Kisatchie National Forest, established in 1930, is Louisiana’s only national forest and one of its largest remaining natural landscapes, spanning about 604,000 acres in the central and northern interior. Named for the Kisatchie of the Caddo Confederacy, it protects upland forests, prairies, seepage bogs, bayous, and rugged hills that represent the South Central Plains ecoregion. Its longleaf pine habitat and rare prairie remnants support uncommon plants and animals, including wild orchids, carnivorous plants, red-cockaded woodpeckers, Louisiana pine snakes, black bears, and pearlshell mussels. It also preserves roadless areas, offers extensive recreation, and includes traces of major World War II training grounds.