Cleveland National Forest

IUCN Category VI - Protected Area with Sustainable Use of Natural Resources

View from the Laguna Mountain

The Cleveland National Forest is a U.S. National Forest, located in the three counties of San Diego County, Riverside County and Orange County in Southern California. It covers an area of ​​about 1900 square kilometers and is the southernmost National forest of California. The climate is mostly dry Mediterranean. Manages and oversees the forest is from the United States Forest Service, a Ministry of Agriculture of the United States belonging to state authority. It is divided into three Ranger Districts Descanso, Palomar and Trabuco.

History

The Cleveland National Forest was established on 1 July 1908. President Theodore Roosevelt ordered the merger of two existing nature reserves Trabuco Canyon National Reserve and San Jacinto National Reserve, the new National Forest was eventually named after former U.S. President Grover Cleveland. The National Forest was hit in 1889 as well as 2003 by the two largest ever forest fires California history. Both times were a large part of the natural forest and green stocks destroyed and numerous animal species and species acute risk.

Districts

The Cleveland National Forest today consists of three major administrative units:

• The north of the National Forest falls within the Trabuco Ranger District. To him belong large parts of the Santa Ana Mountains, an about 60 km long mountain range southeast of Los Angeles. The district is traversed by California State Route 74, also known as Ortega Highway and extends north to the big city center Corona.
• The middle part of the National Forest is called Paloma Ranger District, it is close to the two cities of Escondido and Ramona. It is run by the California State Route 76, which leads to the top of Palomar Mountain and hence the nickname Highway to the Stars received.
• The southern part of the National Forest Descanso Ranger District is, the east extends the city of El Cajon. Through him, the Sunrise Highway, one of the U.S. National Scenic Byways runs.

Activities

Among the most popular and most common activities within the National Forest include picnics, hiking, horseback riding, camping and road trips along the Sunrise Scenic Highway. To National Forest land includes the Corral Canyon as well as various " Wildomar Off-Highway Vehicle Areas", ie outside of Highways, which can be navigated by car. Campsites are located in all three districts and are per overnight stop if you normally designed to a size of two vehicles and six to eight people. Another attraction of the National Forest, the Mount Laguna Observatory, which is accessible from three large telescopes of the public.

In the three districts, there are a total of four so-called total reserves, ie areas that are free of human influence and left to natural development. This category of protected areas is referred to in the United States as a Wilderness Area. In the Cleveland National Forest are the Agua Tibia Wilderness, Hauser Wilderness, Pine Creek Wilderness and San Mateo Canyon Wilderness.