121-726: The Angeles National Forest ( ANF ) of the United States Forest Service is located in the San Gabriel Mountains and Sierra Pelona Mountains , primarily within Los Angeles County in southern California . The ANF manages a majority of the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument . The national forest was established in 1908, incorporating the first San Bernardino National Forest and parts of
242-521: A 72-inch (1.8-meter) telescope built in 1845, was, by the 1890s, out of commission. Although slightly smaller than the Leviathan, the 60-inch had many advantages including a far better site, a glass mirror instead of speculum metal, and a precision mount which could accurately track any direction in the sky, so the 60-inch was a major advance. The 60-inch telescope is a reflector telescope built for Newtonian , Cassegrain and coudé configurations. It
363-466: A U.S. Forest Service firefighter who (along with his crew) watches over a group of rambunctious children while searching for their parents after rescuing them from a fire in the wilderness during a family vacation. The history of the Forest Service has been fraught with controversy, as various interests and national values have grappled with the appropriate management of the many resources within
484-671: A key role in formulating policy and coordinating U.S. support for the protection and sound management of the world's forest resources. It works closely with other agencies such as USAID , the State Department , and the Environmental Protection Agency , as well as with nonprofit development organizations, wildlife organizations, universities, and international assistance organizations. The Forest Service's international work serves to link people and communities striving to protect and manage forests throughout
605-648: A large area of the forest in and around the burned area until December 31, 2025. As of October 24, 2024, the fire had burned 55,126 acres (22,309 ha; 86 sq mi; 223 km) and was 99 percent contained. The Angeles National Forest manages the habitats , flora and fauna ecosystems , and watersheds . Some of the rivers with watersheds within its boundaries provide valuable non- groundwater recharge water for Southern California . The existing protected and restored native vegetation absorb and slow surface runoff of rainwater to minimize severe floods and landslides in adjacent communities. The land within
726-638: A large role on the Forest, with commercial timber activities virtually ceasing in the Forest during the mid-1950s. The Great Hiking Era of the San Gabriel Mountains (AD 1880 – 1938) saw increasing use of the rugged backcountry for recreational purposes by the foothill communities, coinciding with the real estate boom in the lowlands and the great interest in hiking, hunting and fishing by the urban populations. In particular, six major hiking trails converged at Red Box Saddle. Settlements started inside
847-480: A month and was the worst in Los Angeles County history, charring 250 square miles (650 km), approximately one-fourth of the forest; displacing wildlife, and destroying 91 homes, cabins and outbuildings and the family-owned Hidden Springs Cafe. During the fire, two firefighters died after driving off the Mt. Gleason County Road looking for an alternate route to get the inmates out at Camp 16. The Station Fire threatened
968-468: A productive center, with the CHARA array continuing important stellar research. The initial efforts to mount a telescope to Mount Wilson occurred in the 1880s by one of the founders of University of Southern California , Edward Falles Spence , but he died without finishing the funding effort. The observatory was conceived and founded by George Ellery Hale , who had previously built the 1 meter telescope at
1089-754: A range of biological, physical, and social science fields to promote sustainable management of United States' diverse forests and rangelands. Research employs about 550 scientists and several hundred technical and support staff, located at 67 sites throughout the United States and in Puerto Rico . Discovery and technology development and transfer is carried out through seven research stations. Research focuses on informing policy and land management decisions and includes addressing invasive insects, degraded river ecosystems , or sustainable ways to harvest forest products. The researchers work independently and with
1210-680: A range of partners (formerly through a National Partnership Office ), including other agencies, academia, nonprofit groups, and industry. The information and technology produced through basic and applied science programs is available to the public for its benefit and use. In addition to the Research Stations, the USFS R&;D branch also leads several National Centers such as the National Genomics Center for Wildlife and Fish Conservation . The Forest Service plays
1331-635: A regular and recurring presence on a vast amount of public lands, roads, and recreation sites. The primary focus of their jobs is the protection of natural resources, protection of Forest Service employees and the protection of visitors. To cover the vast and varied terrain under their jurisdiction, they use modified 4x4 pickup trucks, Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptors , special service SUVs , horses, K-9 units , helicopters, snowmobiles , dirt bikes, and boats. Special Agents are criminal investigators who plan and conduct investigations concerning possible violations of criminal and administrative provisions of
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#17327723590501452-525: A short history of how agency responsibilities have grown and evolved over its 118-year history in accordance with "what the American people desire from their natural resources at any given point in time." In the spring of 2023, the USDA proposed a change to its regulations to allow for the "responsible deployment of" carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration on National Forests lands. Although part of
1573-671: A small part extends eastward into southwestern San Bernardino County , in the Mount San Antonio ("Mount Baldy") area, and a tiny section also extends westward into northeastern Ventura County , in the Lake Piru area. The San Gabriel Mountains National Monument , established in 2014 and managed by the U.S. Forest Service, is largely within the Angeles National Forest. The John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act of 2019 established
1694-641: A staff of 10 to 300 people under the direction of a district ranger, a line officer who reports to a forest supervisor. The districts vary in size from 50,000 acres (200 km ) to more than 1 million acres (4,000 km ). Most on-the-ground activities occur on ranger districts, including trail construction and maintenance, operation of campgrounds, oversight of a wide variety of special use permitted activities, and management of vegetation and wildlife habitat. U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement & Investigations (LEI), headquartered in Washington, D.C. ,
1815-724: Is a federal law enforcement agency of the U.S. government. It is responsible for enforcement of federal laws and regulations governing national forest lands and resources. All law enforcement officers and special agents receive their training through Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC). Operations are divided into two major functional areas: Uniformed Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs) enforce federal laws and regulations governing national forest lands and resources. LEOs also enforce some or all state laws on National Forest Lands. As part of that mission, LEOs carry firearms, defensive equipment, make arrests, execute search warrants , complete reports, and testify in court. They establish
1936-435: Is an astronomical observatory in Los Angeles County, California , United States. The MWO is located on Mount Wilson , a 5,710-foot (1,740-meter) peak in the San Gabriel Mountains near Pasadena , northeast of Los Angeles. The observatory contains two historically important telescopes: the 100-inch (2.5 m) Hooker telescope , which was the largest aperture telescope in the world from its completion in 1917 to 1949, and
2057-472: Is an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands covering 193 million acres (780,000 km ) of land. The major divisions of the agency are the Chief's Office, National Forest System, State and Private Forestry, Business Operations, as well as Research and Development. The agency manages about 25% of federal lands and
2178-434: Is currently used in the bent Cassegrain configuration. It became one of the most productive and successful telescopes in astronomical history. Its design and light-gathering power allowed the pioneering of spectroscopic analysis, parallax measurements, nebula photography, and photometric photography. Though surpassed in size by the § 100-inch Hooker telescope nine years later, the 60-inch telescope remained one of
2299-633: Is expanding. The Hooker's reign of three decades as the largest telescope came to an end when the Caltech -Carnegie consortium completed its 200-inch (5.1 m) Hale Telescope at Palomar Observatory , 144 km south, in San Diego County, California . The Hale Telescope saw first light in January 1949. By the 1980s, the focus of astronomy research had turned to deep space observation, which required darker skies than what could be found in
2420-567: Is mostly used by undergraduate students who get hands-on training in solar physics and spectroscopy. It was also used publicly for the May 9, 2016 transit of Mercury across the face of the Sun. The 60-foot (18 m) Solar Tower soon built on the work started at the Snow telescope. At its completion in 1908, the vertical tower design of the 60-foot focal length solar telescope allowed much higher resolution of
2541-433: Is still used for solar research. The Snow Solar Telescope was the first telescope installed at the fledgling Mount Wilson Solar Observatory. It was the world's first permanently mounted solar telescope. Solar telescopes had previously been portable so they could be taken to solar eclipses around the world. The telescope was donated to Yerkes Observatory by Helen Snow of Chicago. George Ellery Hale, then director of Yerkes, had
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#17327723590502662-758: Is that the National Park Service was created in 1916 to manage Yellowstone and several other parks; in 1956, the Fish and Wildlife Service became the manager of lands reserved for wildlife. The Grazing Service and the United States General Land Office were combined to create the Bureau of Land Management in 1946. Also of note was that it was not until 1976 that the Federal Land Policy and Management Act became
2783-501: Is the sole major national land management agency not part of the U.S. Department of the Interior (which manages the National Park Service , the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Land Management ). The concept of national forests was born from Theodore Roosevelt 's conservation group, Boone and Crockett Club , due to concerns regarding Yellowstone National Park beginning as early as 1875. In 1876, Congress formed
2904-467: Is typified by the secularization of the Mission system, and the appearance of large land grants, called Ranchos. The major activities involved livestock and farming, and peripheral areas were regularly involved in these activities, as vaqueros sought out timber, water, prey, sport, and stray cattle and horses. Use of the highlands may have included seasonal livestock grazing, utilizing some of the springs in
3025-521: The 60-inch telescope which was the largest operational telescope in the world when it was completed in 1908. It also contains the Snow solar telescope completed in 1905, the 60 foot (18 m) solar tower completed in 1908, the 150 foot (46 m) solar tower completed in 1912, and the CHARA array , built by Georgia State University , which became fully operational in 2004 and was the largest optical interferometer in
3146-607: The Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act , P.L. 95-313; and the Forest and Rangelands Renewable Resources Planning Act , P.L. 95-307. From the early 1900s to the present, there has been a fierce rivalry over control of forests between the Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior. Their roles overlap but numerous proposals to combine the two have failed. Most recently, in 2009,
3267-498: The Government Accountability Office (GAO) evaluated whether the Forest Service should be moved from the Department of Agriculture to the Department of the Interior, which already manages some 438 million acres (1,770,000 km ) of public land through the National Park Service , the Fish and Wildlife Service , and the Bureau of Land Management . GAO ultimately did not offer a recommendation upon
3388-487: The Mount Wilson Observatory atop Mt. Wilson . The site includes two telescopes, two solar towers, and transmitters for 22 television stations, several FM radio stations, and police and fire department emergency channels. Although the fire scorched one side of the outhouse at amateur-owned Stony Ridge Observatory, six miles northeast of Mt. Wilson, aside from minor damage from smoke and ash infiltration,
3509-663: The Tongass National Forest in Alaska and ski areas such as Alta, Utah in the Wasatch-Cache National Forest . In addition, the Forest Service is responsible for managing National Grasslands in the midwest. Furthermore, areas designated as wilderness by acts of Congress , prohibit logging, mining, road and building construction and land leases for purposes of farming and or livestock grazing. Since 1978, several Presidents have directed
3630-631: The Yerkes Observatory , then the world's largest telescope. The Mount Wilson Solar Observatory was first funded by the Carnegie Institution of Washington in 1904, leasing the land from the owners of the Mount Wilson Hotel in 1904. Among the conditions of the lease was that it allow public access. There are three solar telescopes at Mount Wilson Observatory. Just one of these telescopes, the 60-foot Solar Tower,
3751-399: The 195 million acres (790,000 km ) of public land administered by the Forest Service. Individual sites range from 47 to 22,500 ha in size. Operations of Experimental Forests and Ranges are directed by local research teams for the individual sites, by Research Stations for the regions in which they are located, and at the level of the Forest Service. Major themes in research at
Angeles National Forest - Misplaced Pages Continue
3872-490: The Angeles National Forest are sparse, Radiocarbon dates of 7675 and 7600 years Before Present (BP), taken from a cooking feature in one of the northern drainages of the San Gabriel Mountains, are the oldest known from the central Transverse Ranges. Early material culture indicates extensive use of grinding implements to process small seeds, supplemented by hunting activities. Numerous cogged stones are also found within sites of this period, indicating ceremonial activities. During
3993-480: The Angeles National Forest indicates a marked increase in regional population. Village provinces, composed of politically and economically-aligned villages may have existed during this period. Subsistence efforts in the mountains appear to focus on hunting, marked by the appearance of the bow and arrow. Greater regional interaction is marked by an increase in non-local materials, indicative of widespread interregional trade networks. The first reported European contact for
4114-476: The Angeles National Forest. It quickly burned through much of the eastern portion of the forest and the Sheep Mountain Wilderness . On September 10, it crossed into San Bernardino County after seeing rapid growth. Evacuation orders were prompted for Mount Baldy Village and Wrightwood as the fire approached the communities. The fire caused the Angeles National Forest to order closures for
4235-563: The Carnegie Institution to build an observatory. Grinding began in 1905 and took two years. The mounting and structure for the telescope was built in San Francisco and barely survived the 1906 earthquake . Transporting the pieces to the top of Mount Wilson was an enormous task. First light was December 8, 1908. It was, at the time, the largest operational telescope in the world. Lord Rosse's Leviathan of Parsonstown ,
4356-439: The Chief. Research stations include Northern, Pacific Northwest, Pacific Southwest, Rocky Mountain , and Southern . There are 92 research work units located at 67 sites throughout the United States. there are 80 Experimental Forests and Ranges that have been established progressively since 1908; many sites are more than 50 years old. The system provides places for long-term science and management studies in major vegetation types of
4477-478: The Department of Agriculture, the Forest Service receives its budget through the Subcommittee on Appropriations—Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies. The Forest Service achieved widespread awareness during the 1960s, as it became the setting for the long running classic TV show Lassie , with storylines focusing on Lassie's adventures with various forest rangers. The iconic collie's association with
4598-486: The Experimental Forests and Ranges includes: develop of systems for managing and restoring forests, range lands, and watersheds; investigate the workings of forest and stream ecosystems; characterize plant and animal communities; observe and interpret long-term environmental change and many other themes. There are nine regions in the Forest Service; numbered 1 through 10 (Region 7 was eliminated in 1965 when
4719-536: The FY 2019 Annualized Continuing Resolution includes $ 500 million above the base as bridge to the first year of the fire fix. The Forest Service, headquartered in Washington, D.C., has 27,062 permanent, full-time employees as of Sept. 20, 2018, including 541 in the headquarters office and 26,521 in regional and field office. The USDA Forest Service's mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of
4840-478: The Forest Service adapt current policies and develop new policies and actions to conserve and manage the national forests and grasslands for climate resilience, so that the Agency can provide for ecological integrity and support social and economic sustainability over time?" Ancillary questions pertained to both "adaptation planning" and "adaptation practices". The background section of the proposed rulemaking includes
4961-768: The Forest Service and other statutes under the United States Code . Special agents are normally plainclothes officers who carry concealed firearms, and other defensive equipment, make arrests, carry out complex criminal investigations, present cases for prosecution to U.S. Attorneys , and prepare investigative reports. All field agents are required to travel a great deal and usually maintain a case load of ten to fifteen ongoing criminal investigations at one time. Criminal investigators occasionally conduct internal and civil claim investigations. The 193 million acres (780,000 km ) of public land that are managed as national forests and grasslands are collectively known as
Angeles National Forest - Misplaced Pages Continue
5082-446: The Forest Service balances resource extraction, resource protection, and providing recreation. The work includes managing 193 million acres (780,000 km ) of national forest and grasslands, including 59 million acres (240,000 km ) of roadless areas ; 14,077 recreation sites; 143,346 miles (230,693 km) of trails; 374,883 miles (603,316 km) of roads; and the harvesting of 1.5 billion trees per year. Further,
5203-502: The Forest Service fought fires on 2.996 million acres (12,120 km ) of land in 2007. The Forest Service organization includes ranger districts, national forests, regions, research stations and research work units and the Northeastern Area Office for State and Private Forestry. Each level has responsibility for a variety of functions. The Chief of the Forest Service is a career federal employee who oversees
5324-401: The Forest Service led to Lassie receiving numerous awards and citations from the U.S. Senate and the Department of Agriculture, and was partly responsible for a bill regarding soil and water pollution that was signed into law in early 1968 by President Lyndon Johnson , which was dubbed by some as "The Lassie Program". In the 2019 family comedy movie Playing With Fire , John Cena plays
5445-502: The Forest boundaries in the forms of homesteads and resorts in the southern section, and, in the less steep northern section, ranches and homesteads. In 1891, the first homestead was filed in the Big Tujunga Canyon area, and others soon followed. Homestead patents were established throughout the range, with the last being granted on the Angeles National Forest in 1938. A number of resorts and camps sprang up, and these supported
5566-523: The Hooker telescope was equipped with a special attachment, a 6-meter optical astronomical interferometer developed by Albert A. Michelson , much larger than the one he had used to measure Jupiter's satellites. Michelson was able to use the equipment to determine the precise diameter of stars, such as Betelgeuse , the first time the size of a star had ever been measured. Henry Norris Russell developed his star classification system based on observations using
5687-476: The Hooker. In 1935 the silver coating used since 1917 on the Hooker mirror was replaced with a more modern and longer lasting aluminum coating that reflected 50% more light than the older silver coating. The newer method of coating for the telescope mirrors was first tested on the older 1.5 meter mirror. Edwin Hubble performed many critical calculations from work on the Hooker telescope. In 1923, Hubble discovered
5808-692: The Interior . In 1901, the Division of Forestry was renamed the Bureau of Forestry . The Transfer Act of 1905 transferred the management of forest reserves from the United States General Land Office of the Interior Department to the Bureau of Forestry, henceforth known as the United States Forest Service . Gifford Pinchot was the first United States Chief Forester in the Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt . A historical note to include
5929-609: The Library of Congress. Kohne and Tsan worked together to create the series, which has run every concert season except for a break during the Covid-19 pandemic . Given that the observatory is no longer able to do significant research due to light pollution, it receives no scientific funding; the concerts therefore provide a significant portion of the budget needed to maintain the observatory as an historic landmark, along with ticketed events such as public viewing nights. The observatory
6050-558: The Los Angeles area, due to the ever-increasing problem of light pollution . In 1989, the Carnegie Institution , which ran the observatory, handed it over to the non-profit Mount Wilson Institute. At that time, the 2.5-meter telescope was deactivated, but it was restarted in 1992 and in 1995 it was outfitted with a visible light adaptive optics system and later in 1997, it hosted the UnISIS, laser guide star adaptive optics system. As
6171-535: The Middle Period (5000 BP to 800 BP), sites generally indicate an increase in population and broadening of the resource base in response to population pressure and resource stress. This period is represented by a large array of specialized subsistence sites, characterized as villages, base camps, food processing and procurement sites, special use sites, rockshelters, pictographs, ovens, and cemeteries. A Late Period (800 BP to AD 1769) proliferation of sites within
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#17327723590506292-457: The Milky Way galaxy, and that several nebulae were millions of light-years away. He then showed that the universe was expanding . Once the sixty-inch telescope project was well underway, Hale immediately set about creating a larger telescope. John D. Hooker provided crucial funding of $ 45,000 for the purchase and grinding of the mirror, while Andrew Carnegie provided funds to complete
6413-521: The Nation's forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. Its motto is "Caring for the land and serving people." As the lead federal agency in natural resource conservation, the Forest Service provides leadership in the protection, management, and use of the nation's forest, rangeland, and aquatic ecosystems. The agency's ecosystem approach to management integrates ecological, economic, and social factors to maintain and enhance
6534-582: The National Forest System. These lands are located in 44 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands and comprise about 9% of the total land area in the United States. The lands are organized into 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The mission of the National Forest System is to protect and manage the forest lands so they best demonstrate the sustainable multiple-use management concept, using an ecological approach, to meet
6655-592: The Saint Francis Dam Disaster National Memorial and Saint Francis Dam Disaster National Monument at and around the ruins of the St. Francis Dam in the Forest's San Francisquito Canyon . The Angeles National Forest contains five nationally designated wilderness areas . Two of these also extend into neighboring San Bernardino National Forest : Early Native American cultural sites in the inland mountain regions corresponding with
6776-750: The San Gabriel Timberland Reserve was created by President Harrison. The creation of the Reserve, which was the forerunner of the Angeles, was in response to public concern about watershed values as early as 1883. Floods resulting from fire denuded slopes were causing problems with the lowland populations. In 1905, the Reserves were transferred from the Department of the Interior to the Department of Agriculture, and renamed National Forest in 1907. The San Gabriel National Forest consisted of
6897-470: The Sun published in early 2007. A 61 cm telescope fitted with an infrared detector purchased from a military contractor was used by Eric Becklin in 1966 to determine the center of the Milky Way for the first time. In 1968, the first large-area near-IR (2.2 μm) survey of the sky was conducted by Gerry Neugebauer and Robert B. Leighton using a 157 cm reflecting dish they had built in
7018-538: The USFS to administer National Monuments inside of preexisting National Forests. The Forest Service also manages Grey Towers National Historic Site in Milford, Pennsylvania , the home and estate of its first Chief, Gifford Pinchot . By 1935, the U.S. Forest Service's fire management policy stipulated that all wildfires were to be suppressed by 10 am the morning after they were first spotted. In August 1944, to reduce
7139-485: The agency would have to put $ 400 to $ 500 million in wildfire prevention projects on hold because funding for firefighting was running low as the fiscal year ended. The decision was meant to preserve resources for fighting active fires burning in California, Oregon, Washington and Idaho. Politicians of both parties indicated they believed the then-current funding structure was broken, but did not agree on steps to fix
7260-646: The agency. The Chief reports to the Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, an appointee of the President confirmed by the Senate. The Chief's staff provides broad policy and direction for the agency, works with the Administration to develop a budget to submit to Congress, provides information to Congress on accomplishments, and monitors activities of
7381-642: The agency. There are five deputy chiefs for the following areas: National Forest System, State and Private Forestry, Research and Development, Business Operations, and Finance. The Forest Service Research and Development deputy area includes five research stations, the Forest Products Laboratory , and the International Institute of Tropical Forestry , in Puerto Rico. Station directors, like regional foresters, report to
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#17327723590507502-450: The area of the Angeles was in 1769 when the expedition of Gaspar de Portola traveled through the neighboring valleys on his way to Monterey. Early non-Native American use of the Forest centered on early explorers traveling through the area, while early land grants, missions, and townsites surrounded the Forest area. The construction of the missions of San Gabriel Archangel (1771) and San Fernando Rey de España (1797) cemented Spanish presence in
7623-500: The area. It was during this period that gold was discovered in Placerita Canyon, in 1842, the first authenticated discovery of gold in California. It started California's "first" gold rush. Soon after the later discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill in 1848, and subsequent conflict between the United States and Mexico, California became part of the United States. Almost immediately large numbers of American migrants began crossing
7744-513: The civilian conversion. The telescope is used for public outreach as the second largest telescope in the world devoted to the general public. Custom made 10 cm eyepieces are fitted to its focus using the bent cassegrain configuration to provide views of the Moon, planetary, and deep-sky objects. Groups may book the telescope for an evening of observing. The 100-inch (2.5 m) Hooker telescope located at Mount Wilson Observatory , California,
7865-437: The conclusion of its performance audit . The Forest Service remains a part of the USDA. As of 2019, FY 2020 Forest Service total budget authority is $ 5.14 billion, a decrease of $ 815 million from 2019. The budget includes $ 2.4 billion for Wildland Fire Management, a decrease of $ 530 million from the 2019 Annualized Continuing Resolution because the "fire fix" cap adjustment becomes available in FY 2020, while
7986-823: The construction of the Plaza Church in El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula (now just ‘Los Angeles’). It has also been said that timbers for the San Fernando Mission came from the Tujunga Canyons, and for the San Gabriel Mission came from Little Icehouse Canyon and Little Santa Anita Canyon. With the Independence of Mexico in 1821, the area of the Forest came under Mexican control. The Mexican Period
8107-633: The current Eastern Region was created from the former Eastern and North Central regions. ). Each encompasses a broad geographic area and is headed by a regional forester who reports directly to the Chief. The regional forester has broad responsibility for coordinating activities among the various forests within the region, for providing overall leadership for regional natural resource and social programs, and for coordinated regional land use planning. The Forest Service oversees 155 national forests, 20 grasslands, and one tall-grass prairie. Each administrative unit typically comprises several ranger districts, under
8228-443: The desert. Merchants and landowners settled in communities throughout the southern California region. Miners poured into the mountains primarily following original and modified Indian trails. Large placer and lode mining operations were established in the San Gabriels, with mixed success. Although the mountains were honeycombed with quartz veins, and a host of small mines were gouged out of the slopes in an attempt to strike gold, many of
8349-439: The diverse needs of people. The goal of the State and Private Forestry program is to assist with financial and technical assistance to private landowners, state agencies, tribes, and community resource managers. It provides assistance by helping sustain the United States' urban and rural forests and their associated communities from wildland fires, insects, disease, and invasive organisms. Approximately 537 staff are employed in
8470-401: The dome. The idea to use the dome as a venue for live music originated in 2017 from a conversation between Dan Kohne, a board member of the Mt. Wilson Institute, and Cécilia Tsan, an internationally recognized cellist. Tsan agreed that the acoustics in the dome were "extraordinary", comparable to such world-renowned venues as the Palais Garnier (Opéra de Paris) and the Coolidge Auditorium at
8591-425: The early 1960s. Known as the Caltech Infrared Telescope , it operated in an unguided drift scanning mode using a lead(II) sulfide (PbS) photomultiplier read out on paper charts. The telescope is now on display at the Udvar-Hazy Center , part of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum . On one Sunday each month during the warmer months of the year, Mt. Wilson Observatory hosts a chamber music or jazz concert in
8712-436: The end of the 100-inch telescope and used the telescope as a guiding platform to maintain alignment with the stars being studied. By December 1920, Michelson and Pease were able to use the equipment to determine the precise diameter of a star, the red giant Betelgeuse, the first time the angular size of a star had ever been measured. In the next year, Michelson and Pease measured the diameters of six more red giants before reaching
8833-761: The fire's effect on dormant seeds, that lasted for several years. The plant produces prolific lavender flowers. Unfortunately, as visitors to the Forest discovered, contact with it may cause a poison-oak-like rash. Tree species for which the forest is important include bigcone Douglas-fir ( Pseudotsuga macrocarpa ), Coulter pine ( Pinus coulteri ), and California walnut ( Juglans californica ). The National Forest also contains some 29,000 acres (12,000 ha) of old growth , with Jeffrey pine ( Pinus jeffreyi ) forests, as well as mixed conifer forests (with Coast Douglas-fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii ), ponderosa pine ( Pinus ponderosa ), white fir ( Abies concolor ), and lodgepole pine ( Pinus contorta ) being
8954-400: The first Cepheid variable in the spiral nebula of Andromeda using the 2.5-meter telescope. This discovery allowed him to calculate the distance to the spiral nebula of Andromeda and show that it was actually a galaxy outside the Milky Way . Hubble, assisted by Milton L. Humason , observed the magnitude of the redshift in many galaxies and published a paper in 1929 that showed the universe
9075-435: The forest is diverse, both in appearance and terrain. Elevations range from 1,200 to 10,064 ft (366 to 3,068 m). The Pacific Crest Trail crosses the forest. Much of this National Forest is covered with dense chaparral shrub forests with oak woodlands , which changes to pine and fir-covered slopes in the higher elevations. Subsequent to the fire there was a heavy growth of poodle-dog bush , apparently triggered by
9196-521: The forests. These values and resources include grazing , timber , mining , recreation , wildlife habitat, and wilderness . Because of continuing development elsewhere, the large size of National Forests have made them de facto wildlife reserves for a number of rare and common species. In recent decades, the importance of mature forest for the spotted owl and a number of other species led to great changes in timber harvest levels. Mount Wilson Observatory The Mount Wilson Observatory ( MWO )
9317-592: The former Santa Barbara and San Gabriel National Forests . Angeles National Forest headquarters are located in Arcadia, California . The Angeles National Forest covers a total of 700,176 acres (1,094.0 sq mi; 2,833.5 km), protecting large areas of the San Gabriel Mountains and Sierra Pelona Mountains . It is located just north of the densely inhabited metropolitan area of Greater Los Angeles . While primarily within Los Angeles County,
9438-544: The funding allocation. During the 2019–2020 bushfires in Australia, the US Forest Services sent a contingent of firefighters. They worked alongside firefighters from other American fire departments. In April 2023, the U.S. Forest Service published a proposed rulemaking in response to climate change on the topic of improving climate resilience on the public lands that it manages. The agency introduced
9559-825: The future. The report is entitled "Managing the Impacts of Wildfire on Communities and the Environment: A Report to the President In Response to the Wildfires of 2000"—The National Fire Plan for short. The National Fire Plan continues to be an integral part of the Forest Service today. The following are important operational features of the National Fire Plan: In August 2014, Tom Vilsack, the Secretary of Agriculture, announced that
9680-572: The ground floor. It was first completed in 1910, but unsatisfactory optics caused a two-year delay before a suitable doublet lens was installed. Research included solar rotation, sunspot polarities, daily sunspot drawings , and many magnetic field studies. The solar telescope would be the world's largest for 50 years until the McMath-Pierce Solar telescope was completed at Kitt Peak in Arizona in 1962. In 1985, UCLA took over operation of
9801-531: The incident. The fire was brought under control at 1:00 p.m. on 2 November, having burned 2,028 acres (8.21 km). In the Station Fire, more than 161,000 acres (650 km) of the forest were burned by an arson fire that began on August 26, 2009, near Angeles Crest Highway in La Cañada and quickly spread, fueled by dry brush that had not burned for over 150 years. The fire burned for more than
9922-411: The increasing numbers of hikers and campers who forged into the wilderness. In 1889, the first telescope made its arduous journey up to the summit of Mt. Wilson. A small observatory of canvas and wood, run by Harvard and USC astronomers, was later replaced in 1904 by the more famous institution run by George Ellery Hale. Mount Wilson Observatory would quickly rise to dominate astronomy worldwide. It
10043-657: The largest in use for decades. In 1992, the 60-inch telescope was fitted with an early adaptive optics system, the Atmospheric Compensation Experiment (ACE). The 69-channel system improved the potential resolving power of the telescope from 0.5 to 1.0 arc sec to 0.07 arc sec. ACE was developed by DARPA for the Strategic Defense Initiative system, and the National Science Foundation funded
10164-453: The light in phase as the Earth rotates. CHARA began scientific use in 2002 and "routine operations" in early 2004. In the infrared, the integrated image can resolve down to 0.0005 arcseconds. Six telescopes are in regular use for scientific observations and as of late 2005 imaging results are routinely acquired. The array captured the first image of the surface of a main sequence star other than
10285-534: The limit of the available technology and it took about thirty years for faster computing, electronic detectors and lasers to make larger interferometers possible again. The Infrared Spatial Interferometer (ISI), run by an arm of the University of California, Berkeley , is an array of three 1.65 meter telescopes operating in the mid-infrared. The telescopes are fully mobile and their current site on Mount Wilson allows for placements as far as 70 meters apart, giving
10406-587: The lowlands but relied heavily on the mountains for water, building supplies, and game. By 1800, local Native American traditional cultural lifestyles of had largely disappeared due to devastating European influences, including diseases and incorporation into the Mission System. The first documented instance of timber activity in the local mountains was in 1819 when Joseph Chapman cut down timber in Millard Canyon (also called Church Canyon) for use in
10527-407: The mid infrared. The Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy (CHARA), built and operated by Georgia State University , is an interferometer formed from six 1 meter telescopes arranged along three axes with a maximum separation of 330 m. The light beams travel through vacuum pipes and are delayed and combined optically, requiring a building 100 meters long with movable mirrors on carts to keep
10648-623: The most abundant trees). This forest is home to black bears , gray foxes , bobcats , mountain lions , mule deer , bighorn sheep , rattlesnakes and coyotes . A National Forest Adventure Pass is required for parking at many locations in the Angeles National Forest and other National Forests in Southern California , and this can be obtained online or from visitor centers and local merchants. Los Angeles County has declared that passes are not required on county-maintained roads. There are also many other areas that do not require
10769-616: The most widely recognized slogans in the United States. According to the Advertising Council , Smokey Bear is the most recognized icons in advertising history and has appeared almost everywhere via Public Service Announcements in print, radio, television. Smokey Bear, an icon protected by law, is jointly owned by the Forest Service, the Ad Council and the National Association of State Foresters . In 1965, at
10890-835: The national policy for retaining public land for federal ownership. Significant federal legislation affecting the Forest Service includes the Weeks Act of 1911, the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934 , P.L. 73-482; the Multiple Use – Sustained Yield Act of 1960 , P.L. 86-517; the Wilderness Act , P.L. 88-577; the National Forest Management Act , P.L. 94-588; the National Environmental Policy Act , P.L. 91–190;
11011-614: The need for such rulemaking as: Climate change and related stressors, such as wildfire, drought, insects and disease, extreme weather events, and chronic stress on ecosystems are resulting in increasing impacts with rapid and variable rates of change on national forests and grasslands. These impacts can be compounded by fire suppression, development in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI), and non-climate informed timber harvest and reforestation practices. The foundational question pertained to climate adaptation : "How should
11132-543: The number of forest fires , the Forest Service and the Wartime Advertising Council began distributing fire education posters featuring a black bear . The poster campaign was a success; the black bear would later be named Smokey Bear , and would, for decades, be the "spokesbear" for the Forest Service. Smokey Bear has appeared in innumerable TV commercials; his popular catch phrase, "Only YOU can prevent forest fires"—later changed to wildfires—is one of
11253-458: The office of Special Agent in the Department of Agriculture to assess the quality and conditions of forests in the United States. Franklin B. Hough was appointed the head of the office. In 1881, the office was expanded into the newly formed Division of Forestry . The Forest Reserve Act of 1891 authorized withdrawing land from the public domain as forest reserves managed by the Department of
11374-426: The overall direction of a forest supervisor. Within the supervisor's office, the staff coordinates activities among districts, allocates the budget, and provides technical support to each district. Forest supervisors are line officers and report to regional foresters. The administration of individual National Forests is subdivided into Ranger Districts. The Forest Service has over 600 ranger districts. Each district has
11495-516: The pass. Mountains within the Angeles National Forest include: All the above mountains are part of the San Gabriel Mountains , except for Burnt Peak, which is in the Sierra Pelona Mountains . The California Historical Landmark Marker NO. 717 at San Gabriel Mountain, Clear Creek vista point, State Hwy 2, 8.3 mi N of I-210, La Canada reads: United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service ( USFS )
11616-473: The program and is administered through National Forest System regions and the Northeastern Area of the United States. The research and development (R&D) arm of the Forest Service works to improve the health and use of the United States' forests and grasslands . Research has been part of the Forest Service mission since the agency's inception in 1905. Today, Forest Service researchers work in
11737-418: The quality of the environment to meet current and future needs. Through implementation of land and resource management plans, the agency ensures sustainable ecosystems by restoring and maintaining species diversity and ecological productivity that helps provide recreation, water, timber, minerals, fish, wildlife, wilderness, and aesthetic values for current and future generations of people. The everyday work of
11858-402: The region. In the first two decades of the 19th Century, the Mission System drew in large numbers of Indian neophytes for baptism, completely changing the cultural landscape of the area. A number of subordinate Missions, or Estancias, were built with native labor as outposts to serve as mission-affiliated ranchos, overseeing localized operations. The Spanish Missions generally occupied the lands in
11979-549: The remainder of the observatory and its historic 30-inch Carroll telescope survived. In September and October 2020, the Bobcat Fire burned 115,796 acres (180.931 sq mi) (468 km) in the central San Gabriel Mountains of the Angeles National Forest. It was one of the largest wildfires in Los Angeles County history. On September 8, 2024, the Bridge Fire broke out near East Fork and Glendora Mountain roads in
12100-751: The request of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , the Forest Service was commissioned by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) to research the use of forest fire as a military weapon. A report was published in June 1970 and declassified in May 1983. In September 2000, the Departments of Agriculture and the Interior developed a plan to respond to the fires of 2000, to reduce the impacts of these wildland fires on rural communities, and to ensure sufficient firefighting resources in
12221-439: The resolution limit of the 20-foot beam interferometer. To expand on the work of the 20-foot interferometer, Pease, Michelson and George E. Hale designed a 50-foot interferometer which was installed at Mount Wilson Observatory in 1929. It successfully measured the diameter of Betelgeuse, but, other than beta Andromedae, could not measure any stars not already measured by the 20-foot interferometer. Optical interferometry reached
12342-403: The resolution of a telescope of that diameter. The signals are converted to radio frequencies through heterodyne circuits and then combined electronically using techniques copied from radio astronomy . The longest, 70-meter baseline provides a resolution of 0.003 arcsec at a wavelength of 11 micrometers. On July 9, 2003, ISI recorded the first closure phase aperture synthesis measurements in
12463-413: The solar image and spectrum than the Snow telescope could achieve. The higher resolution came from situating the optics higher above the ground, thereby avoiding the distortion caused by the heating of the ground by the Sun. On June 25, 1908, Hale would record Zeeman splitting in the spectrum of a sunspot, showing for the first time that magnetic fields existed somewhere besides the Earth. A later discovery
12584-444: The solar tower design with its tower-in-a-tower design. (The tower is actually 176 feet (54 m) tall.) An inner tower supports the optics above, while an outer tower, which completely surrounds the inner tower, supports the dome and floors around the optics. This design allowed complete isolation of the optics from the effect of wind swaying the tower. Two mirrors feed sunlight to a 12-inch (30 cm) lens which focuses light down at
12705-534: The solar tower from the Carnegie Observatories after they decided to stop funding the observatory. For the 60-inch telescope, George Ellery Hale received the 60-inch (1.5 m) mirror blank, cast by Saint-Gobain in France, in 1896 as a gift from his father, William Hale. It was a glass disk 19 cm thick and weighing 860 kg. However it was not until 1904 that Hale received funding from
12826-723: The southern section of the present day Angeles and portions of the San Bernardino Forest. In 1908, the name was changed to Angeles National Forest. In 1926, the eastern area was divided and San Bernardino National Forest recreated. At this time, the Saugus (now part of the Santa Clara-Mojave Rivers Ranger District) was detached from the Santa Barbara Reserve and joined with the Angeles. The San Gabriel Forest Reserve
12947-415: The telescope and dome. The Saint-Gobain factory was again chosen to cast a blank in 1906, which it completed in 1908. After considerable trouble over the blank (and potential replacements), the Hooker telescope was completed and saw "first light" on November 2, 1917. As with the sixty-inch telescope, the bearings are assisted by the use of mercury floats to support the 100 ton weight of the telescope. In 1919
13068-501: The telescope brought to Mount Wilson to put it into service as a proper scientific instrument. Its 24-inch (61 cm) primary mirror with a 60-foot (18 m) focal length, coupled with a spectrograph, did groundbreaking work on the spectra of sunspots, doppler shift of the rotating solar disc and daily solar images in several wavelengths. Stellar research soon followed as the brightest stars could have their spectra recorded with very long exposures on glass plates. The Snow solar telescope
13189-410: The use of multiple viewing points to increase resolution enough to allow for the direct measurement of details such as star diameters. The first of these interferometers was the 20-foot Stellar Interferometer. In 1919 the 100-inch Hooker telescope was equipped with a special attachment, a 20-foot optical astronomical interferometer developed by Albert A. Michelson and Francis G. Pease. It was attached to
13310-464: The use of the telescope for scientific work diminished again, a decision was made to convert it to use for visual observing. Because of the high position of the Cassegrain focus above the observing floor, a system of mirrors and lenses was developed to allow viewing from a position at the bottom of the telescope tube. With the conversion completed in 2014, the 2.5 meter telescope began its new life as
13431-622: The venture. In its height at the turn of the century, the Mount Lowe Railway was the most popular tourist attraction in California, comparable to a modern-day Disneyland. In its 43 year history, it saw over three million recorded visitors. In 1938, the most destructive rainstorm in recent memory washed away so much of the track that the railway was abandoned. Much of the ruins of the Mt Lowe Railway are still accessible above Pasadena for interpretive hikes. On December 20, 1892,
13552-439: The ventures were inactive by 1896. The last flurries of serious mining in the region largely ended by the late 1930s. Building of major roads began in the 1850s and railroads passed through Soledad Canyon and Cajon Pass a short time later. Don Benito Wilson, in 1864, built a road into the Forest to harvest wood for fence posts, wine barrels, pickets and shingles. With the majority of Forest composed of chaparral, timber has not played
13673-481: The world at its completion. Due to the inversion layer that traps warm air and smog over Los Angeles, Mount Wilson has steadier air than any other location in North America, making it ideal for astronomy and in particular for interferometry . The increasing light pollution due to the growth of greater Los Angeles has limited the ability of the observatory to engage in deep space astronomy, but it remains
13794-410: The world's largest telescope dedicated to public use. Regularly scheduled observing began with the 2015 observing season. The telescope has a resolving power of 0.05 arcsecond . Astronomical interferometry has a rich history at Mount Wilson. No fewer than seven interferometers have been located here. The reason for this is the extremely steady air over Mount Wilson is well suited to interferometry,
13915-399: The world. The program also promotes sustainable land management overseas and brings important technologies and innovations back to the United States. The program focuses on conserving key natural resource in cooperation with countries across the world. Although a large volume of timber is logged every year, not all National Forests are entirely forested. There are tidewater glaciers in
14036-763: Was a movement to create the Sierra Madre National Park, but that never occurred. On September 30, 1925, portions of the Angeles National Forest and the Cleveland National Forest were detached to re-establish the San Bernardino National Forest . Angeles National Forest is registered as California Historical Landmark #717, for being the first National Forest in the state. The campgrounds at Broken Blade, Twisted Arrow and Pima Loops were closed on July 26, 2013, after squirrel infected with bubonic plague
14157-470: Was completed in 1917, and was the world's largest telescope until 1949. It is one of the most famous telescopes in observational astronomy of the 20th century. It was used by Edwin Hubble to make observations with which he produced two fundamental results which changed the scientific view of the Universe. Using observations he made in 1922–1923, Hubble was able to prove that the Universe extends beyond
14278-477: Was discovered. On 1 November 1966, a fire started at 5:19 a.m. on the Los Pinetos Nike Site (LA-94). The fire spread, threatening medical facilities and residential areas south edge of the national forest. 12 firefighters with United States Forest Service 's El Cariso "Hot Shot" crew were killed when they were caught in a flare up in a canyon. 11 more firefighters were seriously burned in
14399-672: Was established on December 20, 1892, the San Bernardino Forest Reserve was established on February 25, 1893, and the Santa Barbara Forest Reserve was established on December 22, 1903. Together, they became National Forests on March 4, 1907, and they were combined on July 1, 1908, with all of the San Bernardino forest and portions of San Gabriel forest and Santa Barbara forest composing the new Angeles National Forest. In 1916, there
14520-528: Was home to the world's two largest telescopes as well as the most powerful facilities in existence for studying the sun. In 1891, preliminary work began on an electric cable incline railway from Rubio Canyon to Echo Mountain, a feat never before attempted in the world. Professor Thaddeus S. C. Lowe, an energetic entrepreneur who had garnered fame in the Civil War by ballooning for the Union Army, undertook
14641-464: Was of the reversed polarity in sunspots of the new solar cycle of 1912. The success of the 60-foot Tower prompted Hale to pursue yet another, taller tower telescope. In the 1960s, Robert Leighton discovered the Sun had a 5-minute oscillation and the field of helioseismology was born. The 60-foot Tower is operated by the Department of Physics and Astronomy at University of Southern California . The 150-foot (46 m) focal length solar tower expanded on
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