The Willamette National Forest is named after the Willamette River, which has its headwaters in the Forest. The Forest is owned by the American people and managed by the US Department of Agriculture Forest Service. The Forest is famous for being at the center of the debate of the fate of old-growth forests and the northern spotted owl. This forest was very aggressively clearcut for many years and the citizens who live in the Willamette Valley strongly objected to the liquidation of the last of their ancient forests. The Forest is now governed by the Northwest Forest Plan which was initiated by President Bill Clinton and adopted in April 1994 to govern management of federal forests within the range of the spotted owl. Still thousands of acres of old-growth forests (suitable habitat for the spotted owl) in the Willamette National Forest are planned for logging. The Willamette River (pronounced wil-LAM-met) is a tributary of the Columbia, approximately 240 mi (386 km) long, in northwestern Oregon in the United States. ... William Jefferson Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. ... Binomial name Strix occidentalis Xantus de Vesey, 1860 The Spotted Owl, Strix occidentalis, is a species of owl. ...

Helicopter carrying timber along the Breitenbush River in the Willamette National Forest

The Forest stretches for over 100 miles (160 km) along the western slopes of the Cascade Range in western Oregon. It extends from the Mt. Jefferson area east of Salem to the Calapooya Ridge which divides the watersheds of the Willamette and Umpqua Rivers. The Forest is 1,675,407 acres (6,780 km²) in size. The elevation of the Forest ranges from about 1,500 feet (460 m) above sea level on the western edge of the forest to almost 10,500 feet (3,200 m) at the top of Mt. Jefferson, Oregon's second highest peak. Over 380,000 acres (1,540 km²) of the Forest are Congressionally designated as Wilderness. Seven major peaks of the Cascades -- Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Washington, Three Fingered Jack, Diamond Peak, North, Middle and South Sisters -- as well as numerous high moutain lakes are within these wilderness areas. The McKenzie River and the North Fork of the Middle Fork of the Willamette River are Congressionally designated as Wild and Scenic Rivers. Helicopter carrying timber along the Breitenbush River in the Willamette National Forest (taken Nov. ... Helicopter carrying timber along the Breitenbush River in the Willamette National Forest (taken Nov. ... Breitenbush River north of Detroit The Breitenbush River is a tributary of the North Santiam River, approximately 20 mi (32 km) long, in western Oregon in the United States. ... State nickname: Beaver State Other U.S. States Capital Salem Largest city Portland Governor Ted Kulongoski (D) Official languages None Area 255,026 km² (9th)  - Land 248,849 km²  - Water 6,177 km² (2. ... State Capitol building in Salem Salem is the capital of the state of Oregon in the United States of America, and county seat of Marion County. ... For other mountains named Mount Jefferson, see Mount Jefferson Mount Jefferson is a possibly extinct stratovolcano in the Cascade Range and is the second-highest mountain in Oregon. ... Mount Washington is a shield volcano in the Cascade Range of Oregon. ... Three-Fingered Jack is a very distinctively shaped Pleistocene volcano in the Cascade Range. ... The Three Sisters are three volcanic peaks of the Cascade Range, located near the town of Sisters, Oregon. ...

The Willamette National Forest receives a large amount of precipitation each year from Pacific storms that move from west to east across the forest. Much of the precipitation is received in the form of snow which accumulates in higher elevations from October through April. The rain and snowmelt drain into the McKenzie, Santiam, and Willamette Rivers, which flow from the Forest and provide high quality drinking water to the citizens of Eugene, Salem, Corvallis, and Albany. There are over 1,500 miles (2,400 km) of rivers and streams on the Forest and over 375 lakes.

The dominant tree species on the forest Douglas-fir, the State tree of Oregon. Douglas-fir is also a valuable timber species in the United States, which has lead to a forest ecosystem that has suffered from decades of unsustainable clearcutting. The Forest still contains some stands of old-growth forest, some of which are over 300 feet tall, among the tallest trees in the world, with tree diameters ranging from three to eight feet.

Over one dozen other conifer species are common on the Forest as well, including western redcedar, incense-cedar, white pine, ponderosa pine, Pacific yew, western hemlock, mountain hemlock, and several species of fir. The Willamette National Forest is home to over 300 species of fish and wildlife, including the northern spotted owl, northern bald eagle, chinook slamon, bull trout, red tree vole, wolverine, and several other sensitive and threatened species.

External links

• Willamette National Forest Official Website
• Timber sale information
• Background on the Northwest Forest Plan