Forests of
Crater Lake National Park

Understanding and caring for the ancient forests at Crater Lake National Park has always been an important part of park management. Although its tree species are at relatively high elevations (4400 to 8900 feet), the park's forests were of enough interest to men like John Muir, Gifford Pinchot, and John Wesley Powell that they assisted William Gladstone Steel with his efforts to establish a national park in 1902. Subsequent extensions to the park in 1932 and 1980 were made with the intention of protecting representative samples of the region's ancient forests.

There are four major forest zones at Crater Lake National Park, each named after it's dominant tree species. Starting in the park's lower elevations (about 4500 ft), a ponderosa pine forest is the first zone greeting visitors who enter on Highway 62 from the south or west entrances. The ponderosa zone gives way to a dense lodgepole pine forest at about 5000 ft. Sometimes referred to as dog's hair forest because of the dense, scraggly stands of thin lodgepoles, this zone sometimes covers vast areas. Mountain hemlocks become dominant at about 6000 feet. This zone has the final tall trees in the park and has limited underbrush. The next zone is almost purely whitebark pines and extends from about 7500 ft to the top of Mt. Scott, the highest point in the park (8,929 ft). The whitebark pine zone is more an open woodland than a forest.

Management of Crater Lake's ancient forests ranges from proper fire control to ecological studies, such as surveys for ancient forest dependent species like the northern spotted owl. A critical difference between the National Park Service and the Forest Service is the "use" of these forests. The Forest Service, under the Department of Agriculture, manages its lands as "multiple-use" lands. The USFS strives to maintain a balance between commercial harvesting, stock grazing, mineral extraction, and recreation. The National Park Service has a different mandate. The NPS seeks to preserve the systems that have shaped the land. National Park lands are preserved for human enjoyment, enrichment, and understanding. These ancient forests are an integral part of Crater Lake National Park.