| Sierra National Forest | |
|---|---|
 Lake of the Lone Indian,John Muir Wilderness | |
 Map of theUnited States | |
| Location | Sierra Nevada,Central California |
| Nearest city | Oakhurst, California |
| Coordinates | 37°25′N119°10′W / 37.417°N 119.167°W /37.417; -119.167 |
| Area | 1,300,000 acres (5,300 km2) |
| Established | 1893; 132 years ago (1893) |
| Governing body | U.S. Forest Service |
| Website | Sierra National Forest |
Sierra National Forest is aU.S. national forest located on the western slope of the centralSierra Nevada inCalifornia, bounded on the northwest byYosemite National Park and on the south byKings Canyon National Park. The forest is known for its mountain scenery and beautiful lakes. Forest headquarters are located inClovis, California. There are localranger district offices inNorth Fork andPrather.[1]
Sierra National Forest was the second National Forest created in California and the largest at the time. It covered over six million acres (24,000 km2) of the Sierra Nevada and was about four times the average area of typical California National Forests. Originally it embraced parts of eight counties fromTuolumne on the north toKern on the south andMono andInyo on the east. Initially its name was descriptive, but later when the Sierra was divided into different units this was no longer the case.
President Benjamin Harrison proclaimed the Sierra Forest Reserve on February 14, 1893. Four years later the south half became a separate unit and was named Sierra South during the "forest reserves" era. This designation was dropped after the administrative transition to the National Forests on March 4, 1907. On July 1, 1908, theSequoia National Forest, andKings Canyon andSequoia National Parks were established from this south portion of Sierra National Forest. Eastern portions of Sierra National Forest became theInyo andToiyabe National Forests; northern portions were used for Yosemite National Park and theStanislaus National Forest.
The Sierra National Forest contains artifacts dating back over 10,000 years, mainly from indigenous people before written records started about 150 years ago. Around the late 1700s, theFresno River marked the area between the Southern SierraMiwok and the ChukchansiYokuts, with theWestern Mono living near today'sBass Lake. The borders between these groups were not clear-cut, showing that the Miwok, Yokuts, and Mono territories often overlapped.[2]
The first timber sale on a California National Forest took place in the Sierra NF by theUnited States General Land Office in 1899.[3]
Sierra National Forest covers, in descending order of forestland area, the eastern portions ofFresno,Madera, andMariposa counties, adjacent to the southern part ofYosemite National Park. It includes more than 1,300,000 acres (2,000 sq mi; 5,300 km2), at altitudes ranging from 900 to 13,986 feet (274 to 4,263 m) in elevation. The terrain includes rolling, oak-covered foothills, heavily forested middle elevation slopes and the tundra landscape of the High Sierra.
The forest's boundary starts clockwise at the intersections of theMerced River, Sweetwater Creek andHWY 140, then moves east following the Merced River canyon to the border with Yosemite National Park nearEl Portal. Then it follows the park's southern boundary until it reaches the Inyo National forest nearElectra Peak. From there it travels south to its border with Kings Canyon National Park nearMount Goethe. It follows the park's northern border, then heads south to theKings River near Deer Canyon. From there it moves down the Kings River canyon east; south of the river is the Sequoia National Forest. When it reaches Pine Flat Lake near Trimmer, it turns north towardsTollhouse and continues on toAuberry. From there Sierra National Forest moves on toNorth Fork, then west to form a small finger towardsCoarsegold. Finally, the boundary travels north to Yosemite Forks and moves west towards Miami Mountain, then heads north to return to the Merced River.
The forest includes a number of scenic attractions, includingFresno Dome andNelder Grove. Several reservoirs offer fishing and boating, includingBass Lake,Shaver Lake,Wishon Reservoir, andCourtright Reservoir. There are numerous hiking opportunities in wilderness areas:Ansel Adams,John Muir,Dinkey Lakes,Kaiser, andMonarch. There is also a ski resort,China Peak, that operates under a special use permit. Great sailing opportunities exist atHuntington Lake.
The Sierra National Forest is located within the Pacific Southwest region of the US Forest Service. The forest is divided into three ranger districts:
Bass Lake Ranger District is north and west of theSan Joaquin River. Its Ranger District office is located at 57003 Road 225North Fork, California, 93643. The district includes 36 camp sites, 17 picnic sites, 7 Off Highway Vehicle Trails, and 10 trails. It includes the Forest Service Offices ofOakhurst (40343 Hwy 41, Oakhurst, California 93644), and the Clover Meadow Wilderness Office.
High Sierra Ranger District is south and east of the San Joaquin River; it has its Ranger District office out of 29688 Auberry Rd P.O. Box 559Prather, California 93651. This district contains 30 camp sites, 11 picnic sites, and 13 Off Highway Vehicle Trails. It also includes the following Forest Service Offices; the High Sierra visitor information station near Mono Hot Springs on the Kaiser Pass Road, Eastwood visitor information center at Hwy 168 and Kaiser Pass Road atHuntington Lake, Dinkey Creek visitor information center on Dinkey Creek Road near the Dinkey Creek Campground,
Supervisor's Office (an administrative Unit) contains the Sierra National Forest Supervisor's office (1600 Tollhouse Rd Clovis, California, 93611); the Yosemite Sierra Visitor Bureau (40343 Highway 41, Oakhurst, California 93644); and theFresno Air Attack Base which is co-located with the Sierra National Forest Emergency Communications Center (2307 and 2309 N Clovis Ave,Fresno, California 93727) atFresno Yosemite International Airport.
In addition, the forest has a close relationship with theTeakettle Experimental Forest which is deep inside the forest and theSan Joaquin Experimental Range which is just outside the forest boundaries. They both fall in the Pacific Southwest Research Station which is based inBerkeley, California.[4]
The ecology of the National Forest is typical for the western side of the southern Sierra Nevada: distributions of species are largely governed by climate, which is strongly dependent on altitude. The ecology can be described by biotic zones, which are marked by either a treeindicator species, or by a lack of trees. The biotic zones include thefoothill woodland zone from 1,000 to 3,000 feet (300 to 910 m) (interior live oak), the lower montane zone from 3,000 to 7,000 feet (910 to 2,130 m) (Ponderosa pine), the upper montane zone from 7,000 to 9,000 feet (2,100 to 2,700 m) (lodgepole pine/red fir), thesubalpine zone from 9,000 to 9,500 feet (2,700 to 2,900 m) (whitebark pine), and thealpine zone from 9,500 feet (2,900 m) (above thetree line).[5]
Some 383,000 acres (598 sq mi; 1,550 km2) of the forest areold growth, containing lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) and red fir (Abies magnifica).[6]
A campaign to designate the national forest as anational monument was begun in 2015.[7] The proposal for the 1,400,000-acre (5,700 km2)Range of Light National Monument would prevent new mining operations and phase out logging and grazing, resulting in a continuous protected area linking Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon national parks.[8] Former Sequoia National Park ranger Deanna Lynn Wulff founded the organization Unite the Parks to campaign for the monument's establishment.[9][10][11][12] The proposal has been endorsed by numerous local businesses and organizations, a group of 200 scientists,[8] the California Democratic Party,[13] Democratic National Committee,[14] Sierra Club,[15] and the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks.[16] The protection of old-growth trees would contribute to the30 by 30 initiative. It is opposed by CongressmanTom McClintock and the logging industry.[8]
In December 2022, CongressmembersJackie Speier andJerry McNerney introduced a bill that would establish Range of Light National Monument comprising the entirety of Sierra National Forest and the San Joaquin Gorge managed by theBureau of Land Management. The new national monument would be administered by theNational Park Service,[17] which would manage land for conservation rather thanmultiple-use.
Unite the Parks has also led a lawsuit to prevent logging infisher habitat.[18][19]
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