Siuslaw National Forest is a national forest in western Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

, United States. Established in 1908, the Siuslaw is made up of a wide variety of ecosystems, ranging from coastal forests to sand dunes.

Geography

The Siuslaw National Forest encompasses more than 630000 acres (2,549.5 km²) along the central Oregon Coast

Oregon Coast

The Oregon Coast is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It runs generally north-south along the Pacific Ocean, forming the western border of the state; the region is bounded to the east by the Oregon Coast Range. The Oregon Coast stretches approximately from the Columbia River in the north to...

, between Coos Bay

Coos Bay

Coos Bay is an S-shaped inlet where the Coos River enters the Pacific Ocean, approximately 10 miles long and two miles wide, on the Pacific Ocean coast of southwestern Oregon in the United States. The estuary is situated south of the Salmon River. The city of Coos Bay, once named Marshfield, was...

 and Tillamook

Tillamook

Tillamook may refer to:Places:* Tillamook County, Oregon, United States* Tillamook, Oregon, a city in the United States* Tillamook River, United States* Tillamook Bay, a bay in the northwestern part of Oregon...

, and in some places extends east from the ocean, beyond the crest of the Oregon Coast Range

Oregon Coast Range

The Oregon Coast Range, often called simply the Coast Range and sometimes the Pacific Coast Range, is a mountain range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region, in the U.S. state of Oregon along the Pacific Ocean...

, almost reaching the Willamette Valley

Willamette Valley

The Willamette Valley is the most populated region in the state of Oregon of the United States. Located in the state's northwest, the region is surrounded by tall mountain ranges to the east, west and south and the valley's floor is broad, flat and fertile because of Ice Age conditions...

. The Forest lies primarily in Lane

Lane County, Oregon

-National protected areas:*Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge *Siuslaw National Forest *Umpqua National Forest *Willamette National Forest -Government:...

 (39% of the forest) and Lincoln

Lincoln County, Oregon

-National protected areas:*Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge *Siletz Bay National Wildlife Refuge*Siuslaw National Forest -Demographics:...

 (27% of the forest) counties; the rest in descending order of land area are Tillamook

Tillamook County, Oregon

Tillamook County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. The county is named for the Tillamook, a Native American tribe who were living in the area in the early 19th century at the time of European American settlement. In 2010, the county's population was 25,250...

, Douglas

Douglas County, Oregon

-National protected areas:* Crater Lake National Park * Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest * Siuslaw National Forest * Umpqua National Forest * Willamette National Forest -Adjacent counties:* Lane County, Oregon -...

, Yamhill

Yamhill County, Oregon

-National protected areas:*Siuslaw National Forest *Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 84,992 people, 28,732 households, and 21,376 families residing in the county. The population density was 119 people per square mile . There were 30,270...

, Benton

Benton County, Oregon

-National protected areas:*Siuslaw National Forest *William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 78,153 people, 30,145 households, and 18,237 families residing in the county. The population density was 116 people per square mile . There were 31,980...

, Coos

Coos County, Oregon

-National protected areas:*Bandon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge*Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge *Siskiyou National Forest *Siuslaw National Forest - Incorporated cities:- Unincorporated communities and CDPs:-See also:...

, and Polk

Polk County, Oregon

Polk County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. The county is named for James Knox Polk, the 11th president of the United States. In 2010, its population was 75,403. The seat of the county is Dallas....

 counties. It includes the Sand Lake Recreation Area and the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area

Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area

The Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area is located on the Oregon Coast, stretching approximately 40 miles north from the Coos River in North Bend, to the Siuslaw River, in Florence. The NRA is part of Siuslaw National Forest and is administered by the United States Forest Service...

. The Forest Supervisor's office is located in Corvallis, Oregon

Corvallis, Oregon

Corvallis is a city located in central western Oregon, United States. It is the county seat of Benton County and the principal city of the Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Benton County. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 54,462....

, and the Siuslaw is broken up into two ranger districts - the Hebo Ranger District, with approximately 151000 acres (611.1 km²), and the Central Coast Ranger District, with approximately 479000 acres (1,938.4 km²).

Points of interest

The Forest contains Marys Peak

Marys Peak

Marys Peak is a mountain in Benton County, Oregon, United States, just southwest of Philomath. It is the highest peak in the Oregon Coast Range...

, the highest point in Oregon's Coast Range at 4097 ft (1249 m). Numerous aquatic habitats are found in the forest: marine shore, rivers and streams (1,200 miles, including the Alsea

Alsea River

The Alsea River flows from Alsea, an unincorporated community in the coastal mountains of the U.S. state of Oregon, to the Pacific Ocean near the city of Waldport. It begins at the confluence of the North Fork Alsea River and the South Fork Alsea River and ends in Alsea Bay, a wide estuary at...

, Nestucca

Nestucca River

The Nestucca River flows for about through forests near the Pacific coast of northwest Oregon in the United States. It drains a timber-producing area of the Northern Oregon Coast Range west of Portland....

, Siuslaw

Siuslaw River

The Siuslaw River is a river, approximately 110 mi long, along the Pacific coast of Oregon in the United States. It drains an area of approximately in the Central Oregon Coast Range southwest of the Willamette Valley and north of the watershed of the Umpqua River.It rises in the mountains...

, and Umpqua

Umpqua River

The Umpqua River on the Pacific coast of Oregon in the United States is approximately long. One of the principal rivers of the Oregon Coast and known for bass and shad, the river drains an expansive network of valleys in the mountains west of the Cascade Range and south of the Willamette Valley,...

 rivers), and 30 lakes. The terrestrial environment can be regarded as two major vegetation zones, one near the coast dominated by Sitka Spruce

Sitka Spruce

Picea sitchensis, the Sitka Spruce, is a large coniferous evergreen tree growing to 50–70 m tall, exceptionally to 95 m tall, and with a trunk diameter of up to 5 m, exceptionally to 6–7 m diameter...

 (Picea sitchensis), and the other dominated by Western Hemlock

Western Hemlock

Tsuga heterophylla. the Western Hemlock, is a species of hemlock native to the west coast of North America, with its northwestern limit on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, and its southeastern limit in northern Sonoma County, California.-Habitat:...

 (Tsuga heterophylla) and Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). A 1993 Forest Service study estimated that the extent of old growth in the Forest was 33800 acres (13,678.4 ha). Cummins Creek

Cummins Creek Wilderness

The Cummins Creek Wilderness is a wilderness area in the Siuslaw National Forest on the Oregon coast. It is one of three wilderness areas created in the Siuslaw in 1984, along with Drift Creek and Rock Creek...

 and Rock Creek Wilderness

Rock Creek Wilderness

The Rock Creek Wilderness is a wilderness area comprising within the Siuslaw National Forest on the Oregon Coast. It was created in 1984, along with the Drift Creek Wilderness and Cummins Creek Wilderness.-Topography:...

es preserve some of this old growth.

Recreational activities

Recreational activities in the Siuslaw National Forest include fishing, camping, hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, exploring tide pools, and riding off highway vehicles.

External links

• Siuslaw National Forest - US Forest Service