National forests have 30 percent of the family campgrounds, 4.3 of the 6.5 million acres of designated Wilderness, and 22 of 33 major downhill ski areas in California. National forests contain such unique scenic areas as Mt. Shasta, Lake Tahoe, Mt. Whitney, and the Big Sur Coast as well as important ecological and prehistoric sites. Fish and Wildlife More than 600 of the 800 species of fish and wildlife in California live on national forests, making the Forest Service the single largest habitat manager in the state. In addition, national forests are home for nearly 4,000 of the 6,500 native plants in California. Recovery programs include protection of critical habitat for Threatened and Endangered species such as the California condor, the California bighorn sheep, and the northern spotted owl.
Minerals commercially produced on the national forests include nickel, cobalt, copper and uraniu.
In 1997, FS-State and Private Forestry administered grant programs to diversify the economies of rural communities affected by reduced national forest timber sales. FPL also worked with the Hayfork Watershed Research and Training Center to develop appropriately scaled drying technologies for using hardwoods in value-added products. The Pacific Southwest Research Station has 13 units in California. They are providing critical research in collaboration with universities in areas such as forest genetic applications, the Pacific Northwest Forest Plan implementation, global climate change mitigation, prescribed fire restoration, wildland recreation enhancement, spotted owl restoration, and ecosystem management.