Chippewa National Forest
Encyclopedia
United States National Forest
National Forest is a classification of federal lands in the United States.National Forests are largely forest and woodland areas owned by the federal government and managed by the United States Forest Service, part of the United States Department of Agriculture. Land management of these areas...
located in northcentral Minnesota
Central Minnesota
Central Minnesota is the name of the region consisting of the central portion of the state of Minnesota. Although no specific boundaries of the region exist, most definitions of what makes up the region would generally consist of the vast swath of land north of Interstate 94, east of U.S. Highway...
, United States, in the counties of Itasca
Itasca County, Minnesota
Itasca County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is named after Lake Itasca, which is in turn a shortened version the Latin words veritas caput, meaning 'truth' and 'head', a reference to the source of the Mississippi River. As of 2010, the population was 45,058. Its county seat...
, Cass
Cass County, Minnesota
Cass County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2010, the population was 28,567. Its county seat is Walker. A portion of the Leech Lake Indian Reservation is in the county.-Geography:...
, and Beltrami
Beltrami County, Minnesota
Beltrami County is a county located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2010, the population was 44,442. Its county seat is Bemidji. Portions of the Leech Lake and Red Lake Indian reservations are in the county. The northernmost portion of the Mississippi River flows...
. Forest headquarters are located in Cass Lake, Minnesota
Cass Lake, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 860 people, 331 households, and 192 families residing in the city. The population density was 753.2 people per square mile . There were 384 housing units at an average density of 336.3 per square mile . The racial makeup of the city was 30.12% White, 64.42%...
. There are local ranger
National Park Ranger
National Park Service Rangers are among the uniformed employees charged with protecting and preserving areas set aside in the National Park System by the United States Congress and/or the President of the United States...
district offices in Blackduck
Blackduck, Minnesota
Blackduck is a city in Beltrami County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 785 as of the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which are land and is water. -Demographics:...
, Deer River
Deer River, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 903 people, 389 households, and 220 families residing in the city. The population density was 850.9 people per square mile . There were 415 housing units at an average density of 391.1 per square mile . The racial makeup of the city was 84.05% White, 12.07%...
, and Walker
Walker, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,069 people, 449 households, and 258 families residing in the city. The population density was 734.3 people per square mile . There were 517 housing units at an average density of 355.1 per square mile...
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History and geography
The forest covers 1600000 acre (6,475 km²). Water is abundant, with over 1,300 lakes (including Leech LakeLeech Lake
Leech Lake is a lake located in north central Minnesota, United States. It is southeast of Bemidji, located mainly within the Leech Lake Indian Reservation, and completely within the Chippewa National Forest. It is used as a reservoir...
), 923 miles (1,485 km) of rivers and streams, and 400000 acre (1,618.7 km²) of wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
s.
The forest was established as the Minnesota Forest Reserve on June 27, 1902, with passage of the Morris Act. Although this act mainly addressed the disposition of unallotted lands on Ojibwe indian reservations in Minnesota, 200000 acres (809.4 km²) of the Chippewas of the Mississippi, Cass Lake, Leech Lake, and Winnibigoshish Indian Reservations
Leech Lake Indian Reservation
The Leech Lake Indian Reservation or Gaa-zagaskwaajimekaag in the Ojibwe language, is an Native American reservation located in the north-central Minnesota counties of Cass, Itasca, Beltrami, and Hubbard. It is the land-base for the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe...
were designated as a Forest Reserve
Forest Reserve Act of 1891
The Forest Reserve Act of 1891 is a law that allowed the President of the United States to set aside forest reserves from the land in the public domain. Passed by the United States Congress under Benjamin Harrison's administration...
. The Reserve was re-established as the Minnesota National Forest on May 23, 1908. The forest's name was changed in 1928 in honor of the Chippewa Indians from whose land the forest was created. Approximately 75 percent of the forest's land is within the Leech Lake Indian Reservation
Leech Lake Indian Reservation
The Leech Lake Indian Reservation or Gaa-zagaskwaajimekaag in the Ojibwe language, is an Native American reservation located in the north-central Minnesota counties of Cass, Itasca, Beltrami, and Hubbard. It is the land-base for the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe...
.
Fauna and flora
AspenAspen
Populus section Populus, of the Populus genus, includes the aspen trees and the white poplar Populus alba. The five typical aspens are all native to cold regions with cool summers, in the north of the Northern Hemisphere, extending south at high altitudes in the mountains. The White Poplar, by...
, birch
Birch
Birch is a tree or shrub of the genus Betula , in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. The Betula genus contains 30–60 known taxa...
, pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
, balsam fir
Balsam Fir
The balsam fir is a North American fir, native to most of eastern and central Canada and the northeastern United States .-Growth:It is a small to medium-size evergreen tree typically tall, rarely to tall, with a narrow conic crown...
and maple
Maple
Acer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...
blanket the forest. Old growth forest
Old growth forest
An old-growth forest is a forest that has attained great age , and thereby exhibits unique ecological features. An old growth forest has also usually reached a climax community...
such as the Lost Forty section of the CNF is valuable for wildlife, including bald eagle
Bald Eagle
The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...
, several species of hawk
Hawk
The term hawk can be used in several ways:* In strict usage in Australia and Africa, to mean any of the species in the subfamily Accipitrinae, which comprises the genera Accipiter, Micronisus, Melierax, Urotriorchis and Megatriorchis. The large and widespread Accipiter genus includes goshawks,...
and woodpecker
Woodpecker
Woodpeckers are near passerine birds of the order Piciformes. They are one subfamily in the family Picidae, which also includes the piculets and wrynecks. They are found worldwide and include about 180 species....
, red squirrel
American Red Squirrel
The American Red Squirrel is one of three species of tree squirrel currently classified in the genus Tamiasciurus and known as pine squirrels...
, weasel
Weasel
Weasels are mammals forming the genus Mustela of the Mustelidae family. They are small, active predators, long and slender with short legs....
and numerous other species. In the 1960s the bald eagle population in the forest was only 12 nesting pairs. Since then the population has rebounded and the bald eagle population of the Chippewa National Forest is one of the highest density in the lower forty eight states at 150 nesting pairs.
The Lost Forty
The forest contains an area known as the "Lost Forty"; this area, actually 144 acre (0.58274784 km²), was accidentally mapped as part of Coddington lake when the original maps of the region were laid out in 1882. As a result of this mapping error, the Lost Forty was never logged. This area has become some of the oldest forest in the state, with some trees over 350 years old. Less than two percent of Minnesota's forested land today is old growth, never logged forest. These unique qualities offer an abundance of outdoor recreational opportunities all year long. Inside the forest the Cut Foot Sioux TrailCut Foot Sioux Trail
The Cut Foot Sioux Trail is a loop trail in the Chippewa National Forest of Minnesota, USA. It follows gravel and sand forestry roads that are now used for hiking, biking, cross-country skiing and horse back riding. The trail passes by several lakes....
runs along the North-South U.S Continental Divide
Continental Divide
The Continental Divide of the Americas, or merely the Continental Gulf of Division or Great Divide, is the name given to the principal, and largely mountainous, hydrological divide of the Americas that separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean from those river systems that drain...
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