Colville National Forest

U.S. National Forest in northeastern Washington state

48°41′17″N 117°37′30″W / 48.688°N 117.625°W / 48.688; -117.625Area1,500,000 acres (6,100 km²)^[1]EstablishedMarch 1, 1907^[2]Governing bodyU.S. Forest ServiceWebsiteColville National Forest

The Colville National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in northeastern Washington state. It is bordered on the west by the Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest and the Kaniksu National Forest to the east. The forest also borders Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge and the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area.

As of October 2020, the Colville National Forest now includes the Tonasket Ranger District, which was previously part of the Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest.^[3]^[4]

Geography

The forest encompasses a mountainous area consisting of the Kettle River and Selkirk mountain ranges, and the upper reaches of the Columbia River. The mountains ranges and forest are located mostly within the Columbia Mountains, which are part of the western foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

The forest has a total area of 1.5 million acres. A 1993 Forest Service study estimated that the extent of old growth in the Forest was 212,488 acres (85,991 ha).^[5] In descending order of forestland area it is located in parts of Ferry, Pend Oreille, Okanogan, Stevens counties. The forest headquarters is located in Colville, Washington. There are local ranger district offices located in Kettle Falls, Metaline Falls, Newport, Republic, and Tonasket. Most of the Salmo-Priest Wilderness lies within the forest, while its southeastern portion extends into Kaniksu National Forest. With the inclusion of the Tonasket Ranger District, portions of the Pasayten Wilderness are within the forest.

Fauna

Wildlife include grizzly and black bears, wolf packs, bighorn sheep, cougars, bald eagles, Canada lynx, moose, beavers, loons, and up until recently, the last remaining herd of caribou^[6] in the lower 48 US states.

Other protected areas

The Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail passes through the Colville National Forest. It enters the forest on the east side within the Salmo-Priest Wilderness, crosses the Pend Oreille River at Boundary Dam, passes through Leadpoint and Northport, then traverses the Kettle Range and exits the Colville near Republic. The Sullivan Lake Trail, designated a National Recreation Trail in 1978, runs 4.3 miles (6.9 km) between two campgrounds in the forest.^[7]

References

^ "About the Forest". U.S. Forest Service. January 2012. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
^ "The National Forests of the United States" (PDF). ForestHistory.org. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
^ "Tonasket Ranger District". Retrieved 2020-11-02.
^ "The Colville National Forest will Assume Administrative Duties for the Tonasket Ranger District". 2020-09-28. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
^ Bolsinger, Charles L.; Waddell, Karen L. (1993), Area of old-growth forests in California, Oregon, and Washington (PDF), United States Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Resource Bulletin PNW-RB-197
^ "Sole surviving member of the South Selkirk caribou herd captured, Gray Ghosts are no more in Lower 48". 2019-01-18. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
^ "Sullivan Lake". American Trails. 2013-04-24. Archived from the original on 2014-08-19. Retrieved 2014-08-14.

External links

USDA Forest Service - Colville National Forest

Protected areas of Washington

Federal

National Parks	Mount Rainier North Cascades Olympic
National Monuments	Hanford Reach (USFWS) Mount St. Helens Volcanic (USFS) San Juan Islands (BLM)
National Historical Parks and Sites	Fort Vancouver NHS Klondike Gold Rush NHP Lewis and Clark NHP Manhattan Project NHP Nez Perce NHP San Juan Island NHP Whitman Mission NHS
National Historical Reserves	Ebey's Landing
National Trails	Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Pacific Crest Trail Pacific Northwest Trail
NPS National Recreation Areas	Lake Chelan Lake Roosevelt Ross Lake
National Wildlife Refuges	Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually Columbia Conboy Lake Copalis Dungeness Flattery Rocks Franz Lake Grays Harbor Julia Butler Hansen Refuge for the Columbian White-Tailed Deer Little Pend Oreille McNary Pierce Protection Island Quillayute Needles Ridgefield Saddle Mountain San Juan Islands Steigerwald Lake Toppenish Turnbull Umatilla Willapa
National Forests	Colville Gifford Pinchot Idaho Panhandle Kaniksu Mount Baker–Snoqualmie Okanogan–Wenatchee Olympic Umatilla Wenatchee
USFS National Recreation Areas	Mount Baker
National Wilderness	Alpine Lakes Boulder River The Brothers Buckhorn Clearwater Colonel Bob Daniel J. Evans Glacier Peak Glacier View Goat Rocks Henry M. Jackson Indian Heaven Juniper Dunes Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Ridge Mount Adams Mount Baker Mount Rainier Mount Skokomish Noisy-Diobsud Norse Peak Pasayten Salmo-Priest San Juan Stephen Mather Tatoosh Trapper Creek Washington Islands Wenaha–Tucannon Wild Sky William O. Douglas Wonder Mountain
National Marine Sanctuary and National Estuarine Research Reserve	Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
National Wild and Scenic Rivers	Illabot Klickitat Pratt Skagit Snoqualmie White Salmon

State

State Parks	Alta Lake Anderson Lake Battle Ground Lake Bay View Beacon Rock Belfair Birch Bay Blake Island Blind Island Bogachiel Bottle Beach Bridgeport Bridle Trails Brooks Memorial Cama Beach Camano Island Camp Wooten Retreat Center Cape Disappointment Clark Island Columbia Hills Columbia Plateau Trail Conconully Crawford Curlew Lake Cutts Island Daroga Dash Point Deception Pass Doe Island Dosewallips Doug's Beach Eagle Island Federation Forest Fields Spring Flaming Geyser Forks of the Sky Fort Casey Fort Columbia Fort Ebey Fort Flagler Fort Simcoe Fort Townsend Fort Worden Ginkgo Petrified Forest Goldendale Observatory Grayland Beach Griffiths-Priday Harstine Island Hope Island (Mason County) Hope Island (Skagit County) Ike Kinswa Illahee Iron Horse Jackson House James Island Jarrell Cove Joemma Beach Jones Island Joseph Whidbey Kanaskat-Palmer Kinney Point Kitsap Memorial Klickitat Trail Kopachuck Lake Chelan Lake Easton Lake Lenore Caves Lake Sammamish Lake Sylvia Lake Wenatchee Larrabee Leadbetter Point Lewis and Clark Lewis and Clark Trail Lime Kiln Point Lincoln Rock Lyons Ferry Manchester Maryhill Matia Island Matilda Jackson McMicken Island Millersylvania Moran Mount Pilchuck Mount Spokane Mystery Bay Nolte Obstruction Pass Ocean City Olallie Olmstead Place Pacific Beach Pacific Pines Palouse Falls Palouse to Cascades Paradise Point Patos Island Peace Arch Pearrygin Lake Penrose Point Peshastin Pinnacles Pleasant Harbor Posey Island Potholes Potlatch Rainbow Falls Rasar Reed Island Riverside Rockport Sacajawea Saddlebag Island Saint Edward Saltwater Scenic Beach Schafer Seaquest Sequim Bay Shine Tidelands Skagit Island South Whidbey Spencer Spit Spokane River Centennial Trail Spring Creek Hatchery Squak Mountain Squilchuck Steamboat Rock Steptoe Battlefield Steptoe Butte Stretch Point Stuart Island Sucia Island Sun Lakes-Dry Falls Tolmie Triton Cove Turn Island Twanoh Twenty-Five Mile Creek Twin Harbors Wallace Falls Wanapum Recreational Area Wenatchee Confluence Westport Light Willapa Hills Trail Willie Keil's Grave Yakima Sportsman
State Forests	Ahtanum Capitol Elbe Hills Green Mountain Loomis Loup Loup Tahuya Teanaway Tiger Mountain Yacolt Burn
Natural Area Preserves	Admiralty Inlet Badger Gulch Bald Hill Barker Mountain Bone River Camas Meadows Carlisle Bog Castle Rock Charley Creek Chehalis River Surge Plain Chopaka Mountain Clearwater Bogs Cleveland Shrub Steppe Columbia Falls Columbia Hills Crowberry Bog Cypress Highlands Dabob Bay Dailey Prairie Davis Canyon Entiat Slopes Goose Island Gunpowder Island Hamma Hamma Balds Ink Blot Kahlotus Ridgetop Kennedy Creek Kings Lake Bog Kitsap Forest Lacamas Prairie Little Pend Oreille River Marcellus Shrub Steppe Methow Rapids Mima Mounds Monte Cristo Niawiakum River North Bay Oak Patch Olivine Bridge Pinecroft Point Doughty Riverside Breaks Rocky Prairie Sand Island Schumacher Creek Selah Cliffs Skagit Bald Eagle Skookum Inlet Snoqualmie Bog Spring Creek Canyon Trombetta Canyon Trout Lake The Two-Steppe Upper Dry Gulch Washougal Oaks Whitcomb Flats Willapa Divide
Natural Resources Conservation Areas	Ashford Cattle Point Clearwater Corridor Cypress Island Devils Lake Dishman Hills Elk River Ellsworth Creek Granite Lakes Hat Island Hendrickson Canyon Klickitat Canyon Lake Louise Loomis Lummi Island Merrill Lake Middle Fork Snoqualmie Morning Star Mount Si Naselle Highlands Queets River Rattlesnake Mountain Scenic Area Shipwreck Point Skamokawa Creek South Nemah South Nolan Stavis Stevenson Ridge Table Mountain Tahoma Forest Teal Slough Washougal Oaks West Tiger Mountain White Salmon Oak Woodard Bay
Aquatic Reserves	Cherry Point Cypress Island Fidalgo Bay Maury Island Nisqually Reach Protection Island Smith and Minor Islands

Other

Former state parks	Damon Point Fay Bainbridge Fort Okanogan Fort Ward Park Griffin Bay Mukilteo Lighthouse Park Osoyoos Lake Veteran's Memorial Park Skull Island Upright Channel Wenberg Westhaven