Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

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Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
IUCN Category VI (Managed Resource Protected Area)
Location:	Washington, USA
Nearest city:	Bellingham, WA
Coordinates:	48°52′″N, 121°53′″W
Area:	2674 sq mi (6925 sq km)
Governing body:	US Forest Service

The Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in Washington extends more than 140 miles along the western slopes of the Cascade Range from the Canadian border to the northern boundary of Mount Rainier National Park.

Contents 1 Visitation 2 Geography 2.1 Mountains 2.2 Glaciers 3 Conservation 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Visitation

The Forest covers portions of Whatcom, Skagit, Snohomish, King, and Pierce Counties. Together, with the other central Puget Sound counties, 62% (3.63 million people) of the State's population lives within a 70-mile drive of the Forest. Another 1.5 million in the Vancouver, British Columbia metro area are also within easy reach of the northern part of the Forest.

The large population factor, coupled with easy road access, makes the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest one of the most visited National Forests in the country.

[edit] Geography

[edit] Mountains

The Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest contains many scenic and historical points of interest. Mountain tops gradually rise from 5,000 to 6,000 feet on the south end of the forest to 7,000 to 8,000 feet in the north. Two tall volcanoes, Mount Baker and Glacier Peak, tower thousands of feet above the adjacent ridges.

[edit] Glaciers

The Forest is home to more glaciers and snow fields than any other National Forest outside Alaska. The largest glaciers (with surface areas greater than 2.5 km², see Post et al. 1971) are:

• Mount Baker
  • Roosevelt
  • Mazama
  • Park
  • Boulder
  • Easton
  • Deming
  • Coleman
• Sentinel Peak
  • South Cascade Glacier
• Glacier Peak
  • Suiattle
  • Honeycomb

The number of glaciers in the forest has decreased from 295 in 1971 to less than 287 in 1998 [1]. This is a part of the global phenomenon of glacier retreat. Forest glaciers have lost between 20 and 40% of their volume between 1984 and 2006. This is due to continued warm conditions and negative mass balance [2]. In 1971, the White Chuck Glacier (Glacier Peak) was on list of large glaciers, above. It shrank from 3.1 km² in 1958 to 0.9 km² in 2002. With the shrinking of the glaciers, summer glacial runoff has been reduced by 65 to 80% [3]. This reduces stream and river flow and sediment and increases their temperature. Salmon and many other species are adversely affected by such changes.

[edit] Conservation

The north and east portions of the Forest are exceptionally rugged and scenic. In 1968 part of the Forest was transferred to the National Park Service as the North Cascades National Park. In addition, Congressional action since 1964 has established the following wilderness areas:

• Glacier Peak
• Alpine Lakes
• Mount Baker
• Noisy-Diobsud
• Boulder River
• Henry M. Jackson
• Norse Peak
• Clearwater

These pristine areas provide clean water, solitude, and permanent protection to old-growth forests across 42% of the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. As of 2007, proposed federal legislation would protect an additional 100,000 acres as the Wild Sky Wilderness.

Congress also established the Skagit Wild and Scenic River system in 1978. Its 125 miles of river on the Skagit, Cascade, Sauk, and Suiattle Rivers provide important wildlife habitat and recreation. The Skagit River System is home to one of the largest winter populations of Bald Eagles in the United States.

[edit] References

Post, A.; D. Richardson, W.V. Tangborn, and F.L. Rosselot (1971). "Inventory of glaciers in the North Cascades, Washington". USGS Prof. Paper 705-A: A1-A26. 

[edit] External links

• MBSNF web site
• The Death of a Glacier Retreat of the White Chuck Glacier