National Forest Week Kicks Off July 10

National Forest Week is July 10 through 16 this year, and the National Forest foundation wants you to celebrate with them.

National Forest Week takes place the second full week of July every year, and is a time to celebrate our country’s 193-million-acre national forest system and the ways these lands serve the public.

The Forest Reserve Act was passed in 1891, allowing the sitting President to establish forest reserves. That same year, the first U.S. national forest was established. While many people know that Yellowstone National Park, established in 1872, was the first U.S. national park, it’s lesser known that Yellowstone was also the country’s first national forest. Yellowstone Timber Land Reserve was later separated into Bridger-Teton, Custer, Shoshone and Caribou-Targhee National Forests.

Today, the National Forest Service manages 155 national forests, 20 national grasslands and one national tallgrass prairie.

How You Can Join In The Fun

National Forest Week is celebrated across the U.S., and the National Forest Foundation is hosting two celebrations: a kick-off party in New York City on Monday, July 10 and a closing celebration in Seattle, Washington, on Saturday, July 15.

National forest visitors are encouraged to share their national forest stories and experience on social media using the #NationalForestWeek hashtag. They are also encouraged to enter their favorite photos of national forests into the photo contest taking place from July 10 to 16.

Most of all, The National Forest Foundation wants people to celebrate by visiting a National Forest. According to the National Forest Foundation, seven in 10 Americans live within a two-hour drive of a national forest or grassland, so interested travelers can visit a national forest either near or far this National Forest Week.

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