Mohican-Memorial State Forest is a

state forest A state forest or national forest is a forest that is administered or protected by some agency of a sovereign or federated state, or territory. Background The precise application of the terms vary by jurisdiction. For example: * In Australia, a ...

in Ashland County,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Mohican-Memorial State Forest is used for forest research, demonstrations of good forest management, tree seed for nurseries, recreation, and protection of soil and watershed.

Forest description

Mohican-Memorial State Forest comprises and is carefully watched over by the Ohio Division of Natural Resources (ODNR). Mohican-Memorial State Forest is at the heart of “Mohican Country”, the third most popular tourist destination in the state. The ODNR Division of Forestry manages the forest under a multiple-use basis. Recreation,

forest protection Forest protection is a branch of forestry which is concerned with the preservation or improvement of a forest and prevention and control of damage to forest by natural or man made causes like forest fires, plant pests, and adverse climatic cond ...

(insect, disease, regeneration and fire), wildlife management, law enforcement, soil and watershed management, and forest management for timber and non-timber are practiced. The Clear Fork River and Pine Run are the major streams that run through Mohican-Memorial State Forest. These streams then merge to make the large Mohican River. Also found within Mohican-Memorial State Forest is the Memorial Forest Shrine Park, covering . In the Memorial Forest Shrine Park there is a chapel-like shrine that has the names of all 20,000 soldiers from Ohio who lost their lives in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

, and the

Persian Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

. The forest has many types of trees like oak, hickory, cherry, white and red pine, maple, aspen, sycamore, hemlock, and other types of trees. Many species of animals thrive in Mohican-Memorial State Forest.

White-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...

and

wild turkey The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an upland ground bird native to North America, one of two extant species of turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic turkey, which was originally d ...

have been successfully reintroduced.

Ruffed grouse The ruffed grouse (''Bonasa umbellus'') is a medium-sized grouse occurring in forests from the Appalachian Mountains across Canada to Alaska. It is the most widely distributed game bird in North America. It is non-migratory. It is the only specie ...

and pheasant are occasionally seen. Fox, coyote,

raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of ...

, striped skunk, rabbit, red and gray squirrel, amphibians,

black rat snake Black rat snake may refer to: *'' Pantherophis alleghaniensis'', the eastern ratsnake * '' Pantherophis spiloides'', the central ratsnake *''Pantherophis obsoletus ''Pantherophis obsoletus'', also known commonly as the western rat snake, black ...

, owl, heron, and bald eagle are among the many species reported. The hemlock gorges in the area support a number of rare breeding birds, including blue-headed vireo,

magnolia warbler The magnolia warbler (''Setophaga magnolia'') is a member of the wood warbler family Parulidae. Etymology The genus name ''Setophaga'' is from Ancient Greek ''ses'', "moth", and ', "eating", and the specific ''magnolia'' refers to the type lo ...

Blackburnian warbler The Blackburnian warbler (''Setophaga fusca'') is a small New World warbler. They breed in eastern North America, from southern Canada, westwards to the southern Canadian Prairies, the Great Lakes region and New England, to North Carolina. ...

Canada warbler The Canada warbler (''Cardellina canadensis'') is a small boreal songbird of the New World warbler family (Parulidae). It summers in Canada and northeastern United States and winters in northern South America. Taxonomy In 1760 the French zoolo ...

hermit thrush The hermit thrush (''Catharus guttatus'') is a medium-sized North American thrush. It is not very closely related to the other North American migrant species of ''Catharus'', but rather to the Mexican russet nightingale-thrush. The specific na ...

, and

winter wren The winter wren (''Troglodytes hiemalis'') is a very small North American bird and a member of the mainly New World wren family Troglodytidae. It was once lumped with the Pacific wren (''Troglodytes pacificus'') of western North America and th ...

History

The Ohio Division of Forestry first acquired the land in 1928 and has continued with the accumulation of over . Some of the land acquired was deforested for agricultural use. The land had become eroded and unfertile, and it was eventually abandoned. When the land was acquired, it was a goal to reforest the land as quick as possible. Much work was done by the Civilian Conservation Corps who planted many trees during the 1930s. Their camp was located in the state forest. They replanted approximately two million native hardwood trees like oak, hickory, beech, maple, and other trees like gum, aspen, ash, cherry, and walnut trees. Native pine trees are also found in the forest. The Corps also built roads, bridges, fire breaks, trails, picnic shelters, and two fire towers.

References

External Links

U.S. Geological Survey Map
at the U.S. Geological Survey Map Website. Retrieved November 6, 2022. {{Protected Areas of Ohio Ohio state forests Protected areas of Ashland County, Ohio