forest Service {{Authority control Cascade Range Protected areas of Chelan County, Washington Protected areas of Kittitas County, Washington National Forests of Washington (state) Protected areas established in 1908 1908 establishments in Washington (state)