Foreword
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 habitats. With the growth of America’s urban centers, national forests have become…
