Ochoco National Forest

Ochoco National Forest
IUCN category VI (protected area with sustainable use of natural resources)
284px Steins Pillar
Location	Crook / Harney / Wheeler / Grant counties, Oregon, USA
Nearest city	Mitchell, Oregon
Coordinates
Area	851,033 acres (3,444 km2)
Established	July 1, 1911
Visitors	575,000 (in 2006)
Governing body	U.S. Forest Service
http://www.fs.usda.gov/ochoco/

The Ochoco National Forest is located in Central Oregon in the United States, north and east of the city of Prineville, location of the national forest headquarters. It encompasses 850,000 acres (3,440 km²) of rimrock, canyons, geologic oddities, dense pine forests, and high desert terrain, as well as the headwaters of the North Fork Crooked River. A 1993 Forest Service study estimated that the extent of old growth in the forest was 95,000 acres (38,000 ha).

In descending order of forestland area, it occupies lands within Crook, Harney, Wheeler, and Grant counties. The national forest also administers the Crooked River National Grassland, which is in Jefferson County.

The Ochoco National Forest is composed of three ranger districts:

• Crooked River National Grassland, managed from offices in Madras.
• Paulina and Lookout Mountain Ranger Districts, based in Prineville. The former Rager Ranger Station in Paulina has been closed. The former Snow Mountain Ranger District is now administered by the Malheur National Forest, as part of the Emigrant Creek Ranger District.

Wilderness

The forest contains three wilderness areas comprising 36,200 acres (146 km²):

• Mill Creek Wilderness at 17,400 acres (70 km²)
• Bridge Creek Wilderness at 5,400 acres (22 km²)
• Black Canyon Wilderness at 13,400 acres (54 km²)

Recreation

Popular recreational activities in the Ochoco National Forest include hiking, fishing, camping, hunting, horseback riding, stargazing, birding and rock hounding.

External links

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons

• Ochoco National Forest, Crooked River National Grassland