The Southwestern Region is 20.6 million acres. There are six national forests in Arizona, five national forests and a national grassland in New Mexico, and one national grassland each in Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle.The region ranges in elevation from 1,600 feet above sea level and an annual rain fall of 8 inches in Arizona's lower Sonoran Desert to 13,171-foot high Wheeler Peak and over 35 inches of precipitation a year in northern New Mexico. map of forest locations »
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Forest Planning Rule
The final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the planning rule has been published. This action brings us one step closer to a final planning rule.
The Impact Statement identifies Modified Alternative A as the preferred alternative. This alternative is in response to public comment and Tribal input, it reflects the latest science, and it builds on years of Agency forest planning. experience. The Under Secretary of Agriculture will review the alternatives in the Impact Statement and issue a final rule and record of decision in approximately 30 days. more about the forest planning rule »
White-nose syndrome is a fungal disease that has killed more than 1 million bats across the notheast and mid-Atlantic U.S. in the last 4 years and continues unchecked. It has not been found in Arizona or New Mexico. We are working together with many state, federal and private organizations to protect our bats and cave resources. This includes starting decontamination procedures for National Forest lands; and white-nose syndrome surveillance for early detection of the disease.
Four national forests are actively engaged in a collaborative, landscape-scale initiative designed to restore fire-adapted ecosystems in the Southwestern Region. Those forests are the Kaibab, Coconino, Apache-Sitgreaves and Tonto. Together with a diverse group of stakeholders, including members of local, county and state governments, organizations, institutions environmental groups, and industry representatives, the four forest supervisors and Four Forest Restoration Initiative team members are working to collaboratively plan and carry out landscape-scale restoration of ponderosa pine forests in northern Arizona.
We have begun the process of revising the Land Management Plans for national forests in Arizona and New Mexico and national grasslands in portions of Oklahoma and Texas.
Information on bark beetle effects.![[Photo] Rider on an ATV riding down a sand dune.](/Internet/FSE_MEDIA/fsbdev3_020444_tn.jpg)
