The
United States has 154
protected areas known as
National Forests covering 188,336,179 acres (762,169 km
2/294,275 sq. mi). The National Forests are managed by the
U.S. Forest Service, an agency of the
U.S. Department of Agriculture. The first National Forest was established as the
Yellowstone Park Timber and Land Reserve on March 30, 1891, then in the
Department of the Interior. In 1897, the
Organic Act provided purposes for which forest reserves could be established, including to protect the forest, secure water supplies, and supply timber. With the
Forest Reserve Act of 1891, the
President of the United States was given the power to set aside forest reserves in the public domain. With the
Transfer Act of 1905, forest reserves became part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the newly created U.S. Forest Service.