Mount Baker National Forest was established in Washington on January 21, 1924 when its name was changed from Washington National Forest. In 1974 it was administratively combined with Snoqualmie National Forest to make Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. In descending order of land area, Mount Baker National Forest is located in parts of Snohomish, Whatcom, and Skagit counties. As of 30 September 2007, it had an area of 1,301,787 acres (5,268.1 km²), representing about 51 percent of the combined forest's area. There are local ranger district offices located in Darrington and Sedro-Woolley.
The 1935 version of The Call of the Wild with Clark Gable, Loretta Young and Jack Oakie was filmed on location in Mount Baker National Forest because Twentieth Century Pictures felt it was remote enough to guarantee lack of interruption from skiers and other park visitors. Paramount Pictures later also filmed The Barrier at Mount Baker Lodge.
Wilderness areas
There are six officially designated wilderness areas within Mount Baker National Forest that are part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Three of them extend into neighboring National Forests (as indicated).
- Boulder River Wilderness
- Glacier Peak Wilderness (partly in Wenatchee NF)
- Henry M. Jackson Wilderness (partly in Snoqualmie NF and in Wenatchee NF)
- Mount Baker Wilderness
- Noisy-Diobsud Wilderness
- Pasayten Wilderness (mostly in Okanogan NF)
Historic Images from the National Archives
References
External links
- Forest History Society
- Listing of the National Forests of the United States and Their Dates (from Forest History Society website) Text from Davis, Richard C., ed. Encyclopedia of American Forest and Conservation History. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company for the Forest History Society, 1983. Vol. II, pp. 743-788.
