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Facts about the National Forests in California
Number of National Forests: 18
National Forest acres: 20,802,641
Number of Wilderness areas: 65
Number of Wilderness acres: 4,920,774
Number of Wild & Scenic Rivers: 29
Inventoried Roadless acres: 4,416,000
Miles of roads: 46,395
Miles of trails: 16,202
Recreation site visits: 35,623,000
Special Use Permits: 15,000
Family Campgrounds: 869
Group Campgrounds: 131
Ski areas: 25
Active grazing allotments: 515
Number of watersheds (5th field hydrologic units): 385
Annual water yield (in acre feet): 37,500,000
Total annual water supply of NFS in California: 35 million acre feet or 47% of the state
Wildfire acres burned and R5 Fuels Work to Reduce Wildfire Risk (select Pacific Southwest Region in upper right of screen)
National Monuments (2) in acres: 600,000
Number of Grasslands: 1
Pacific Island Partners include: State of Hawaii, American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Palau
Cultural Connections: With 109 federally recognized tribes in California, the U.S. Forest Service in the Pacific Southwest Region encompasses almost 20% of the 574 federally recognized tribes in the nation — the most of any Forest Service region. Additionally, there are over 50 more non-federally recognized tribes in the state who may also have cultural interest in our national forests. List of tribes per national forest (PDF 336 KB).
Nature's Benefits Fact Sheets
The natural infrastructure from each of California's 18 National Forests provides multiple Nature's Benefits to people and populations, plants, animals, and habitat. Find out how the California National Forest you plan to visit positively impacts your daily life! Nature's Benefit Fact Sheets