Congressional Digest

Excerpt

Created by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1907, the
National Forest System today consists of 155 national forests
encompassing 192 million acres in 44 States – roughly
8.5 percent of the land area of the country.
National forests are managed by the Forest Service
under the direction of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Unlike national parks, where harvesting or removal of resources
is forbidden, national forests balance conservation
and commercial interests through “multiple-use” management
that includes recreation, livestock grazing, timber
cutting, watershed protection, and preservation of fish and
wildlife …