At nearly 50,000 acres, the Centennial Forest covers the spectrum from windblown desert grasslands to stately ponderosa pine forests. The diversity of ecosystems encompassed by the Centennial Forest, and the close proximity to NAU and Flagstaff make it an ideal location for education and research.<\/p>\n
The Centennial Forest is divided roughly in half: one-half north of Flagstaff, Arizona, just west of Wupatki National Monument, and the other half southwest of town interspersed in a checkerboard pattern within the Coconino National Forest.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n Several research projects are underway to study forest and grassland ecosystems on a landscape level and over a very long period of time. Furthermore, the rich historical, geological, and archaeological resources, and the unique intergovernmental agreement of the Centennial Forest are attracting researchers from across the country, and even internationally. See the research bibliography at the bottom of this page to view the full breadth of over 100 research products that have been produced on the Centennial Forest.<\/p>\n The educational opportunities are just as exciting. Hands-on experience in many disciplines is very difficult to come by because of the time and expense of traveling to field sites. On the Centennial Forest, students can conduct field studies within minutes of campus. Forestry field laboratories occur on the Forest, and some of the student-collected data are even used to help manage the Forest. What better way to challenge students to learn than to let them actually participate in the entire process of natural resource management from data collection to decision making?<\/p>\n A valid permit is required to access Centennial Forest state trust land for research and teaching. To apply for a permit, please fill out an activity application<\/a> and send via email<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n <\/body><\/html>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n \n An agreement signed by Arizona Governor Jane D. Hull in April 2000 established a partnership<\/a> between Arizona State Land Department (ASLD) and Northern Arizona University (NAU) by designating almost 50,000-acres of Arizona higher education state trust lands in the vicinity of Flagstaff, Arizona as the Centennial Forest. Today, Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management (DFFM) and Northern Arizona University’s School of Forestry coordinate to manage the now approximately 45,000-acre area to provide research and education opportunities, reduce the risk of wildfire, and provide ecosystem services such as clean water, carbon storage, wildlife habitat, timber, and livestock forage.<\/p>\n View a web map of completed forest management actions and historic fire occurrences in this Webmap<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you’re interested in learning more about the background of the Centennial Forest partnership and what we’ve been up to lately, you can read the latest NAU-DFFM annual operating plan<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n <\/body><\/html>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Centennial Forest is not ‘public land’. The Centennial Forest is entirely comprised of Arizona educational state trust lands which are managed by the Arizona State Land Department (ASLD) for fiduciary beneficiaries that include NAU, University of Arizona, and Arizona State University, among other educational institutions. ASLD requires a permit<\/a> for public access and recreation. OHV<\/a> users and hunters<\/a> are granted access through licenses available through Arizona Department of Game and Fish. An activity application<\/a> is required for those who would like to access Centennial Forest for research and teaching activities.<\/p>\n Professional and educational users who would like to visit the Centennial Forest field campus, a small 100-acre commercial lease held by NAU located near to Arboretum at Flagstaff, can request access via email<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n The Centennial Forest sits atop the southern edge of the Colorado Plateau. Several million years ago lava began to flow over this sedimentary plateau in the vicinity of Williams, Arizona. The zone of active volcanism slowly migrated northeastward to the area around Sunset Crater which erupted during the 11th century. One of the newest and most striking volcanic features on the Centennial Forest is SP Crater which erupted a little over 70,000 years ago. The sharp “ah ah” lava flows associated with this cinder cone have been used by NASA to test the robustness of space suits.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n Annual precipitation ranges from an average of 10 to 15 inches in the northern grasslands to over 25 inches in the higher elevation areas southwest of Flagstaff. Intense monsoon thunderstorms account for most of the precipitation north of Flagstaff. Snowfall becomes increasingly important with the 2000 ft elevation gain to the southwest. Differences in elevation, topography and regional wind patterns help create a variety of vegetation types. Most common are the extensive ponderosa pine forests southwest of Flagstaff. Some of these forests have high concentrations of Gambel oak and New Mexican locust while others are pure ponderosa pine. Wetlands, meadows, and aspen can also be found. The northern portion of the Forest is home to extensive grasslands, shrub-grassland communities, open juniper woodlands, and pinyon-juniper forests.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n The Centennial Forest has been home to Native Americans for several thousand years. Evidence of hunting and gathering can be found almost anywhere in the Forest, but some areas contain evidence of large settlements including petroglyphs and Sinaguan pit houses.<\/p>\n Euro-American settlement in the late 1800s brought timber harvesting and domestic livestock to the region. Since these activities began relatively recently, timber and grazing records are available for the entire duration of Euro-American settlement. Logging activity touched much of the southwestern portion of the forest, but a few areas were uncut or only lightly affected by logging.<\/p>\n Today, portions of the Centennial Forest are being thinned for the purpose of restoring damaged ecosystems and protecting community values from the risk of catastrophic fire. Most of the Centennial Forest is still leased today for commercial grazing operations.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/school-forestry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/376\/CF_web_7_8_24.png\")
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\n Research and Education Tab Open<\/span>\n <\/h4>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n <\/li>\n
\n Forest Management Tab Closed<\/span>\n <\/h4>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n <\/li>\n <\/ul>\n \n
Research and Education Accordion Open<\/span><\/h4>\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n
Forest Management Accordion Closed<\/span><\/h4>\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n
Background<\/h2>\n\n
Ownership and public access Accordion Closed<\/span><\/h4>\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n
Geology and landforms Accordion Closed<\/span><\/h4>\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n
Climate and vegetation Accordion Closed<\/span><\/h4>\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n
Land use Accordion Closed<\/span><\/h4>\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n
Centennial Forest cooperators<\/h3>\n
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Centennial Forest contacts<\/h3>\n <\/div>\n