Otter Creek Wilderness | |
---|---|
Location | West Virginia, United States |
Coordinates | 39°01′58″N79°39′13″W / 39.03278°N 79.65361°W |
Area | 20,698 acres (83.76 km2) [2] |
Established | 1975 [3] |
Operator | Monongahela National Forest |
Website | Otter Creek Wilderness |
The Otter Creek Wilderness is a U.S. Wilderness area located in the Cheat-Potomac Ranger District of Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia, USA. [2] The Wilderness sits in a bowl-shaped valley formed by Otter Creek, between McGowan Mountain and Shavers Mountain in Tucker and Randolph Counties. [3] It is crossed by 42 miles (68 km) of hiking trails. Otter Creek Trail is the longest, at 11 miles (18 km). [4]
By 1914, almost all of the virgin forest in the Otter Creek watershed had been timbered, mostly by the Otter Creek Boom and Lumber Company, but also by the owners of several small farms and homesteads. [2] In 1917 key land purchases were made by the U.S. Forest Service as part of the formation of the national forest system. The Otter Creek area was managed as a multiple use forest, including some second growth logging, until the passage of the Eastern Wilderness Act in 1975. [5] The last private in-holding was acquired the same year.
The Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009 added 698 acres (282 ha) to the original 20,000 acres (8,100 ha) of the Otter Creek Wilderness. [6] This addition is situated on the northern and eastern flanks of McGowan Mountain leading down to Dry Fork. It provides much of the scenic view for this popular river which contains excellent whitewater paddling and trout fishing.
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (December 2013) |
The Shavers Mountain Spruce-Hemlock Stand, a 68-acre (280,000 m2) red spruce-hemlock stand of old growth forest, is partly within the Otter Creek Wilderness.
Otter Creek Wilderness, located in West Virginia, offers a plethora of activities for outdoor enthusiasts. Here are some activities you can enjoy there: [7]
The Chequamegon–Nicolet National Forest is a 1,530,647-acre (6,194.31 km2) U.S. National Forest in northern Wisconsin in the United States. Due to logging in the early part of the 20th century, very little old growth forest remains. Some of the trees there were planted by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. The national forest land trees and vegetation are part of the North Woods Ecoregion that prevails throughout the upper Great Lakes region.
The Monongahela National Forest is a national forest located in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. It protects over 921,000 acres of federally managed land within a 1,700,000 acres proclamation boundary that includes much of the Potomac Highlands Region and portions of 10 counties.
The Dolly Sods Wilderness is a U.S. Wilderness Area in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia and is part of the Monongahela National Forest of the U.S. Forest Service.
The Chattahoochee–Oconee National Forest in northern Georgia comprises two United States National Forests, the Oconee National Forest in eastern Georgia and the Chattahoochee National Forest located in the North Georgia Mountains. The Chattahoochee National Forest is composed of an eastern and western forest. The western forest contains Johns Mountain, Little Sand Mountain, and Taylor Ridge (Georgia). The combined total area of the Chattahoochee–Oconee National Forest is 867,265 acres (3,510 km2), of which the Chattahoochee National Forest comprises 751,069 acres (3,039 km2) and the Oconee National Forest comprises 116,196 acres (470 km2). The county with the largest portion of the eastern forest is Rabun County, Georgia, which has 148,684 acres (601.7 km2) within its boundaries.
The Potomac Highlands of West Virginia centers on five West Virginian counties in the upper Potomac River watershed in the western portion of the state's Eastern Panhandle, bordering Maryland and Virginia. Because of geographical proximity, similar topography and landscapes, and shared culture and history, the Potomac Highlands region also includes Pocahontas, Randolph, and Tucker counties, even though they are in the Monongahela River or New River watersheds and not that of the Potomac River.
Shavers Fork Mountain Complex is the name given to the mountains on either side of Shavers Fork in the highlands portions of Randolph County, Pocahontas County, and Tucker County in West Virginia, USA. Much of the land surrounding the river and its adjacent mountains is protected by Monongahela National Forest including about 20,000 acres (81 km2) of designated wilderness.
The Gaudineer Scenic Area (GSA) is a scenic area and National Natural Landmark in the Monongahela National Forest (MNF). It is situated just north of Gaudineer Knob of Shavers Mountain on the border of Randolph and Pocahontas Counties, West Virginia, USA, about 5 miles (8.0 km) northwest of the town of Durbin.
The Salmon River is a 33.5-mile (53.9 km) river in the Cascade Range in the U.S. state of Oregon that drains part of southwestern Mount Hood. The entire length of the river is a protected National Wild and Scenic River. Several portions are in protected wilderness. It is affluent to the Sandy River, a tributary of the Columbia River.
Seneca Creek is a 19.6-mile-long (31.5 km) tributary of the North Fork of the South Branch of the Potomac River located entirely within Pendleton County, West Virginia, USA.
Ellicott Rock Wilderness is a wild area lying at and around the tripoint of Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, spanning 8,274 acres. It is managed by the United States Forest Service and is part of the National Wilderness Preservation System.
Umpqua National Forest, in southern Oregon's Cascade Range, covers an area of 983,129 acres (3,978.58 km2) in Douglas, Lane, and Jackson counties, and borders Crater Lake National Park. The four ranger districts for the forest are the Cottage Grove, Diamond Lake, North Umpqua, and Tiller ranger districts. The forest is managed by the United States Forest Service, headquartered in Roseburg.
The Wallowa–Whitman National Forest is a United States National Forest in the U.S. states of Oregon and Idaho. Formed upon the merger of the Wallowa and Whitman national forests in 1954, it is located in the northeastern corner of the state, in Wallowa, Baker, Union, Grant, and Umatilla counties in Oregon, and includes small areas in Nez Perce and Idaho counties in Idaho. The forest is named for the Wallowa band of the Nez Perce people, who originally lived in the area, and Marcus and Narcissa Whitman, Presbyterian missionaries who settled just to the north in 1836. Forest headquarters are located in Baker City, Oregon with ranger districts in La Grande, Joseph and Baker City.
Shavers Mountain, is a high and rugged ridge situated in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia. It is about 35 miles (56 km) long, north to south, and several of its peaks exceed 4,000 feet (1,200 m) in elevation. Shavers Mountain is notable for being "bookended", at its northern and southern ends, by two exceptional natural areas: the Otter Creek Wilderness and the Gaudineer Scenic Area, respectively, both of which preserve small stands of old growth forest on the mountain.
Eagle Cap Wilderness is a wilderness area located in the Wallowa Mountains of northeastern Oregon, within the Wallowa–Whitman National Forest. The wilderness was established in 1940. In 1964, it was included in the National Wilderness Preservation System. A boundary revision in 1972 added 73,000 acres (30,000 ha) and the Wilderness Act of 1964 added 66,100 acres (26,700 ha) resulting in a current total of 361,446 acres, making Eagle Cap by far Oregon's largest wilderness area.
Mountain Lake Wilderness is a U.S. Wilderness Area in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. The wilderness area is located next to privately owned Mountain Lake, and consists of 8,314 acres (3,365 ha) in Virginia and 2,721 acres (1,101 ha) in West Virginia.
Ramsey's Draft Wilderness is a designated wilderness area in the North River Ranger District of the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests of Virginia in the United States. The wilderness area was established in 1984 and comprises 6,518 acres (26.38 km2). It is administered by the US Forest Service.
Spruce Mountain, located in eastern West Virginia, is the highest ridge of the Allegheny Mountains. The whale-backed ridge extends for only 16 miles (26 km) from northeast to southwest, but several of its peaks exceed 4,500 feet (1,400 m) in elevation. The summit, Spruce Knob, is the highest Allegheny Mountain point both in the state and the entire range, which spans four states.
The Big Draft Wilderness is a 5,144-acre (2,082 ha) U.S. Wilderness area in the Monongahela National Forest of southeast West Virginia, USA. Its name derives from the nearby Big Draft, a tributary of Anthony Creek which is a tributary of the Greenbrier River. Big Draft Wilderness occupies the southernmost acreage of the Monongahela National Forest and is located just south of the Blue Bend Recreation Area. The town White Sulphur Springs lies about 5 miles south of the Wilderness and about 15 miles northeast of Lewisburg.
Brush Mountain East Wilderness is a U.S. wilderness area in the Eastern Divide Ranger District of the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. It was designated as wilderness area in 2009 by Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009. The wilderness is adjacent to Brush Mountain Wilderness.
Mount Rogers Crest Zone is a wildland in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests of western Virginia that has been recognized by the Wilderness Society as a special place worthy of protection from logging and road construction. The Wilderness Society has designated the area as a "Mountain Treasure".