It is one of the largest pieces of natural landscape in Louisiana, with some 604,000 acres (2,440 km2) of public land, more than half of which is vital longleaf pine and flatwoods vegetation.

[4] Kisatchie National Forest plays an important role in protecting representative examples of the landscape of northern Louisiana, particularly those that fall within the South Central Plains Ecoregion.

[5] The forest also offers recreation activities including: bird watching, photography, backpacking, canoeing, all-terrain vehicle trails, boating, camping, cycling, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, hunting, mountain biking, picnicking and swimming.

The forest has more than 40 developed recreation sites and over 100 miles (160 km) of trails for hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding.

[7] Kisatchie National Forest contains three significant roadless areas, established to protect native species: Cunningham Brake and Saline Bayou.

Cunningham Brake is a large cypress-tupelo gum swamp that also protects flows in Kisatchie Bayou.

Saline Bayou has mixed forests associated with alluvial habitats, ranging from shortleaf pine to tupelo gum.

More information of these important areas can be found in the Final Environmental Impact Statement for Kisatchie, prepared by the Forest Service in 1999.

In descending order of land area within the forest, they are Grant, Natchitoches, Winn, Rapides, Vernon, Claiborne, and Webster parishes.

The Evangeline Unit of the Calcasieu Ranger District also encompasses the remains of Camp Claiborne, a U.S. Army post during World War II.

[33] Having extremely specific habitat requirements lost by mass deforestation caused large population declines and the extinction of numerous colonies in the 20th century.

Fish and Wildlife Service[36] to enlist the aid of non-federal property owners to help build and maintain adequate foraging habitat.

The wild turkey was a very important food animal to Native Americans, but it was eliminated from much of its range by the early 20th century.

The Caney Ranger district is located northeast of Shreveport south of the Arkansas state line near Homer, the seat of Claiborne Parish.

The Caney Ranger District, unlike the rest of the Kisatchie National Forest, began its life in the hands of the Depression-era Resettlement Administration, which bought up marginal upland farmland.

The district features Stuart Lake Recreation Complex; hiking and biking along the Glenn Emery Trail; the original Louisiana State University site in Pineville; hunting in the Catahoula National Wildlife Refuge; and two ATV trails located in old Camp Livingston.

The remains of Camp Livingston, a World War II-era U.S. Army installation, lie almost completely in the Catahoula Ranger District.

Viewable year-around, the Catahoula Hummingbird and Butterfly Garden is best viewed in late spring through early fall.

The Stuart Seed Orchard was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s for the purpose of replanting clear-cut areas from the previous 30 years of unsupervised forest harvesting.

The bayou runs through a large portion of the national forest and is known for its clear waters, swimming holes and waterfalls.

Because of this close proximity, the Winn Ranger District and the Catahoula National Wildlife Management refuge[53] has become a very popular destination for hunters during hunting season.

[54] Cloud Crossing Recreation Complex lies directly on the banks of Saline Bayou and is a put-in/take-out point for boating or canoeing.

Approximately 21 miles (34 km) of Saline Bayou was designated a National Wild and Scenic River because of its unique qualities.

The quarter's design features a wild turkey in flight over blue stem grass with long leaf pine trees in the background.