The Flat Tops Wilderness Area is the second largest U.S. Wilderness Area in Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

. It is 235214 acres (951.9 km²), with 38870 acres (157.3 km²) in Routt National Forest and 196344 acres (794.6 km²) in White River National Forest

White River National Forest

White River National Forest is a National Forest in northwest Colorado. It is named after the White River that passes through it. It also contains the Flat Tops Wilderness Area, largely considered the birthplace of the U.S...

. It was designated a wilderness area in 1975. Trappers Lake

Trappers Lake

Trappers Lake is a lake in the Flat Tops Wilderness Area, which is in the White River National Forest in Colorado, USA. The lake, at an elevation of approximately 9600 ft , is the source of the North Fork of the White River. It is located in Garfield County east of the town of Meeker and west of...

, located in the north of the area, was the lake that inspired Arthur Carhart

Arthur Carhart

Arthur Hawthorne Carhart was a US Forest Service official, writer and conservationist who inspired wilderness protection in the United States. He was one of the first to realize the importance of conservation and became a nationally recognized authority on conservation practices.-Biography:Carhart...

, a U.S. Forest service

United States Forest Service

The United States Forest Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands, which encompass...

 official, to plea for wilderness

Wilderness

Wilderness or wildland is a natural environment on Earth that has not been significantly modified by human activity. It may also be defined as: "The most intact, undisturbed wild natural areas left on our planet—those last truly wild places that humans do not control and have not developed with...

 preservation

Conservation movement

The conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental and a social movement that seeks to protect natural resources including animal, fungus and plant species as well as their habitat for the future....

.

External links

• Flat Tops Wilderness Information at the Flat Tops Scenic Byway.
• Flat Tops Wilderness at Wilderness.net.
• Flat Tops Wilderness Page at the USDA Forest Service.