Talladega National Forest spans 392,567 acres in Alabama along the southern edge of the Appalachian Mountains, divided between the Oakmulgee District in central Alabama and the Shoal Creek and Talladega districts in the northeast. Much of this land had been heavily logged and was badly eroded before federal acquisition in the 1930s, but forest recovery and pine regrowth transformed it into one of the state’s major protected natural areas. Its varied terrain supports diverse forest types, two wilderness areas, and wildlife ranging from black bear and white-tailed deer to vulnerable species such as the seepage salamander, eastern spotted skunk, red-cockaded woodpecker, and the critically endangered American chestnut.