Bladen Lakes State Forest (BLSF) is a North Carolina state forest near

Elizabethtown, North Carolina Elizabethtown is a town in Bladen County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,583 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Bladen County. History Some hold Elizabethtown is named for Elizabeth, the wife of George Carteret, wh ...

, USA. It is managed by the

North Carolina Forest Service The North Carolina Forest Service, formerly known as the North Carolina Division of Forest Resources is a North Carolina state government agency responsible for providing land management assistance to landowners. The agency's primary responsibili ...

. Covering about , it is the largest state owned forest in North Carolina. Bladen Lakes comprises three parcels of land and has a total of eight compartments. Adjoining the forest are Turnbull Creek Educational State Forest,

Jones Lake State Park Jones Lake State Park is a North Carolina state park in Bladen County, North Carolina in the United States near Elizabethtown. It covers , including the Carolina bay lakes of Jones Lake and Salters Lake. Jones Lake State Park is north of Eli ...

and Singletary Lake State Park. The vast majority of the forest is in the Game Lands Program, which is administered by the

North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission is a state government agency created by the General Assembly in 1947 to conserve and sustain North Carolina's fish and wildlife resources through research, scientific management, wise use, and publi ...

. There are several safety zones where hunting is prohibited or restricted (archery zones, hunting areas for disabled persons and still hunting only areas). BLSF is a working forest, which means it is actively managed and creates its own income. Yearly revenues are generated through timber sales, pine straw sales and cooking of

charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, ...

. It is an active partner in the Forest Stewardship Program contributing significantly to the regions clean water and air, protection of the soil, wildlife habitat, recreational resources and timber supplies. The general public is invited to visit the forest and enjoy the scenery and multitude of landscape features, like the

Carolina bays Carolina bays are elliptical to circular depressions concentrated along the Atlantic seaboard within coastal New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and north Florida.Kaczorowski, R. T. (1977) '' ...

pocosin A pocosin is a type of palustrine wetland with deep, acidic, sandy, peat soils. Groundwater saturates the soil except during brief seasonal dry spells and during prolonged droughts. Pocosin soils are nutrient-deficient (oligotrophic), especially ...

s, sand ridges, river bottoms and

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

s. Horseback riding and camping at designated places is welcomed. Street legal vehicles can be used on the 100+ miles of roads and trails as long as these are not behind closed gates. There is a long list of other activities people can do at BLSF. Some use the lack of lights in the forest for star gazing at night. Several universities, community colleges and other scientific organizations have study sites within the forest boundaries. Several agencies and the military use the forest as training ground. Many activities other than hunting require a Special Use Permit, which can be obtained from the office free of charge during regular office hours. File:BLSFMap2018.pdf File:BLSF Headquarters.JPG, BLSF office Image:CharcoalCooking.JPG, Charcoal cooking Image:Young Straw Stand.JPG, Young Longleaf Straw Stand Image:AcrossTBCESF Office.JPG, Old Cemetery near BLSF office File:Logging Operation on BLSF.jpg, Logging operation File:Prescribed Burning in a Long leaf pine Stand on BLSF.jpg, Prescribed burning File:Prescribed Burning on BLSF.jpg, Prescribed burning on BLSF File:Cpress Swamp 2.jpg, Cypress swamp on Bladen Lakes State Forest File:Cypress Swamp 6.jpg, Cypress swamp on BLSF in early summer File:Bladen Lake Forest - Milky Way - Meteor.jpg, Picture taken during Perseids meteor shower event August 14, 2015

External links

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North Carolina Forest Service

North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission

Video about the making of Charcoal at BLSF

Restoring the Long Leaf Pine at Bladen Lakes State Forest with former Supervisor Michael Chesnutt
{{Authority control North Carolina state forests Protected areas of Bladen County, North Carolina