Tillamook State Forest

Tillamook State Forest
Tillamook State Forest, February 2010
Map
TypePublic, state
LocationOregon, United States
Coordinates45°32′21″N 123°17′20″W / 45.539278°N 123.289001°W / 45.539278; -123.289001
Area364,000 acres (1,470 km2)
Created1973
Operated byOregon Department of Forestry

The Tillamook State Forest is a 364,000-acre (1,470 km2) publicly owned forest in the U.S. state of Oregon. Managed by the Oregon Department of Forestry, it is located 40 miles (64 km) west of Portland in the Northern Oregon Coast Range, and spans Washington, Tillamook, Yamhill, and Clatsop counties. The forest receives large amounts of precipitation and is dominated by Douglas-fir trees. Activities include commercial logging, recreation, and other commercial resource extraction activities such as mushroom hunting.

History

The area was extensively burned in a series of forest fires between 1933 and 1951. Collectively known as the Tillamook Burn, the forest was replanted between 1949 and 1972 with a billion Douglas-fir seeds dropped from helicopters and more than 72 million seedlings planted by hand, about a million of them by young volunteers. In 1973 Oregon governor Tom McCall officially designated "The Burn" a State Forest.[1]

Operations

Tillamook Forest Center

The forest's recreation sites include campgrounds, hiking and backpacking trails, fishing, swimming and an interpretative center. Some of the trails are open to horses and pack animals, mountain bikes and motorized vehicles in various combinations. In 2006, the Tillamook Forest Center opened on Oregon Route 6 between Portland and Tillamook. The Forest Center's features include a short film about the Tillamook Burn,[2] and a suspension bridge crossing the Wilson River. With exhibits designed by AldrichPears Associates and architecture by MillerHull Partnership, the Center won the Oregon Tourism Achievement Award in 2007.[3]

Commercial activities include timber harvesting managed by the Department of Forestry that benefits county governments.[4] In addition to logging, other commercial activities include mushroom hunting, and moss and salal harvesting.[5] The forest is managed by the department's Forest Grove and Tillamook districts.[5]

Tillamook state forest - logging area

Tillamook Rainforest

The Tillamook Rainforest is a temperate rainforest located in the Coast Range of northwestern Oregon, United States, between Hillsboro and Tillamook in Washington and Tillamook counties. Part of the forest is administered as part of the Tillamook State Forest.

Weather in the Tillamook Rainforest is variable but can total more than 100 inches (2,500 mm) from late fall through early spring. Precipitation may accumulate as snow at higher elevations.[6]

The western part of the forest has coastal varieties of trees, while the east is dominated by Douglas-fir. Much of the forest is young, as early deforestation was rampant[citation needed] and the Tillamook Burn, a large wildfire, passed through the area in 1933.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ Decker, Doug (2020). "Tillamook Burn". Oregon Encyclopedia. The Oregon Historical Society. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  2. ^ Via Magazine
  3. ^ "Oregon Department of Forestry". Archived from the original on 2011-06-09. Retrieved 2019-12-09.
  4. ^ Profita, Cassandra (September 5, 2008). "Forest leaders challenge notions about logging". The Daily Astorian. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
  5. ^ a b "State Forester's report for the Associated Oregon Counties" (PDF). Council of Forest Trust Land Counties. Oregon Department of Forestry. November 2006. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
  6. ^ "Tillamook State Forest Recreation Guide". Oregon Department of Forestry. April 2020. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  7. ^ Greenwald, Noah; Garty, Amanda (2007). "Species of Concern of the Tillamook Rain Forest and North Coast, Oregon" (PDF). Tucson, Arizona: Center for Biological Diversity. Retrieved April 27, 2022.

Media related to Tillamook Forest Center at Wikimedia Commons

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Tillamook State Forest.