The Arcata Community Forest is the center piece of the parks and recreation system of the City of Arcata, California, United States. Originally created from several tracts of land in 1955, the main forest area covers 793 acres (3.21 km2). The park is the culmination of efforts to combine tracks of forest land located east of the city together in one continuous section of city owned second-growth coast redwood forest. Over a 50 year period, 622 acres (2.52 km2) were obtained in several purchases. In November 2006, the 171-acre (0.69 km2) Sunny Brae Forest was added to the Community Forest. The City also owns and manages the 1,200-acre (4.9 km2) Jacoby Creek Forest. The City owns a total of 2,134 acres (8.64 km2) of forest."
Until 1964, this land was used as the municipal water source. It is currently used for education, recreation, wildlife habitat, and sustainable timber harvesting. Many of Arcata's small streams possess their headwaters in the Arcata Community Forest.
In 1979, the citizens of Arcata passed the "Forest Management and Parkland Initiative." This was intended to develop an ecologically responsible long-term forest management program to generate income to develop and acquire parkland.
The objectives of the current forest management are:
- To provide educational and recreational opportunities for the community
- To sustainably harvest timber
- To generate revenue so the city may acquire and develop new recreational facilities
- To maintain and enhance the fisheries, watersheds, wildlife, and plant resources
The forest is popular with hikers, birders, and has a storied history of (illegal) camping that remains unpopular with some locals.
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—Aristotle (384–322 B.C.)
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