COCONINO NATIONAL FOREST

Four billion feet of timber, with a couple hundred million feet thrown in for good measure, is a lot of toothpicks in any language. But, to avoid letting the trees keep you from seeing the forest, I'd better give you a general picture first. The Coconino National Forest (named for a long-gone Indian tribe called the "Kohonino") is a spread of about 1,730,000 acres. We're on the southwestern edge of the Colorado Plateau, the high country that gets the rain that makes big timber and tall grass. The timber makes big logs and the grass makes big cattle, which is mighty fine so long as people don't get forgetful when they're smoking or using campfires. Our forest is, roughly speaking, 60 miles wide at the widest, and 90 miles long at the longest part (it's longest from north to south). Timber occupies about half of the entire area of this National Forest. During 1945, we sold on competitive bids and marked and The San Francisco Mountains with their towering peaks survey the forest. The Arizona Snow Bowl is located in these mountains. The Coconino National Forest has a stand of four billion feet of timber.

supervised the cutting of more than 44,000,000 board-feet of it. One sawmill on the Coconino forest started about 17 years after the Civil War, and is still going strong, 64 years later. That's the Saginaw & Manistee Lumber Company mill at Flagstaff. They and another company operating at Flagstaff (Southwest Lumber Mills, Inc.) employ hundreds of people.

The Coconino is second among the national forests in Arizona from the standpoint of grazing. Last year, range allotments on this national forest accommodated 19,000 cattle and 28,600 sheep. Most of the stockmen who hold grazing permits here use the forest for summer range.

Timber management, range management and watershed management-tie them up in a bundle and you get what foresters call "multiple-use planning." That two-dollar term just means we try to get all the good we can out of a national forest for the benefit of all the people.

This country between San Francisco Peaks and Mogollon Rim is a gold mine of outdoor recreation. The variety is all you'd expect between snowcap of the Peaks, above timber line, and the semi-desert or Upper Sonoran zone where the Verde River forms part of the Coconino's southern limit.

Between the Peaks and the Rim you have mountains, canyons, lakes, streams and springs; primitive, virgin forests and the open, natural "parks"; the volcanic formations of Sunset Crater, and the eroded cliffs of many colors in Oak Creek Canyon; sleepy old Indian ruins in out-of-the-way places, and the bustle of life in the free Forest Service campgrounds and the resorts along Oak Creek highway. Things like these, and the scent of pine in the air, and the sight of clouds and sky can do a lot of good for tired human beings.

To get to these things, you have U. S. 66 and U. S. 89 in the northern part of the Forest; Oak Creek highway ("Alternate U. S. 89"); a network of 1200 miles of Forest Service roads, and hundreds of miles of trails. We couldn't afford to build them just for recreation purposes; they were put in for fire control, timber management and range management; but they have a great by-product value when people want to drive, hike, picnic, camp, hunt or fish.

If you're driving, you'll want to stop at the vista points at the top of Oak Creek Canyon, Schnebly Hill, Mogollon Rim and at Baker's Butte.

Motor trips fit in nicely with stops at five picnic grounds, which have water, fireplaces and other conveniences. They're at Oak Creek, Schnebly Hill, Baker's Butte, Fulton Spring and Lava Cave.

At Lake Mary you can picnic or camp. Then there are 13 developed campgrounds for free public use Townsend, Kit Carson, Dairy Springs, Double Springs, "R.H.", Kehl Spring, Pine Flat, Sliderock, Banjo Bill, Manzanita, Clint's Well, Lee Johnson and General's Spring.

If you don't see these improvements at first glance where they are, blame us. The Forest Service planned them to blend into their natural surroundings. You'll find them with the help of directional signs along the highways and roads.

Better still, stop in at any Ranger Station or at the Forest Supervisor's office in Flagstaff and ask for one of the information folders, which includes a map of the forest. Or mail your request to "U. S. Forest Service, Flagstaff, Ariz." These are free. Incidentally, we're glad to have people visit our office or the ranger stations or lookout towers.

Elk, deer, antelope and wild turkey are numerous on the Coconino National Forest. At one time, elk was extinct in Arizona; now the largest elk herd in Arizona, numbering 3,000 or more, roams the southern end of the Coconino forest and the western end of the Sitgreaves.

Oak Creek and West Clear Creek offer trout fishing. Trout, bass and perch may be caught in Mormon Lake, Lake Mary and Stoneman Lake.

About half of the 46,000 acres in Sycamore Canyon Wild Area are on the Coconino National Forest. The Forest Service allows no roads in this area, which is set aside to preserve in a primitive condition the Northern Arizona canyon types of animal and plant life. Trails invite the adventurous hiker, camper and nature student.

Nature is at her best, unmolested by civilization, in Oak Creek Canyon Natural Area, about 1,000 acres in extent. It is on the west fork of Oak Creek, which here runs through a canyon sometimes 1,500 feet deep. Another natural area is on San Francisco Peaks.

The finest skiing in Arizona is on these Peaks, at "Arizona Snow Bowl." Developed by the Forest Service with the support of winter sports fans and civic leaders at Flagstaff, the Snow bowl has ski tows, ski runs, including one a mile long, four ski trails which will challenge experts, and many miles of cross-country slopes. A fine lodge is kept busy. The season is at its best in January, February and early March.

Oak Creek Canyon, 13 miles south of Flagstaff, cuts into the Colorado Plateau to a depth of 1,200 feet and runs for a distance of 16 miles. The oil-surfaced highway leads easily down between the walls, which have unusual formations and coloring. Pine trees cling to the steep canyon walls, which in some places close in and rear up from the road's edge for 1,500 feet. The canyon bottom is thick with sycamores, alder and a great variety of shrubs and wild flowers. Oak Creek tumbles along the canyon floor, adding coolness to the summer attractions.