The Apache–Sitgreaves National Forests is a

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

which runs along the

Mogollon Rim The Mogollon Rim ( or or ) is a topography, topographical and geological feature cutting across Northern Arizona, the northern half of the U.S. state of Arizona. It extends approximately , starting in northern Yavapai County, Arizona, Yavapa ...

and the White Mountains in east-central

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

and into 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 so ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

. Formerly two forests, it is currently managed as one unit by

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commerc ...

Forest Service from the Forest Supervisors Office in Springerville, Arizona. Apache–Sitgreaves has over 400 species of wildlife. With its high elevation and cool summer breezes it is a popular weekend destination from the hot desert for

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, residents. The forest is divided into 5 Ranger Districts (Clifton, Alpine, Springerville, Lakeside, and Black Mesa) that span almost from Clifton, Arizona in the east-central portion of Arizona to the eastern boundary of the

Coconino National Forest The Coconino National Forest is a 1.856-million acre (751,000 ha) United States National Forest located in northern Arizona in the vicinity of Flagstaff, with elevations ranging from 2,600 feet to the highest point in Arizona at 12,633 feet (H ...

in north-central Arizona. The Apache–Sitgreaves National Forest borders the western and northern borders of the Fort Apache Indian Reservation. It is located in parts of Greenlee,

Apache The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...

Navajo The Navajo or Diné are an Indigenous people of the Southwestern United States. Their traditional language is Diné bizaad, a Southern Athabascan language. The states with the largest Diné populations are Arizona (140,263) and New Mexico (1 ...

, and Coconino counties in eastern and east-central Arizona, and Catron County in western New Mexico. The more northwesterly Sitgreaves National Forest portion lies adjacent to the north side of the Fort Apache Indian Reservation and is located entirely in Arizona, within Navajo, Apache, and Coconino counties. It has a total area of . The more southeasterly and much larger Apache National Forest portion lies adjacent to the east side of the Fort Apache and the San Carlos Indian Reservations. It lies on both sides of the border with New Mexico, in Greenlee, Catron, and Apache counties. It has a total area of .

Lakes, rivers, and streams

Apache–Sitgreaves National Forests has eight notable cold water lakes and boasts numerous lakes and reservoirs and over 680 miles (1094 km) of rivers and streams. The headwaters for the

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

, Little Colorado, and

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

rivers are in the White Mountains. * Aker Lake * Big Lake * Woods Canyon Lake * Willow Springs Lake * Black Canyon Lake * Chevelon Canyon Lake * Luna Lake * Bear Canyon Lake * Crescent Lake * Blue River

Wilderness areas

There are four

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

s within Apache–Sitgreaves National Forests. All lie within the former Apache National Forest section. Three have been officially designated by Congress as part of the

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

. * Bear Wallow Wilderness * Escudilla Wilderness * Mount Baldy Wilderness The fourth, the Blue Range Primitive Area, was designated as a Primitive Area by the Secretary of Agriculture in 1933. The area has been managed under the highest level of forest service protection to maintain its wilderness qualities. It was recommended that this area be included in the Blue Range Wilderness in 1971, but in 1980 Congress only acted upon an adjacent New Mexico portion within Gila National Forest.

History

About 18 miles southwest of Alpine, Arizona is the Hannagan Meadow area with a lodge, trailheads, and campground. The meadow was named after Robert Hannagan, a miner and cattle rancher from

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

. One local legend is that Hannagan was chained to a tree near the meadow until his debt of $1,200 was paid off. It was promptly paid by his son, but the name stuck. Another story suggests that Toles Cosper, a rancher from over to

Luna Luna commonly refers to: * Earth's Moon, named "Luna" in Latin, Spanish and other languages * Luna (goddess) In Sabine and ancient Roman religion and myth, Luna is the divine embodiment of the Moon (Latin ''Lūna'' ). She is often presented as t ...

, was riding with the young Hannagan when they came across the meadow during the 1870s. They flipped a coin to see which man they would name it after, and Hannagan won.Waite, Tessa (2003
"History of Hannagan Meadow Lodge"
pp. 1–2 In 1909, while surveying for US Route 191, John D. Guthrie observed that "there was neither fence nor cabin at Hannagan Meadow."Tucker, Edwin A. and Fitzpatrick, George (1972
''Men who matched the mountains: the Forest Service in the Southwest''
(pp. 153–55), United States Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Washington D.C., citing a paper read by John D. Guthrie at the dedication of the Coronado Trail Road. However, with the advent of road construction on the Coronado Trail Road (later Coronado Trail Scenic Byway) tourism became a possibility, and Toles Cosper's son, DeWitt Cosper, built a lodge there in 1926. The Hannagan Meadow Lodge provided tourists and travelers with rental cabins, single rooms for rent and a general store. As of 2016, the Lodge is still there and still serving tourists and travelers.

Climate

Hannagan Meadows has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

( Dsb). Summers are typically pleasant, with warm days and cool nights. Winters are moderately cold, with brisk days and chilly nights. Hannagan Meadows has five seasons, with Spring being the driest and Summer being the wettest. The dry part of Summer typically begins at the beginning of June, and lasts into July. The Monsoon season usually begins by mid-July ( North American Monsoon) and lasts until the beginning of September, with thunderstorms being very common. Autumn begins during September, and can last to the end of November, with cool – mild days and nights beginning to dip below freezing. Winter usually begins by late November, and lasts until the end of February, but wintry days can be observed during March, and even as late as April, with heavy snowfall being common. Spring usually starts during early March, and lasts well into may, and is usually relatively dry. The highest temperature recorded in Hannagan Meadows is and occurred on August 6, 2019. The lowest temperature recorded in Hannagan Meadows is and occurred on January 7, 1989. Interestingly, the highest minimum and the lowest maximum temperatures recorded occurred in the same year, 2011, and are for the highest minimum which occurred on September 5, and for the lowest maximum which occurred on February 2. The first and last average freeze dates are June 3 and September 25, giving Hannagan Meadows a growing season of 114 days.

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control National forests of Arizona National forests of New Mexico Protected areas of Greenlee County, Arizona Protected areas of Apache County, Arizona Protected areas of Navajo County, Arizona Protected areas of Coconino County, Arizona Protected areas of Catron County, New Mexico White Mountains (Arizona) 1974 establishments in Arizona 1974 establishments in New Mexico Protected areas established in 1974