To find the total area covered by the national park and the national forest, we can add the two areas together.
The area of the national park is:
1.42 × 10^6 acres
The area of the national forest is:
1.2 × 10^6 acres
Now, let's add these two values together:
\[ 1.42 \times 10^6 + 1.2 \times 10^6 = (1.42 + 1.2) \times 10^6 = 2.62 \times 10^6 \text{ acres} \]
Therefore, the total area of the national park and the national forest combined is 2.62 × 10^6 acres.