Umpqua National Forest

{{Short description|United States national forest in Oregon}} {{Use American English|date=June 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}} {{Infobox protected area | name = Umpqua National Forest | image = Forest trail, fern, hemlock.JPG | image_caption = A trail through dense vegetation in the Umpqua National Forest in the [[Cascade Range]] of southern [[Oregon]], headquartered near [[Roseburg, Oregon]] ([[county seat]] town of [[Douglas County, Oregon|Douglas County]]) | map = USA | relief = 1 | map_caption = | location = [[Douglas County, Oregon|Douglas]] / [[Lane County, Oregon|Lane]] / [[Jackson County, Oregon|Jackson]] counties, of [[Oregon]], [[Western United States]] | nearest_city = [[Roseburg, Oregon]] | coordinates = {{coord|43|13|21|N|122|15|15|W|region:US|display=inline, title}} | area = {{convert|983129|acre|km2}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Land Areas of the National Forest System |publisher=U.S. Forest Service |date=January 2012 |url=http://www.fs.fed.us/land/staff/lar/LAR2011/LAR2011_Book_A5.pdf |access-date=June 30, 2012}}</ref> | established = July 2, 1907<ref>{{cite web |title=The National Forests of the United States |publisher=ForestHistory.org |url=http://www.foresthistory.org/ASPNET/Places/National%20Forests%20of%20the%20U.S.pdf |access-date=July 30, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121028014355/http://www.foresthistory.org/ASPNET/Places/National%20Forests%20of%20the%20U.S.pdf |archive-date=October 28, 2012 }}</ref> | visitation_num = 799,000<ref name="visitation">[http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/programs/nvum/revised_vis_est.pdf Revised Visitation Estimates] - U.S. Forest Service</ref> | visitation_year = 2006 | governing_body = [[United States Forest Service]]<br>([[U.S. Department of Agriculture]]) | website = [http://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/umpqua Umpqua National Forest] }} [[File:Umpqua Vicinity Map.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Umpqua National Forest vicinity map.]] '''Umpqua National Forest''', in southern [[Oregon]]'s [[Cascade Range]], covers an area of {{convert|983129|acre|km2}} in [[Douglas County, Oregon|Douglas]], [[Lane County, Oregon|Lane]], and [[Jackson County, Oregon|Jackson]] counties, and borders the [[Crater Lake National Park]] in [[Southern Oregon]]. The four ranger districts for the forest are the Cottage Grove, Diamond Lake, North Umpqua, and Tiller ranger districts. The [[national forest]] is managed by the [[United States Forest Service]] (of the [[United States Department of Agriculture]]), headquartered in [[Roseburg, Oregon|Roseburg]] ([[county seat]] town of [[Douglas County, Oregon|Douglas County]]), [[Oregon]] in the [[Pacific Northwest]] region of the [[Western United States]].

== Geography == Stands of [[Tsuga heterophylla|western hemlock]], [[Fir|true fir]], [[Douglas-fir]] and cedar transition to lower-elevation forests of mixed conifers and hardwoods. Timbered valleys of old-growth [[Pinus ponderosa|ponderosa]] and groves of oak separate mountains like the {{convert|9182|ft|m|adj=on}} [[Mount Thielsen]] and the {{convert|8363|ft|m|adj=on}} [[Mount Bailey (Oregon)|Mount Bailey]]. Notable geologic features include volcanic basalt and andesite monolithic spires with descriptive names like Eagle Rock, Rattlesnake Rock, and Old Man.

== History == Ancestors of the [[Umpqua people|Umpqua]], Southern [[Molala]], [[Yoncalla, Oregon|Yoncalla]], and [[Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians]] lived here before the ancient [[volcano]] of [[Mount Mazama]] erupted forming the modem [[Crater Lake]] nearly 7,000 years ago.

The [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] / Indian tribes were moved to nearby federal reservations in 1856, during the last years of the old federal [[Oregon Territory]] (1848–1859), before statehood and admittance to the federal Union as the 33rd [[U.S. state|state]] in 1859. [[European American]]s (white) settlers bought reservation lands, the tribes further fragmented in subsequent decades to become farmers and ranchers in the [[Umpqua Valley]] of [[Southern Oregon]]. Two translations into the [[English language]] of the native / aboriginal word "umpqua" are "thundering waters" and "across the waters".<ref>[http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/umpqua/ Umpqua National Forest] from the US Forest Service</ref>

The Umpqua National Forest was created by the [[United States Congress]] and approved by the 26th [[President of the United States|President]], [[Theodore Roosevelt]] (1858–1919, served 1901–1909), on July 2, 1907. The [[U.S. Forest Service]] staff of the [[U.S. Department of Agriculture]] soon began building trails, constructing bridges, fighting fires, monitoring grazing, and erecting fire protection lookouts. Logging and mining that were allowed began 18 years later in 1925. The [[Civilian Conservation Corps]] (C.C.C.) program set up by the [[New Deal]] to combat economic hardships and mass unemployment during the [[Great Depression]] of the [[1930s]] in the [[Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, first and second terms|presidential administration]] of 32nd [[President of the United States|President]], [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] (1882–1945, served 1933–1945), was active in the Umpqua National Forest by building roads, bridges and recreation facilities in the 1930s.

== Points of interest == The Umpqua National Forest is home to more than 250 wildlife species. Large mammals such as [[elk]], [[deer]], [[American black bear|black bear]], and [[cougar]], as well as the smaller residents, [[squirrels]], [[fox]], [[raccoon]]s, and [[bat]]s are supported by the diverse forest habitats. Raptors such as [[owls]], [[eagle]]s, [[osprey]], and even [[peregrine falcons]] can occasionally be seen in the forest. [[Coho salmon|Coho]] and [[Chinook salmon]] and steelhead, rainbow, brown and cutthroat [[trout]] swim, feed and spawn in the rivers and streams of the forest.<ref>[http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/umpqua/about/ About the Umpqua National Forest] from the US Forest Service.</ref>

A 1993 Forest Service study estimated that the extent of [[old growth]] in the national forest was {{convert|535300|acre|ha}},<ref name = "1993OldGrowthEstimates">{{Citation | last1 = Bolsinger | first1 = Charles L. | last2 = Waddell | first2 = Karen L. | year = 1993 | title = Area of old-growth forests in California, Oregon, and Washington state | url = http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_rb197.pdf | publisher = [[United States Forest Service]], Pacific Northwest Research Station | id = Resource Bulletin PNW-RB-197 }}</ref> {{convert|82200|acre|ha}} of which were [[mountain hemlock]] (''Tsuga mertensiana'') forests.

Recreational activities allowed in the [[national forest]] include camping, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, hunting, mountain biking, rock climbing, and boating. Winter activities include both Nordic and downhill skiing, as well as snowshoeing and snowmobiling.

In 1988, the Oregon Omnibus [[Wild and Scenic Rivers Act]] designated a portion of the [[North Umpqua River]] as part of the [[National Wild and Scenic Rivers System]]. Twenty-six miles of the river run through the national forest.

The [[Rogue-Umpqua Scenic Byway|Rogue-Umpqua National Scenic Byway]] extends {{convert|172|mi|km}} through the nearby [[Rogue River–Siskiyou National Forest|Rogue River–Siskiyou]] and Umpqua national forests, as well as the [[Medford, Oregon|Medford]] and [[Roseburg, Oregon|Roseburg]] districts of the [[Bureau of Land Management]] (B.L.M.) of the [[United States Department of the Interior]] and private lands.

== Wilderness areas == [[File:Umpqua Wilderness Map.gif|thumb|250px|right|Map of wilderness areas in the Umpqua National Forest.]] The Umpqua National Forest contains three wilderness areas: Boulder Creek, Rogue-Umpqua Divide, and [[Mount Thielsen]].

=== Boulder Creek === [[Boulder Creek Wilderness|Boulder Creek]] is a {{convert|19100|acre|km2|adj=on}} wilderness area located {{convert|50|mi|km}} east of [[Roseburg, Oregon|Roseburg]]. One popular area in Boulder Creek is Pine Bench. A flat area overlooking Boulder Creek, Pine Bench is home to a grove of majestic old growth [[Pinus ponderosa|ponderosa pines]]. In 1996 the Spring Fire burned {{convert|16500|acre|km2}} in the Boulder Creek Wilderness.<ref>[http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/umpqua/recreation/wilderness/boulder.html Boulder Creek Wilderness] from the US Forest Service</ref>

=== Rogue-Umpqua Divide === The [[Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness|Rogue-Umpqua Divide]] is a {{convert|33000|acre|km2|adj=on}} wilderness area, {{convert|26350|acre|km2}} of which is inside the National Forest. (About 17% of it lies within Rogue River–Siskiyou National Forest.) Located {{convert|80|mi|km}} east of [[Roseburg, Oregon|Roseburg]], the Rogue-Umpqua Divide ranges in elevation from 3,200 to {{convert|6878|ft|m}} and separates the drainages of the [[Rogue River (Oregon)|Rogue]] and [[Umpqua River|Umpqua]] rivers. The wilderness includes [[sub-alpine]] meadows and [[old-growth]] forests.<ref>[http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/umpqua/recreation/wilderness/rog-ump.html Rogue-Umpqua Wilderness] from the US Forest Service</ref>

=== Mount Thielsen === [[Mount Thielsen Wilderness|Mount Thielsen]] is a {{convert|55100|acre|km2|adj=on}} wilderness area, {{convert|21593|acre|km2}} of which is located inside the National Forest. (The rest lies in either [[Winema National Forest]] or [[Deschutes National Forest]].) Located {{convert|80|mi|km}} east of [[Roseburg, Oregon|Roseburg]], this wilderness area is the largest in the Umpqua. The {{convert|9182|ft|m|adj=on}} Mt. Thielsen was born of the same volcanic activity that created [[Crater Lake]] and some trails pass over deep pumice that was deposited when Mt. Mazama erupted. The [[Pacific Crest Trail]] passes through the middle of the wilderness area.<ref>[http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/umpqua/recreation/wilderness/thielsen.html Mount Thielsen Wilderness] from the US Forest Service</ref>

==See also== *[[List of national forests of the United States]] *[[High Cascades Complex Fires]]

== References == {{Reflist|30em}}

== External links == {{Commons category}} * [http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/umpqua/ Forest Service page on Umpqua National Forest] * {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070123064813/http://forrestcroce.com/Galleries/PacificNorthwest.html Landscape Photos Showing Umpqua National Forest]}} * [http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/umpqua/recreation/wilderness/wild.html Umpqua National Forest Wilderness Areas]

[[Category:Umpqua National Forest| ]] [[Category:Protected areas of Douglas County, Oregon]] [[Category:Protected areas of Jackson County, Oregon]] [[Category:Protected areas of Lane County, Oregon]] [[Category:National forests of Oregon]] [[Category:1907 establishments in Oregon]] [[Category:Protected areas established in 1907]]