Although the National Forests are not ranked as Places – because they are large, often-dispersed administrative units – they serve as the backbone for conserving natural diversity on public lands in the United States.
Totaling 166 million acres, National Forests capture examples of 75% of all ecosystems on 8% of all land and waters in the lower 48 states.
The National Forests contributions to the Last Great Places are enormous. Almost 40% of the 2500 Last Great Places are designated areas within National Forests, including
- 395 Wilderness Areas
- 10 Wilderness Study Areas
- 388 Inventoried Roadless Areas
- 11 National Monuments
- 15 National Recreation Areas
- 30 Research Natural Areas
- 37 Wild & Scenic Rivers
In addition to high landscape diversity, on average the National Forests have a low human footprint, above average vegetation condition, and above average resilience to climate change.
