MENDOCINO Co., 01/17/18 — The Covelo Ranger District office of the Mendocino National Forest will be closed indefinitely due to limited staffing, beginning on January 22, 2018, according to a January 16 announcement. The district office is the only Mendocino National Forest office located in Mendocino County, and will re-open as soon as adequate staff are available to operate the location.
“This temporary closure is being implemented due to limited staffing at this location. We are working to remedy the situation and reopen the office as quickly as possible,” District Ranger Frank Aebly said in the closure statement. In the meantime, maps of the Mendocino National Forest are available at the online national forest map store, and campfire permits are also available online. Maps, permits, and recreation passes are also available athe Mendocino National Forest Supervisor’s office, 825 N. Humboldt Ave. in Willows, at the Upper Lake Ranger District office, 10025 Elk Mountain Road in Upper Lake and the Stonyford Work Center in Stonyford, California.
FREE FEE DAYS – Save the Date
The Mendocino National Forest has also announced the free fee days for 2018, which allow people to visit without paying the regularly required fees. The fee waivers will apply to Forest Service managed campgrounds and the Red Bluff Recreation Area boat launch, but fees will still be charged at the PG&E-managed campsites at Lake Pillsbury. The fee free days are President’s Day (February 19), National Get Outdoors Day (June 9), National Public Land’s Day (September 22), and Veteran’s Day (November 10-11).
Snow in the Mendocino National Forest in October, 2017, photo from the Mendocino National Forest Facebook page.
“The Mendocino National Forest offers nearly one million acres to camp, hike, bird-watch and ride off-highway vehicles,” Forest Supervisor Ann Carlson noted in the announcement. Visitors are encouraged to “carry emergency equipment and appropriate maps in your vehicle and remember that food, gas, and lodging are not available on the forest road network or within forest boundaries,” and tell a friend where they are planning to go.
More information about the Mendocino National Forest can be found at the forest website, and on Facebook.
