The Malheur National Forest is a National Forest in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. It contains more than in the Blue Mountains of

eastern Oregon Eastern Oregon is the eastern part of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is not an officially recognized geographic entity; thus, the boundaries of the region vary according to context. It is sometimes understood to include only the eight easternmost ...

. The forest consists of high desert

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

sage Sage or SAGE may refer to: Plants * ''Salvia officinalis'', common sage, a small evergreen subshrub used as a culinary herb ** Lamiaceae, a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint or deadnettle or sage family ** ''Salvia'', a large ...

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

, fir, and other tree species. Elevations vary from about to the peak of Strawberry Mountain. The

Strawberry Mountains The Strawberry Range, also known as the Strawberry Mountains, is a mountain range in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is east of John Day, within Malheur National Forest. The highest peak is Strawberry Mountain. The Strawberry Range is part of the ...

extend east to west through the center of the forest.

U.S. Route 395 U.S. Route 395 (US 395) is a U.S. Route in the western United States. The southern terminus of the route is in the Mojave Desert at Interstate 15 near Hesperia. The northern terminus is at the Canada–US border near Laurier, where the road ...

runs south to north through the forest, while

U.S. Route 26 U.S. Route 26 (US 26) is an east–west United States highway that runs from Seaside, Oregon to Ogallala, Nebraska. When the U.S. highway system was first defined, it was limited to Nebraska and Wyoming; by the 1950s, it continued into Idaho and ...

runs east to west.

Overview

The forest was established by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

on June 13, 1908, and is named after the

Malheur River The Malheur River (local pronunciation: "MAL-hyure") is a tributary of the Snake River in eastern Oregon in the United States. It drains a high desert area, between the Harney Basin and the Blue Mountains and the Snake. Despite the similari ...

, from the French, meaning "misfortune". It is managed by the

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency inc ...

for

timber extraction Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

grazing,

gold mining Gold mining is the extraction of gold resources by mining. Historically, mining gold from alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. However, with the expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface ...

and

wilderness Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

use. A 1993 Forest Service study estimated that the extent of

old growth An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance (ecology), disturbance, and thereby exhibits un ...

in the forest was . In descending order of land area, the forest is located in parts of

Grant Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom * Castle Grant United States * Grant, Alabama * Grant, Inyo County, ...

, Harney, Baker, and Malheur counties. There are three ranger districts in the forest, with offices in John Day, Prairie City, and Hines. The Malheur National Forest contains the largest known

organism In biology, an organism () is any living system that functions as an individual entity. All organisms are composed of cells (cell theory). Organisms are classified by taxonomy into groups such as multicellular animals, plants, and ...

(by area) in the world: an ''

Armillaria ostoyae ''Armillaria ostoyae'' (synonym ''Armillaria solidipes'') is a species of fungus (mushroom), pathogenic to trees, in the family Physalacriaceae. In the western United States, it is the most common variant of the group of species under the nam ...

'' (

fungus A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from th ...

) that spans and is located high on a

ridge A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...

line immediately west of Clear Creek ().Beale, Bob. April 10, 2003
Humungous fungus: world's largest organism?
at Environment & Nature News, ABC Online. Accessed June 25, 2008.

Wilderness

There are two

wilderness areas Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

in the Malheur National Forest. *

Strawberry Mountain Wilderness Strawberry Mountain Wilderness is a wilderness area of the Strawberry Mountain Range, within Malheur National Forest in the Blue Mountains of east Oregon. The area comprises , including mountain peaks and several lakes, and contains more than o ...

at *

Monument Rock Wilderness The Monument Rock Wilderness Area is a wilderness area within the Malheur National Forest, Malheur and Wallowa–Whitman National Forest, Wallowa–Whitman national forests in the Blue Mountains (Oregon), Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon. It was d ...

at , located partially within the

Wallowa–Whitman National Forest The Wallowa–Whitman National Forest is a United States National Forest in the U.S. states of Oregon and Idaho. Formed upon the merger of the Wallowa and Whitman national forests in 1954, it is located in the northeastern corner of the state, in ...

References

External links

Malheur National Forest home pageCedar Grove Botanical Area
{{Authority control National Forests of Oregon Protected areas of Grant County, Oregon Protected areas of Harney County, Oregon Protected areas of Baker County, Oregon Protected areas of Malheur County, Oregon 1908 establishments in Oregon Protected areas established in 1908

Overview

Wilderness

See also

References

External links