About Us
Fremont-Winema History
Fremont National Forest (1908-2002)
The Fremont National Forest was established in 1908 and was named for Captain
John C. Fremont, the Pathfinder, who was sent to explore this country in 1843.
The forest, on a high plateau and containing over one million acres is located
in Lake and Klamath Counties in south-central Oregon on the extreme eastern
part of the Cascade Mountains.
Many are drawn to this land because of its unrestrained openness- clear skies
and distant views, scab rock flats, rock outcroppings and dramatic cliffs such
as Abert and Winter Rim, and the Warner Mountain front. Others find interesting
contrasts within this rippled landscape of dry-stream channels, juniper hillsides,
pockets of quaking aspen and meadows ringed with sagebrush.
Contrasts in climate, ecology and the solitude afforded by remoteness are
what make the Fremont attractive. The Forest provides “Outback” recreational
opportunities. The “Outback” is an experience where the self-reliant
recreationist has the opportunity to discover nature in a rustic environment.
History of the Fremont NF
Goose Lake Forest Reserve |
-- 1906 |
Fremont National Forest Reserve |
-- 1906 to 1908 |
Fremont National Forest |
-- July 1, 1908 to 2002 |
Administratively combined with
the Winema National Forest
becoming Fremont-Winema National Forests |
-- December 1, 2002 to Present |
Winema National Forest (1961-2002)
The Winema National Forest was established in 1961 and was named for a heroine
of the Modoc War of 1872 - Woman of the Brave Heart. More than 50 percent of
the Forest is comprised of former Klamath Indian Reservation land. Two purchases
by the Federal Government - the first in 1963 of about 500,000 acres and the
second in 1973 of about 135,000 acres - were combined with portions of three
other National Forests to form the Winema National Forest.
Members of the Klamath Tribe reserve specific rights of hunting, fishing trapping,
and gathering of forest materials on former reservation land. This forms a
unique relationship between Klamath Tribe and the Forest for the management
of portions of the Forest.
The 1.1 million acre Winema National Forest lies on the eastern slopes of
the Cascade Mountain Range in South Central Oregon. The Forest borders Crater
Lake National Park near the crest of the Cascades and stretches eastward into
the Klamath River Basin. Near the floor of the Basin the Forest gives way to
vast marshes and meadow associated with Upper Klamath Lake and the Williamson
River drainage. To the north and east extensive stands of ponderosa and lodgepole
pine grow on deep pumice and ash that blanketed the area during the eruption
of Mt. Mazama (now Crater Lake) nearly 7000 years ago.
History of the Winema NF
Cascade Range Forest
Reserve |
-- 1893 to 1907 |
Cascade (South) National Forest |
-- March 4, 1907 to March 2, 1908 |
Mazama National Forest |
-- March 2, 1908 to July 1, 1908 |
Crater Lake National Forest |
-- July 1, 1908 to 1932 |
Rogue River National Forest |
-- July 1, 1932 to 1961 |
Winema National Forest |
-- 1961 to 2002 |
Administratively Combined with the
Fremont National Forest, Becoming
Fremont-Winema National Forests |
-- December 1, 2002 to Present |
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