Special Management Areas

In addition to wilderness and wild and scenic rivers, Congress has given special recognition to four areas in the Pacific Southwest Region. These areas range from 49,600 acres to 305,200 acres in size (20,073 to 123,514 hectares). The areas are:

• Kings River Special Management Area, Sierra National Forest
• Smith River National Recreation Area, Six Rivers National Forest
• Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area, Shasta-Trinity National Forest

The Forest Service provides administrative recognition of special scenic, cultural, geological, botanical, zoological, paleontological or other special values by designating areas as special interest areas. There are 221,700 acres (89,721 hectares) in 129 special interest areas in the Pacific Southwest Region.

Other Congressionally Designated Areas

Congress has designated several areas unique for their special characteristics and the opportunities they offer. In addition to congressionally designated wilderness and wild and scenic rivers, they include these National Historic Landmarks (NHL), National Volcanic Monuments (NVM), National Historic Scenic Areas (NHS), National Recreation Areas (NRA), Scenic Recreation Areas (SRA), National Scenic Areas (NSA), National Preserves (NP), and National Monuments (NM).

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"Special Area" Management

Each Congressionally designated special area is managed according to the legislation establishing the area. Providing for public use and enjoyment of the areas' outdoor recreation opportunities is a consistent theme for the management of the areas.