About
Us
LOCATION:
- The Olympic National Forest is located on the
Olympic Peninsula with the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Strait
of Juan de Fuca to the north and Puget Sound to the east. The
Forest surrounds much of Olympic National Park.
- The Forest is within 35 air miles of downtown Seattle and less
than 120 miles via I-5, US Highway 101 and other State and Forest
routes.
- Over 3.5 million people live within 1-4 hours driving time to
the Forest.
HISTORY:
- Established as Olympic Forest Reserve in 1897
- Name changed to Olympic National Forest in 1907
- Mt. Olympus National Monument, established 1909 (approx. 610,560
acres)
- Mt. Olympus National Monument reduced to half its original size
in 1915
- Olympic National Park created in 1938 (922,651 acres as of 2001)
- Last Boundary Adjustment with Olympic National Park 1987
SIZE: (2001)
- Forest total: 633,677 acres
- Hood Canal District: 361,045 acres
- Pacific District: 272,632 acres
- Forest by County:
- Clallam 199,209 acres
- Grays Harbor 139,501 acres
- Jefferson 167,996 acres
- Mason 126,971 acres
LANDSCAPE
SETTINGS:
- Temperate rain forest
- Radiating mountain range
- Large lowland lakes
- Cascading rivers
- Saltwater beaches and tidelands
INFRASTRUCTURE:
- Administrative Offices: 5 (Olympia, Forks, Hoodsport, Quilcene,
Quinault)
- Roads: 2,178 miles
- Trails: 270 miles (182 miles outside Wilderness; 88 miles inside
Wilderness)
- Campgrounds: 20 (3 O&M by concessionaire; 17 O&M by
Forest Service) NOTE: Elkhorn Campground closed, road washed out)
- Sewer Treatment Plant: 1 (Forest Service managed and operated)
- Summer Homes: 64 (private homes under special use permits)
- Lodge: 1 (commercial resort under special use permit)
- Cabins: 3 (available for public lodging)
STAFFING/PERSONNEL:
- Forest Supervisor: 1
- District Rangers: 2
- Supervisor's Staff: 5
- Law Enforcement: 4
- Full Time Permanent: 98
- Supervisor's Office 44; Pacific District 19; Hood Canal
District 35
- Part Time Permanent: 2
- Supervisor's Office 0; Pacific District 1; Hood Canal District
1
WORKFORCE: (permanent full-time and permanent part-time)
- 1990: 338
- 2000: 123
- 2002: 112
- 2003: 100
BUDGET: (appropriated dollars only)
- 1990: 22.2 million
- 2000: 8.9 million
- 2003: 8.3 million
TIMBER HARVEST: (average annual harvest, million
board feet)
- Prior to 1990: 250 + mmbf;
- Forest Plan: 110 mmbf;
- Northwest Forest Plan: 10 mmbf;
- FY 2002: 5 mmbf;
- FY 2003: 18 mmbf.
FOREST FIRES: (fires over 200 acres)
- Forks Fire, 1951, 33,000 acres
- LeBar Fire, 1984, 495 acres
- Oh Brothers Fire, 1999, 294 acres
INDIAN TRIBES: (associated with the Olympic Peninsula)
- 13 (Chehalis, Jamestown S'Klallam, Hoh, Lower Elwha Klallam,
Nisqually, Makah, Port Gamble S'Klallam, Quileute, Quinault, Shoalwater
Bay, Skokomish, Squaxin Island, and Suquamish)
PAYMENTS TO COUNTIES & Resource Advisory Committee RAC:
(Total $ available in FY 2004
for Title I, II and III projects)
- Clallam $2,388,296 Olympic Peninsula RAC
- Grays Harbor $703,820 Grays Harbor RAC
- Jefferson $3,221,181 Olympic Peninsula RAC
- Mason $757,657 Olympic Peninsula RAC
THREATENED & ENDANGERD SPECIES:
- 6 (Northern spotted owl, marbled murrelet, bald eagle, bull
trout, Hood Canal summer chum salmon and Puget Sound Chinook salmon)
- 4 Designated Critical Habitats (Northern spotted owl, marbled
murrelet, Hood Canal summer chum salmon, Puget Sound Chinook salmon)
KEY WATERSHEDS:
- 13 (Wynoochee, Canyon, Satsop, Sol Duc, Cook Creek, McCalla
Creek, Dungeness, Elwha, Skokomish, Lake Cushman/North Fork Skokomish,
Duckabush, Dosewallips, and Big Quilcene)
WILDERNESS:
- Five Wildernesses; 88,265 total acres (15% of Forest)
- Buckhorn 44,258 acres Hood Canal Ranger District
- Colonel Bob 11,961 acres Pacific Ranger District
- Mt. Skokomish 13,015 acres Hood Canal Ranger District
- The Brothers 16,682 acres Hood Canal Ranger District
- Wonder Mountain 2,349 acres Hood Canal Ranger District
ROADLESS:
- Thirteen Areas; 85,600 acres (14% of Forest); 64,800 acres are
allocated as unroaded
SPECIAL USE PERMITS:
- 76 recreation
- 219 non-recreation
RECREATION VISITS:
- 455,900 visits (Year 2000 National Visitor Use Monitoring Results,
next National Visitor Use Monitoring in Year 2005)
Forest facts as of
August 2004
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