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26-553: While sometimes called a park, it is a national forest , used for logging and other limited commercial purposes in addition to recreational activities. The WMNF is the only national forest located in either New Hampshire or Maine, and is the most eastern national forest in the United States. Most of the major peaks over 4,000 feet high in New Hampshire are located in the national forest. Over 100 miles (160 km) of

52-577: A state park ), and west of the freeway includes Cannon Mountain , Kinsman Mountain and Mount Moosilauke (though the majority of Moosilauke is privately owned). East of I-93 is the largest section of the Forest, including the Presidential Range and many other ranges - most notably, the Franconia , Twin , Bond , Sandwich , Willey , and Carter-Moriah ranges. North of U.S. Route 2 is

78-735: Is a 17.2-mile-long (27.7 km) river in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and Maine in the United States . It is a tributary of the Androscoggin River , which flows east and south to the Kennebec River near the Atlantic Ocean . The Wild River rises on the north end of Black Mountain in the northern part of the town of Jackson, New Hampshire . It flows northeast off the mountain, entering

104-877: The Appalachian Trail traverses the White Mountain National Forest. In descending order of land area the forest lies in parts of Grafton , Coos , and Carroll counties in New Hampshire, and Oxford County in Maine. The Forest Supervisor's office is located in Campton and there are three ranger districts: the Pemigewasset District, with offices in Campton ; the Androscoggin District, based in Gorham ; and

130-495: The National Park Service , extraction of natural resources from national forests is permitted, and in many cases encouraged. Forest products are the resources removed and harvested from national forests. They may be for commercial or personal use such as “lumber, paper, and firewood as well as 'special forest products' such as medicinal herbs, fungi, edible fruits and nuts, and other natural products”. However,

156-662: The Saco District, based in Conway . Furthermore, there are several visitor centers , including those located at Lincoln , Campton (off Interstate 93 ), and Lincoln Woods (on the Kancamagus Highway ). The White Mountain National Forest consists of three discontinuous areas, separated by two highways: I-93 and US 2 . I-93 travels along Franconia Notch (a narrow north–south valley primarily within

182-735: The United States , national forest is a classification of protected and managed federal lands that are largely forest and woodland areas. They are owned collectively by the American people through the federal government and managed by the United States Forest Service , a division of the United States Department of Agriculture . The U.S. Forest Service is also a forestry research organization which provides financial assistance to state and local forestry industry. There are 154 national forests in

208-472: The grasslands , shrublands , and forest understory are grazed by sheep , cattle, and more recently, rising numbers of elk and mule deer due to loss of predators . Many ski resorts and summer resorts operate on leased land in national forests. National forests include 14 national monuments where resource extraction is restricted. Wild River (Androscoggin River tributary) The Wild River

234-663: The Federal Wilderness Protection Act of 1984, and its amendments. The New England Wilderness Protection Act of 2006 increased the Sandwich Range Wilderness to its present size and created the Wild River Wilderness area. Because of its beauty, its proximity to major metropolitan areas, its 1,200 miles (1,900 km) of hiking trails, 23 campgrounds, and the presence of many ski areas within or near its boundaries,

260-530: The Forest Service to identify, investigate, and protect cultural resources on lands it manages. The U.S. Forest Service also manages all of the United States national grasslands and nearly 50% of the United States national recreation areas . Land management of these areas focuses on conservation , timber harvesting , livestock grazing , watershed protection, wildlife , and recreation . Unlike national parks and other federal lands managed by

286-662: The Forest: the 27,380-acre (11,080 ha) Presidential Range / Dry River Wilderness, the 5,552-acre (2,247 ha) Great Gulf Wilderness, the 45,000-acre (18,000 ha) Pemigewasset Wilderness , the 35,800-acre (14,500 ha) Sandwich Range Wilderness, the 12,000-acre (4,900 ha) Caribou/Speckled Mountain Wilderness , and the 23,700-acre (9,600 ha) Wild River Wilderness. These areas are protected from logging and commercial industries and are used solely for recreational and scientific purposes. They were formed under

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312-654: The Hastings Lumber Company. In 1891, a railroad was built following the present Route 113 from Gilead to Hastings lumber mill on Evans Brook near its confluence with the Wild River. A row of ten houses built along the Wild River for company employees at Hastings became known as "the ten commandments". Rails extended 10 miles (16 km) up the Wild River from Hastings by 1896 with branch lines up tributaries Bull Brook, Blue Brook, Moriah Brook, Cypress Brook, and Spruce Brook. A 1903 wildfire destroyed

338-475: The United States. The Land Revision Act of 1891 , enacted during the presidency of Benjamin Harrison , allowed the president to set aside forest reserves on public lands. Harrison established 15 forest reserves containing more than 13 million acres of land. The bill was the result of concerted action by Los Angeles -area businessmen and property owners who were concerned by the harm being done to

364-553: The WMNF is one of the most visited outdoor recreation sites east of the Mississippi. Winter season lengths are projected to decline across the WMNF due to the effects of global warming , however, which is likely to continue the historic contraction and consolidation of the ski industry and threaten individual ski businesses and communities that rely on ski tourism. US Forest Service signs on hiking trails at tree line state that

390-634: The first-designated wilderness areas , and some of the largest, are on national forest lands. There are management decision conflicts between conservationists and environmentalists and natural resource extraction companies and lobbies (e.g. logging & mining) over the protection and/or use of national forest lands. These conflicts center on endangered species protection, logging of old-growth forests , intensive clear cut logging , undervalued stumpage fees, mining operations and mining claim laws, and logging/mining access roadbuilding within national forests. Additional conflicts arise from concerns that

416-585: The height of land in Evans Notch , near the former logging company town of Hastings . Maine Highway 113 follows Evans Brook and then the east bank of the Wild River from Hastings northward to the Wild River confluence with the Androscoggin River at Gilead . The Wild River is bridged by U.S. Route 2 and the St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad at Gilead. Early European settlement of the watershed

442-841: The highest output since 1997". Furthermore, President Trump signed an executive order to "establish the United States One Trillion Trees Interagency Council" in order to further the Federal Government's participation in this effort and repeal the current $ 30 million annual funding cap for the Reforestation Trust Fund. The United States national forest comprises about 132 million acres. There are 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands containing 193 million acres (297,000 mi /769 000 km ) of land. These lands comprise 8.5 percent of

468-650: The mountain summit areas have "the worst weather in America". The claim is also used by the observatory near the summit of Mount Washington which once recorded a surface wind speed of 231 miles per hour (372 km/h). Since 1849 at least 169 people have died on Mount Washington and the Presidential Range . [REDACTED] White Mountain National Forest travel guide from Wikivoyage [REDACTED] Media related to White Mountain National Forest at Wikimedia Commons United States National Forest In

494-711: The smallest section of the National Forest, covering the Pilot Range and Mount Cabot . Additionally, several other U.S. and NH State highways cross the forest, including US 3 , US 302 , NH 16 (White Mountain Highway), NH 112 (Kancamagus Highway), and NH 118 (Sawyer Highway). It is home to wildlife species including bald eagle , raccoon , beaver , white-tailed deer , moose , black bear , coyote , peregrine falcon , Canadian lynx , river otter , bobcat , gray and red foxes , fisher , mink and porcupine . Six designated Federal Wilderness Areas exist within

520-476: The south bank of the Androscoggin River and reached Gilead in 1851. The railroad bridge was the first river crossing durable enough to withstand runoff events from winter storms. Peak runoff events were similarly destructive to attempts to construct water-powered mills adjacent to the river. Construction of the road now known as Maine Highway 113 commenced in 1866. In 1882, Major Gideon Hastings obtained title to large tracts of timberland and commenced operations of

546-581: The total land area of the United States, an area about the size of Texas . About 87 percent of national forest land lies in the Western United States , mostly in mountain ranges. Alaska has 12 percent of all national forest lands. Within the national forest system, there are 1,200 sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places and 23 are National Historic Landmarks . The National Historic Preservation Act requires

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572-568: The township of Bean's Purchase , and picks up the stream outlet of No Ketchum Pond coming in from the northwest. The Wild River continues northeast through a mountain valley separating the Carter-Moriah Range to the northwest and the Baldface-Royce Range to the southeast. The river crosses the southeast corner of the town of Shelburne, New Hampshire , then enters Maine and picks up Evans Brook, flowing northerly from

598-716: The unharvested timber in the watershed. The railroad was dismantled in 1904. The lumber company land was purchased for the White Mountain National Forest between 1912 and 1918. Passage of the New England Wilderness Act in December 2006 designated 23,700 acres (9,600 ha) of the watershed as the Wild River Wilderness. In the summer and early fall, this river becomes little more than a trickle. However, it does hold native brook trout that eagerly attack small dry flies, much to

624-524: The watershed of the San Gabriel Mountains by ranchers and miners. Abbot Kinney and forester Theodore Lukens were key spokesmen for the effort. There have been multiple legislative acts to expand the scope of the national forest system, as well as shrinking it. In 2020, the Trump administration encouraged more forest products to be harvested in order to support a struggling economy. There

650-619: Was a plan to develop around 190 million acres of protected National Forests in order to increase logging, grazing, and energy resources. This would be facilitated through shrinking the rules and regulations required to get permits to conduct such business. In October 2020, the Trump administration proclaimed its goal of "strengthening markets for wood products and incentivizing innovative manufacturing techniques" and reported "The Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service sold 3.3 billion board feet of timber from national forests in fiscal year 2019 —

676-574: Was northerly up the Cold River valley from Fryeburg, Maine , through Evans Notch and then down Evans Brook to Gilead. Evans Notch and Evans Brook were named for Captain John Evans, who commanded European militia against the indigenous people of the Americas in 1781. The town of Gilead was incorporated in 1804. The Atlantic and St. Lawrence Railroad from Portland to Montreal followed

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