About the Area
At over 2.9 million acres, the Tonto National Forest is the largest national forest in Arizona, and the ninth largest national forest among 154 USDA National Forests.
The Tonto features some of the most rugged and inherently beautiful land in the country. Sonoran Desert cacti and flat lands slowly give way to the highlands of the Mogollon Rim. This variety in vegetation and range in altitude -- from 1,300 to 7,900 feet -- offers outstanding recreational opportunities throughout the year, whether it's lake beaches or cool pine forest.
The Tonto is one of the most-visited “urban” forests in the United States with 3 million visitors annually. The forest’s boundaries are Phoenix to the south, the Mogollon Rim to the north and the San Carlos and Fort Apache Indian reservations to the east.
During winter months, national and international visitors flock to Arizona to share the multi-hued stone canyons and Sonoran Desert environments with Arizona residents. In the summer, visitors seek refuge from the heat at the Salt and Verde rivers and their chain of six man-made lakes. Visitors also head to the high country to camp amidst the cool shade of tall pines and fish the meandering trout streams under the Mogollon Rim.
One of the primary purposes for establishing the Tonto National Forest in 1905 was to protect its watersheds around reservoirs. The forest produces an average of 350,000 acre-feet of water each year. Six major reservoirs on the forest have the combined capacity to store more than 2 million acre-feet of water. Management efforts are directed at protecting both water quality and watershed and riparian area conditions.
Eight Wilderness Areas, encompassing more than 589,300 acres, are managed to protect the unique natural character of the land and to assure the public recreation areas where one is only a visitor. In addition, portions of the Verde River have been designated by Congress as Arizona’s first and only Wild and Scenic River Area.
Fish and wildlife are abundant on the Tonto; more than 400 vertebrate species are represented, including 21 listed among federal and state Threatened and Endangered Species. Maintaining quality habitat to support and improve wildlife diversity is a primary management consideration.
Approximately 26,000 head of cattle are permitted to graze on the forest. Because of its year-round availability, permitted use is extremely high and land allotments must be carefully managed to avoid over-utilization and declining productivity of the range. Currently, long-term drought conditions across the Southwest have limited our ability to sustain more than 20 percent of the permitted numbers on the forest.
The Tonto has a rich history of producing copper, gold, silver, lead, zinc, uranium, molybdenum, manganese, asbestos, mercury and many other metals and minerals. This history spans over 150 years and includes 38 mineral districts with recorded production.
Although the Tonto is not heavily timbered, about 4 million board feet total of saw logs, fuel wood and other forest wood products are selectively harvested each year.
The critical fire season is relatively short, usually lasting from May to mid-July. During that period, natural and human-caused fires often threaten the timber, chaparral, grass and light shrub vegetative zones. The Tonto has averaged 330 wildfires a year over the last ten years.
With some of the state’s more prominent peaks located on the Tonto, the forest supports an important communication link for Arizona. Radio, television and telephone networks use the electronic sites on these mountains to facilitate state and national communications. Many of the high-capacity transmission lines that bring Phoenix its power also crisscross the Tonto.
Balancing conflicting resource needs and providing for comprehensive multi-use management, consistent with the conservation ethic, is a continuous objective in administering the resources of the Tonto National Forest.