Located in southwestern Oregon and
extending into California, the Forest ranges from the crest of
the Cascades Mountains west into the Siskiyou Mountains, nearly
to the Pacific Ocean. The Forest covers almost 1.8 million acres;
portions of the Applegate and Illinois River drainage's extend
into northern California. The Rogue River drains over 75 percent
of the Forest's land area.
The previously separate Rogue River and Siskiyou
National Forests and their nine ranger district offices were administratively
combined in 2004. The Supervisor's Office is located in Medford,
OR. In 2007 the nine ranger districts were consolidated to form
five: High Cascades, Siskiyou Mountains, Wild Rivers, Gold Beach,
and Powers. Field offices remain in the communities of Prospect,
Butte Falls, Ashland, Ruch, Grants Pass, Cave Junction, Brookings,
Gold Beach, and Powers. The Forest also is home of the J. Herbert
Stone Nursery located near Central Point.
Your Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest embraces
a treasure of botanical diversity, and is home to incredible wild
and scenic rivers, isolated wilderness, outstanding fisheries and
wildlife resources, and breath-taking landscapes of mountains,
meadows, streams, and lakes.
Recreational opportunities abound on the Forest,
from white water rafting to wilderness camping, from lake and stream
fishing to winter snowmobiling. Hundreds of miles of trails welcome
users of all types and abilities - wheelchairs, horses, bicycles,
motorcycles, snow-mobiles, cross-country and downhill skiers, and
hikers. Camping facilities, boat ramps, picnic areas, and cabin
and fire look-out rentals are available seasonally, some under
rental or use fees.
The Rogue River National Forest (until 1932 called
the Crater National Forest) was established by President Theodore
Roosevelt in 1908. The name Rogue River commemorates the Takelma
Indians, whose defense of their homeland let early day French-Canadian
trappers to call them les Coquins, "the Rogues". The Siskiyou Forest
Reserve was established by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1905,
and the Reserve was designated as the Siskiyou National Forest
in 1907. The name Siskiyou is a Cree Indian word for bob-tailed
horse (bestoyed in 1828 by French Canadians working for the Hudson
Bay Company).
The forest itself is composed of two distinct geological
provinces: The Cascade Range and the Siskiyou Mountains. The Cascade
Range is dominated by snow capped volcanic peaks such as 9,495
foot Mt. McLoughlin located within the Sky
Lakes Wilderness on
the High Cascades Ranger District. The Siskiyou area embodies the
most complex soils, geology, landscape, and plant communities in
the Pacific Northwest. World-class wild rivers, biological diversity,
remarkable fisheries resources, and complex watersheds define the
Siskiyou. The Rogue River-Siskiyou is the most floristically diverse
National Forest in the country with some extraordinary botanical
resources.
The unique character of the landscape has led to
the designation of 324,000 acres of the Forest as wilderness, and
over 200 miles of streams as National
Wild and Scenic Rivers. Wilderness
areas managed all or in part by the Forest include: Sky
Lakes,
Rogue-Umpqua
Divide, Red
Buttes, Kalmiopsis, Siskiyou, Wild
Rogue,
and Grassy Knob. National Wild and Scenic Rivers include: Upper
Rogue, Illinois, North
Fork Smith, Chetco, Elk, and Rogue.
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