National Forest · USFS · CO, NM · Roosevelt connection
Rio Grande National Forest
Alerts and conditions
All clear. The managing agency, the National Weather Service and wildfire reporting show no current alerts.
History
The designation history for this site (every law, proclamation and order, and the administration behind each) is being researched and checked by the Library’s historians.
The Roosevelt connection
Protected by T.R.
- : as President, Theodore Roosevelt set aside Rio Grande National Forest (forest reserve). Roosevelt first protected land in this forest in 1905.
govinfo.gov · Roosevelt’s Public Lands
His proclamations and orders
- July 1, 1908: Executive Order 887, “Rio Grande National Forest, Colo., Created.” Today’s site began with this document. Still a separate, discrete national forest.
Executive Order 887 in Theodore Roosevelt’s Executive Orders and Proclamations - December 7, 1908: Proclamation 831, “Setting Aside the Wheeler National Monument, Colorado.” Today’s site absorbed into it. Wheeler Geologic Area.
Proclamation 831 in Theodore Roosevelt’s Executive Orders and Proclamations
What to see and do
Plan your visit
Check the USDA Forest Service for current hours, fees and access.
Whose lands these are
These lands are the ancestral and present-day homelands of Native nations. A section on whose lands these are is being prepared with tribal review. In the meantime, Native Land Digital offers a starting point.
Pair it with
- Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge FWS · 36 miles
- Baca National Wildlife Refuge FWS · 49 miles
- Chimney Rock National Monument USFS · 50 miles
- Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge FWS · 53 miles
- San Juan National Forest USFS · 55 miles
- Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve NPS · 60 miles