Finding a place to hunt in the Western States is a daunting task.  Especially for someone more than a day’s drive away from the area they may have drawn a tag for.  For the self-reliant hunter who is striking out on their own, without the services of an outfitter, understanding the US Forest Service Map is essential first step in narrowing down an area for further investigation.  For those of you not familiar with the United States Forest Service, Here is a description from the USFS Website:

Congress established the Forest Service in 1905 to provide quality water and timber for the Nation’s benefit. Over the years, the public has expanded the list of what they want from national forests and grasslands. Congress responded by directing the Forest Service to manage national forests for additional multiple uses and benefits and for the sustained yield of renewable resources such as water, forage, wildlife, wood, and recreation. Multiple use means managing resources under the best combination of uses to benefit the American people while ensuring the productivity of the land and protecting the quality of the environment.

National forests are America’s great outdoors. They encompass 193 million acres (approx. 78 million hectares) of land, which is an area equivalent to the size of Texas. National forests provide opportunities for recreation in open spaces and natural environments. With more and more people living in urban areas, national forests are becoming more important and valuable to Americans.

So the USFS lands are a significant portion of the wildlife habitat in the western states.  To narrow down you search you can investigate each state’s  specific forests using the Public Forest Finder Maps .  On this page you can click on a state to find the listing of each Forest within that state.  Now each forest has a slightly different layout in the way it presents the information, but each one should have a link to purchase or even view maps of the area covered. You can order a Forest map from the National Forest Store

In California, the region 5 web page even has links to online forest service maps so you can actually view specific sections of the map.  This feature is unique to Region 5 though.  All other USFS forest pages that I’ve seen don’t provide this level of free information.  Usually you will have to purchase a paper map, and peruse them in person.

Forest Service Maps for the Pacific Southwest region (Region 5)

Each map covers all or part of one national forest, and the scale is generally 1/2 inch per mile (1:126,720). Since it is such a large scale, I recommend using them to narrow down where you want to look at more detailed maps.  the most useful maps for scouting seem to be the 7.5 minute (1:25,000) topo maps.   The main features I use a USFS map for are:

• Private land borders (may not be current, check with the local USFS office)
• Wilderness borders
• Administration of Public land (BLM, USFS, State)
• Road numbers and surface
• Public Campgrounds, picnic areas, facilities, water sources

Refer to the USFS Map Legend for explanation of the map symbols.

What the Maps DO NOT tell you is the terrain, and land cover.  For those you need to refer to Topographic maps or Satellite photographs. 

CLICK HERE for a Sample of a Forest Service map image.

The USFS Forest visitor map is just one of a number of tools that the resourceful hunter can use in planning their Western hunt.