Mark Twain National Forest (MTNF) is a U.S. National Forest located in the southern half of

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

. MTNF was established on September 11, 1939. It is named for author

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has pr ...

, a Missouri native. The MTNF covers of which is public owned, of which are Wilderness, and National Scenic River area. MTNF spans 29 counties and represents 11% of all forested land in Missouri. MTNF is divided into six distinct ranger districts: Ava-Cassville-Willow Springs, Eleven Point, Houston-Rolla, Cedar Creek, Poplar Bluff, Potosi-Fredericktown, and the Salem. The six ranger districts actually comprise nine overall unique tracts of forests. Its headquarters are in

Rolla, Missouri Rolla () is a city in, and the county seat of, Phelps County, Missouri, United States. The population in the 2020 United States Census was 19,943. Rolla is located approximately midway between St. Louis and Springfield along I-44. The Rolla ...

. Some unique features of the Mark Twain include Greer Spring, which is the largest spring on National Forest land and part of the Eleven Point National Scenic River with an average daily flow of . The public can also visit the Glade Top Trail National Scenic Byway, which offers views of over to the

Boston Mountains The Boston Mountains is a Level III ecoregion designated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. states of Arkansas and Oklahoma. Part of the Ozarks, the Boston Mountains are a deeply dissected plateau. The ecoregion is steeper ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

. The 350-mile Ozark Trail system winds through much of the National Forest. The Forest has two trail systems for certain motorized vehicles and bikes, being the Chadwick Motorcycle & ATV Use Area and the Sutton Bluff ATV, UTV, and Motorcycle Trail System.

History

The Mark Twain National Forest, as we know it today, was created on February 17, 1976. The Mark Twain National forest has a rather unusual history – for it was once known as both the Clark National Forest and the Mark Twain National Forest – both being proclaimed on September 11, 1939. Mtnf map

In June 1973, the Clark and Mark Twain NF were brought under one headquarters in Rolla and became known as the National forests in Missouri. On February 17, 1976, the forests were combined and renamed the Mark Twain National Forest. Missouri’s only national forest, The Mark Twain, encompasses roughly 1.5 million acres, mostly within the Ozark Highlands. Located across southern Missouri and northern Arkansas, the Ozark Highlands are an ancient landscape characterized by large permanent springs, over 5,000 caves, rocky barren glades, old volcanic mountains and nationally recognized streams. Portions of the Ozarks were never under oceans, nor were the areas glaciated. In the 1870s, citizens of southern Missouri began an era of extensive

logging 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 cha ...

of the state's native oak, hickory, and pine forests. Lumber mills were commonplace, but by the 1920s they had disappeared, along with much of the state's native forests. Thus, in 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the MTNF into existence. In March 1933, he also created the Emergency Conservation Work Act, better known as the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a ...

(CCC). In the area that would later become the Mark Twain National Forest, hundreds of young men at over 50 CCC sites worked at building roads and planting hundreds of acres of pine to preserve and enhance the natural resources of southern Missouri. Many of their contributions can still be visited and enjoyed today including the Rolla Ranger Station Historic District and Winona Ranger Station Historic District.

Wilderness areas

Bell Mountain Wilderness The United States Congress designated the Bell Mountain Wilderness in 1980. The wilderness area now has a total of . Bell Mountain is located within the Potosi-Fredericktown Ranger District of the Mark Twain National Forest, south of Potosi, Mi ...

Devils Backbone Wilderness The Devils Backbone Wilderness is one of eight wilderness areas protected and preserved in the U.S. State of Missouri. The United States Congress designated the wilderness area in 1980, and it now has a total of 6,595 acres (26 km2). Devil's ...

* Hercules-Glades Wilderness *

Irish Wilderness The Irish Wilderness is a wilderness area in the U.S. State of Missouri. The U.S. Congress designated it a wilderness in 1984. The Irish Wilderness is located within the Eleven Point Ranger District of the Mark Twain National Forest, northeast ...

Paddy Creek Wilderness The Paddy Creek Wilderness is a wilderness area in the U.S. state of Missouri, United States. The United States Congress designated it wilderness in 1983. Paddy Creek Wilderness is located within the Houston-Rolla Ranger District, of the Mark Twa ...

Piney Creek Wilderness The Piney Creek Wilderness is an wilderness area in Missouri. The United States Congress designated it wilderness in 1980. The Piney Creek Wilderness is located within the Ava-Cassville-Willow Springs Ranger District of the Mark Twain National Fo ...

* Rockpile Mountain Wilderness

Counties

Although it is far from being the largest National Forest in

acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...

age, Mark Twain National Forest is located in more counties than any other. , its were spread over parts of 29 counties in southern and central Missouri.Table 6 - NFS Acreage by State, Congressional District and County
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United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 United States National Forest, national forests and 20 United States Nationa ...

- September 30, 2007

Climate

References

External links