Olympic 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 ...

located in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, USA. With an area of , it nearly surrounds Olympic National Park and the Olympic Mountain range. Olympic National Forest contains parts of Clallam,

Grays Harbor Grays Harbor is an estuarine bay located north of the mouth of the Columbia River, on the southwest Pacific coast of Washington state, in the United States of America. It is a ria, which formed at the end of the last ice age, when sea levels floo ...

, Jefferson, and Mason counties. The landscape of the national forest varies, from the temperate Olympic rain forest to the salt water fjord of Hood Canal to the peaks of Mt. Washington. Annual precipitation averages about , giving rise to streams such as the Humptulips River. Olympic National Forest was originally created as Olympic Forest Reserve in 1897, then renamed to Olympic National Forest in 1907. A portion of the National Forest became the Mount Olympus National Monument in 1909, which was later designated Olympic National Park. A 1993 Forest Service study estimated that the extent of old growth in the Forest was . It is administered in two ranger districts: the Pacific Ranger District on the west side of the

Olympic Peninsula The Olympic Peninsula is a large arm of land in western Washington that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle, and contains Olympic National Park. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, a ...

, and the Hood Canal Ranger District on the east side. Forest headquarters are located in Olympia, with ranger district offices in

Forks In cutlery or kitchenware, a fork (from la, furca 'pitchfork') is a utensil, now usually made of metal, whose long handle terminates in a head that branches into several narrow and often slightly curved tines with which one can spear foods eit ...

, Quinault, and Quilcene. The former office in Hoodsport closed in 2005, and now houses a local

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ...

, which still sells Northwest Forest Passes. Other Washington towns near entrances of the forest include

Port Angeles Port Angeles ( ) is a city and county seat of Clallam County, Washington, United States. With a population of 19,960 as of the 2020 census, it is the largest city in the county. The population was estimated at 20,134 in 2021. The city's har ...

Sequim Sequim ( ) is a city in Clallam County, Washington, United States. It is located along the Dungeness River near the base of the Olympic Mountains. The 2010 census counted a population of 6,606. Sequim lies within the rain shadow of the Olympic M ...

, and Amanda Park.

Points of interest

* Lake Cushman *

Quinault Rain Forest The Quinault Rain Forest is a temperate rain forest, which is part of the Olympic National Park and the Olympic National Forest in the U.S. state of Washington in Grays Harbor and Jefferson Counties. The rain forest is located in the valley ...

* Wynoochee Dam *

Lake Crescent Lake Crescent is a deep lake located entirely within Olympic National Park in Clallam County, Washington, United States, approximately west of Port Angeles on U.S. Route 101 and nearby to the small community of Piedmont. At an official maximu ...

Wilderness areas

The Brothers Wilderness The Brothers Wilderness is a designated wilderness area located in the Olympic National Forest on the eastern side of the Olympic Peninsula south of Buckhorn Wilderness and north of Mount Skokomish Wilderness. The wilderness area comprises ad ...

* Buckhorn Wilderness * Colonel Bob Wilderness * Mt. Skokomish Wilderness * Wonder Mountain Wilderness

Wild Olympics

The Wild Olympics campaign is an effort to designate additional areas on the

as protected. Under a bill introduced by United States Senator Patty Murray in January 2014 logging on an additional 126,554 acres (20%) of the Olympic National Forest's lands would be disallowed under the creation of nine new

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 ...

and expansion of the five existing ones.

Wild and Scenic River The National Wild and Scenic Rivers System was created by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 (Public Law 90-542), enacted by the U.S. Congress to preserve certain rivers with outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values in a free- ...

designations would extend to 19 rivers, including those originating in the Olympic National Park, such as the Quinault, Hoh, Elwha, and Hamma Hamma, and some that do not, like the Middle Fork of the Satsop River. According to ''The Oregonian'', "the wilderness designation would permanently protect old growth and ancient forest habitat throughout the region. The wild and scenic rivers designation would add federal recognition to the outstanding river systems on the peninsula, protecting them as a source of clean drinking water and helping to keep Puget Sound clean for generations. This designation does not restrict private property rights." Like the Northern Spotted Owl controversy two decades earlier, the action has met opposition from some residents on and near the Olympic Peninsula who see it as a threat to their livelihoods. Handmade "Stop Wild Olympics" signs can be seen in the Aberdeen area and on the peninsula, expressing displeasure, and an opposition group, Working Wild Olympics, was set up in 2011. The effort has the support of dozens of "major hunting and fishing organizations" who see it as a way to sustain elk, salmon and other fish. Debate on the topic in 2014 has included community meetings drawing hundreds of individuals on both sides, and full-page advertisements in local newspapers. An episode of ''This American Land'' concerning the Wild Olympics proposal showed nationally on PBS in 2014. The Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Act was reintroduced in 2019 as H.R.2642 and received a hearing in the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands.

References

External links

Official web site
{{Authority control National Forests of Washington (state) Protected areas of Clallam County, Washington Protected areas of Grays Harbor County, Washington Protected areas of Jefferson County, Washington Protected areas of Mason County, Washington Protected areas established in 1897 1897 establishments in Washington (state)