Osceola National Forest

Osceola National Forest
IUCN category VI (protected area with sustainable use of natural resources)


Location	Florida, United States
Nearest city	Olustee, FL
Coordinates	30°17′26″N 82°19′18″W / 30.29056°N 82.32167°W / 30.29056; -82.32167Coordinates: 30°17′26″N 82°19′18″W / 30.29056°N 82.32167°W / 30.29056; -82.32167
Area	190,932 acres (77,267 ha)
Established	July 10, 1931
Governing body	U.S. Forest Service
http://www.fs.usda.gov/florida

A pine woods tree frog in the Osceola National Forest

Mushrooms in the Osceola National Forest

Osceola National Forest is a National Forest located in Florida.

Osceola National Forest was created by President Herbert Hoover's proclamation, on July 10, 1931. It is named in honor of the Native American Seminole warrior, Osceola.

The forest is made up of approximately 200,000 acres (810 km²) of pine flatwoods and cypress-hardwood swamps in northeastern Florida and is about 50 miles (80 km) west of Jacksonville. It is located in parts of Columbia, Baker, Bradford, and Hamilton counties.^[1] The forest is headquartered in Tallahassee, as are all three National Forests in Florida, but there are local ranger district offices located in Olustee. There is one officially designated wilderness area in the forest, the 13,660 acres (55.3 km²) Big Gum Swamp Wilderness.

Geography and ecology

Within the forest is the Osceola Research Natural Area, designated a National Natural Landmark in December 1974.^[2]^[3]

Osceola National Forest is home to many species including the American alligator, the Florida black bear and the red-cockaded woodpecker an endangered species.

Activities

A 28-mile (45 km) section of the Florida National Scenic Trail is included in the park grounds. Other hiking trails in the park include: Olustee Battlefield Trail (an American Civil War battlefield), Trampled Track Trail, and Mt. Carrie Trail. There are two horseback riding trails through open pine flatwoods and near scenic bays. The park is also open to hunters and fishermen with permits.

Campsites

Ocean Pond Campground - Ocean Pond Campground is located on the north side of Ocean Pond, a 1,760-acre (7.1 km²) natural lake. Sixty-seven campsites are available for tents, trailers, or motor homes. Ocean Pond provides a variety of recreational experiences such as fishing, boating, water skiing and camping. A beach area, boat ramp, drinking water, hot showers, and flush toilets are located in the campground.
The Landing Group Area - Available by reservation only, this is a 50-person private group area. Recreational activities include swimming, boating, camping, and picnicking. Facilities include a sand beach, boat launch for small boats, picnic shelter, large group grill, and restrooms with showers.
Hunt Camps - Hunt camps include Hog Pen Landing, Cobb, Wiggins, West Tower, and East Tower. These are primitive camp sites.

References

↑ Table 6 - NFS Acreage by State, Congressional District and County - United States Forest Service - September 30, 2007
↑ Osceola Research Natural Area - National Natural Landmark
↑ Nelson, Gil (1995). Exploring Wild North Florida. Pineapple Press Inc. p. 244. ISBN 1-56164-091-3. OCLC 32746332.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Osceola National Forest.

Osceola National Forest official site at United States Forest Service
Florida Scenic Trail
Great Florida Birding Trail
Ocean Pond Campground - official site at Osceola National Forest
The Landing Group Area - official site at Osceola National Forest
Hog Pen Landing - official site at Osceola National Forest
Cobb Hunt Camp - official site at Osceola National Forest
Wiggins Camp - official site at Osceola National Forest
West Tower Hunt Camp - official site at Osceola National Forest
East Tower Hunt Camp - official site at Osceola National Forest

Protected areas of Florida

Federal

National Parks	Biscayne Dry Tortugas Everglades

National Memorials	De Soto Fort Caroline

National Monuments	Castillo de San Marcos Fort Matanzas

National Seashores	Canaveral Gulf Islands

National Forests	Apalachicola Choctawhatchee Ocala Osceola

National Wildlife Refuges	Archie Carr Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee Caloosahatchee Cedar Keys Chassahowitzka Crocodile Lake Crystal River Egmont Key Florida Panther Great White Heron Hobe Sound Island Bay J.N. 'Ding' Darling Key West Lake Wales Ridge Lake Woodruff Lower Suwannee Matlacha Pass Merritt Island National Key Deer Okefenokee Passage Key Pelican Island Pine Island Pinellas St. Johns St. Marks St. Vincent Ten Thousand Islands

Other National Protected Areas	Big Cypress National Preserve Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve

National Estuarine Research Reserves and National Marine Sanctuaries	Apalachicola NERR Florida Keys NMS Guana Tolomato Matanzas NERR Rookery Bay NERR

State

Parks	Amelia Island Anastasia Avalon Bahia Honda Bald Point Big Lagoon Big Shoals Big Talbot Island Bill Baggs Cape Florida Bulow Creek Caladesi Island Camp Helen Cayo Costa Collier-Seminole Colt Creek Curry Hammock Delnor-Wiggins Pass Devil's Millhopper Don Pedro Island Eden Gardens Egmont Key Falling Waters Faver-Dykes Florida Caverns Fort Clinch Fort Cooper Fort George Island Fort Pierce Inlet Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou Gasparilla Island George Crady Bridge Fishing Pier Grayton Beach Henderson Beach Highlands Hammock Honeymoon Island Hontoon Island Hugh Taylor Birch John D. MacArthur Beach John Pennekamp Coral Reef John U. Lloyd Beach Jonathan Dickinson Little Talbot Island Long Key Lovers Key Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway Mike Roess Gold Head Branch North Peninsula O'Leno Oscar Scherer Perdido Key Sebastian Inlet Skyway Fishing Pier St. Andrews St. George Island St. Joseph Peninsula Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center Stump Pass Beach Tomoka Torreya Windley Key Fossil Reef

Botanical Garden Parks	Alfred B. Maclay Gardens Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Lignumvitae Key Ravine Gardens Washington Oaks

Lakes, Rivers and Springs Parks	Deer Lake Lake Griffin Lake June in Winter Scrub Lake Kissimmee Lake Louisa Lake Manatee Lake Talquin Alafia River Blackwater River Dunns Creek Econfina River Hillsborough River Little Manatee River Myakka River Ochlockonee River Oleta River Suwannee River Blue Spring De Leon Springs Edward Ball Wakulla Springs Fanning Springs Homosassa Springs Wildlife Ichetucknee Springs Lafayette Blue Springs Madison Blue Spring Manatee Springs Ponce de Leon Springs Rainbow Springs Silver Springs Three Rivers Troy Springs Weeki Wachee Springs Wekiwa Springs Werner-Boyce Salt Springs Wes Skiles Peacock Springs

Recreation Areas	Gamble Rogers Memorial

Museums, Historic sites, and Archaeological sites	Cedar Key Museum Constitution Convention Museum Forest Capital Museum John Gorrie Museum Ybor City Museum The Barnacle Bulow Plantation Ruins Dade Battlefield Dudley Farm Fort Foster Fort Mose Fort Zachary Taylor Gamble Plantation Indian Key Koreshan Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Homestead Natural Bridge Battlefield Olustee Battlefield Orman House Paynes Creek San Marcos de Apalache Yellow Bluff Fort Yulee Sugar Mill Ruins Crystal River Lake Jackson Mounds Letchworth-Love Mounds Madira Bickel Mound Mound Key San Pedro Underwater

Preserves and Reserves	Allen David Broussard Catfish Creek Anclote Key Cedar Key Scrub Charlotte Harbor Crystal River Estero Bay Fakahatchee Strand Kissimmee Prairie Lower Wekiva River Paynes Prairie Pumpkin Hill Creek River Rise Rock Springs Run San Felasco Hammock Savannas Seabranch St. Lucie Inlet St. Sebastian River Tarkiln Bayou Topsail Hill Waccasassa Bay Yellow River Marsh

State Trails	Blackwater Heritage Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Gainesville-Hawthorne General James A. Van Fleet Nature Coast Palatka-Lake Butler Palatka-to-St. Augustine Tallahassee-St. Marks Historic Railroad Withlacoochee

State Forests	Belmore Big Shoals Blackwater River Carl Duval Moore Cary Charles H. Bronson Cottage Hill Deep Creek Etoniah Creek Four Creeks Goethe Holopaw Indian Lake Jennings John M. Bethea Lake George Lake Talquin Lake Wales Ridge Little Big Econ Matanzas Myakka Okaloacoochee Slough Picayune Strand Pine Log Point Washington Ralph E. Simmons Memorial Ross Prairie Seminole Tate's Hell Tiger Bay Twin Rivers Wakulla Watson Island Welaka Withlacoochee

Other

Nature centers	List of nature centers in Florida

Florida Department of Environmental Protection

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, March 18, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.