The Gunnison National Forest is a

U.S. National Forest In the United States, national forest is a classification of protected and managed federal lands. National forests are largely forest and woodland areas owned collectively by the American people through the federal government, and managed by t ...

covering 1,672,136

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 ...

s (2,612.71 sq mi, or 6,766.89 km²) Table 6 - NFS Acreage by State, Congressional District and County
-

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 in

Mesa A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge or hill, which is bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and stands distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas characteristically consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks capped by a ...

, Gunnison, Hinsdale and Saguache Counties in Western part of the U.S. state of

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

. It borders the

White River National Forest White River National Forest is a National Forest in northwest Colorado. It is named after the White River that passes through its northern section. It is the most visited National Forest in the United States, primarily from users of the twelv ...

to the north, the

Grand Mesa The Grand Mesa is a large mesa in western Colorado in the United States. It is the largest flat-topped mountain in the world. It has an area of about and stretches for about east of Grand Junction between the Colorado River and the Gunniso ...

and Uncompahgre National Forests to the west, the

San Isabel National Forest San Isabel National Forest is located in central Colorado. The forest contains 19 of the state's 53 fourteeners, peaks over high, including Mount Elbert, the highest point in Colorado. It is one of eleven national forests in the state of Colo ...

to the east and the

Rio Grande National Forest Rio Grande National Forest is a 1.86 million-acre (7,530 km²) U.S. National Forest located in southwestern Colorado. The forest encompasses the San Luis Valley, which is the world's largest agricultural alpine valley, as well as one of the ...

to south. It lies in parts of five counties. In descending order of land area within the forest they are Gunnison, Saguache, Hinsdale, Delta, and Montrose counties. It shares the

Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness Maroon ( US/ UK , Australia ) is a brownish crimson color that takes its name from the French word ''marron'', or chestnut. "Marron" is also one of the French translations for "brown". According to multiple dictionaries, there are vari ...

with the White River and San Isabel National Forests, and the

Collegiate Peaks Wilderness The Collegiate Peaks Wilderness is a area located in central Colorado between Leadville and Buena Vista to the east and Aspen to the west and Crested Butte to the southwest. Most of the area is in the San Isabel and Gunnison National Forests, wi ...

Area with the San Isabel National Forest. The forest was created by

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, 1905 as the Cochetopa Forest Reserve, and named after explorer

John W. Gunnison John Williams Gunnison (November 11, 1812 – October 26, 1853) was an American military officer and explorer. Biography Gunnison was born in Goshen, New Hampshire, in 1812 and attended Hopkinton Academy in Hopkinton, New Hampshire. He gra ...

. Today it is administered jointly with the

and Uncompahgre National Forests from offices in Delta. There are local

ranger A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...

district offices located in Gunnison and

Paonia Paonia is a statutory town in Delta County, Colorado, United States. The population was 1,451 at the 2010 census. History The area was first explored in 1853 by Captain John W. Gunnison of the United States Army. Gunnison was on an expediti ...

Wilderness areas

There are seven officially designated

wilderness area 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 ...

s lying within Gunnison National Forest that are part of the

National Wilderness Preservation System The National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) of the United States protects federally managed wilderness areas designated for preservation in their natural condition. Activity on formally designated wilderness areas is coordinated by the Na ...

. Five of them lie partially in neighboring National Forests or on land under the jurisdiction of the

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's ...

(as indicated). *

(the largest part in San Isabel NF; partly in White River NF) *

Fossil Ridge Wilderness The Fossil Ridge Wilderness is a U.S. Wilderness Area located approximately northeast of Gunnison, Colorado in the Gunnison National Forest. The wilderness includes Fossil Ridge, a high, exposed ridge of Paleozoic carbonate rocks, carbonates th ...

La Garita Wilderness The La Garita Wilderness is a U.S. Wilderness Area located in the La Garita Mountains of southern Colorado. The wilderness established in 1964 in Gunnison and Rio Grande National Forests includes segments of the Colorado Trail and the Cont ...

(partly in Rio Grande NF) *

Maroon Bells–Snowmass Wilderness The Maroon Bells–Snowmass Wilderness is a U.S. Wilderness Area located in the Elk Mountains of central Colorado. The wilderness was established in 1980 in the Gunnison and White River national forests. Within its boundaries are of trails, ...

(mostly in White River NF) *

Powderhorn Wilderness The Powderhorn Wilderness is a U.S. Wilderness Area, wilderness area in Hinsdale County, Colorado, Hinsdale and Gunnison County, Colorado, Gunnison counties, Colorado, United States, located northeast of Lake City, Colorado, Lake City. Descri ...

(mostly on BLM land) *

Raggeds Wilderness The Raggeds Wilderness is a U.S. Wilderness Area located in the Elk Mountains northwest of Crested Butte, Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most o ...

(partly in White River NF) *

West Elk Wilderness The West Elk Wilderness is a U.S. Wilderness Area located northwest of Gunnison, Colorado in the West Elk Mountains. History The wilderness was established in 1964 and now protects within the Gunnison National Forest. Geography Elevati ...

*Uncompahgre Wilderness (partly in Uncompahgre NF

References

External links

Grand Mesa Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests
(United States Forest Service) {{Authority control National Forests of Colorado National Forests of the Rocky Mountains Protected areas of Delta County, Colorado Protected areas of Gunnison County, Colorado Protected areas of Hinsdale County, Colorado Protected areas of Saguache County, Colorado Gunnison River Colorado Western Slope Protected areas established in 1905 1905 establishments in Colorado

Wilderness areas

See also

References

External links