Dixon 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 Brantley and Ware counties, located 10 miles southeast of

Waycross, Georgia Waycross is the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Ware County in the U.S. state of Georgia. The population was 14,725 at the 2010 Census and dropped to 13,942 in the 2020 census. Waycross includes two historic districts (Downtown ...

bordered by the

Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is a 402,000‑acre (1,627 km2) National Wildlife Refuge located in Charlton, Ware, and Clinch Counties of Georgia, and Baker County in Florida, United States. The refuge is administered from offic ...

to the south. The forest is approximately 35,000 acres and is the largest state forest owned and managed by the Georgia Forestry Commission. The forest is mostly made up of pine plantations consisting of

slash pine ''Pinus elliottii'', commonly known as slash pine,Family, P. P. (1990). Pinus elliottii Engelm. slash pine. ''Silvics of North America: Conifers'', (654), 338. is a conifer tree native to the Southeastern United States. Slash pine is named after ...

longleaf pine The longleaf pine (''Pinus palustris'') is a pine species native to the Southeastern United States, found along the coastal plain from East Texas to southern Virginia, extending into northern and central Florida. In this area it is also known as ...

, and

loblolly pine ''Pinus taeda'', commonly known as loblolly pine, is one of several pines native to the Southeastern United States, from East Texas to Florida, and north to southern New Jersey. The wood industry classifies the species as a southern yellow pine. ...

as well as wetlands consisting of pondcypress, swamp blackgum, sweetbay magnolia, loblolly bay, and other various hardwoods.

History

In 1937, the U.S. Resettlement Administration purchased distressed farm and pasture land northeast of the

Okefenokee Swamp The Okefenokee Swamp is a shallow, 438,000-acre (177,000 ha), peat-filled wetland straddling the Georgia–Florida line in the United States. A majority of the swamp is protected by the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and the Okefenokee ...

under a federal land utilization program authorized by the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act. The land purchase was for the Georgia Coastal Flatwoods Upland Game Conservation Project. The following year in 1938, the land was leased to the state of Georgia to manage and was renamed the Waycross State Forest. In 1955, a wildfire burned approximately half of the forest causing catastrophic damage. Later that year, the federal government deeded the forest to the State of Georgia. The Waycross State Forest was renamed in 1974 to Dixon Memorial State Forest in honor of longtime Georgia Forestry Commission board member, Hugh M. Dixon. The 2007 Sweat Farm Fire, which was part of the Georgia Bay Complex, catastrophically burned a significant portion of the southern and western parts of the forest. Then in 2011, the Racepond wildfire burned a path through a large amount of the southeastern state forest. Many of the areas on the state forest that burned in the 2007 and 2011 fires were reforested in longleaf pine.

Current Forest Management

Currently, Dixon Memorial State Forest is managed for multiple uses with timber management as the primary objective. The pine plantation and wetland hardwood forests also provide benefits for wildlife habitats, soil conservation, water conservation, and aesthetics. The forest is also used for research and educational opportunities.

Dixon Memorial State Forest Wildlife Management Area

Dixon Memorial State Forest is also a Wildlife Management Area that provides hunting opportunities for White-tailed deer, deer, Wild turkey, turkey, Mourning Dove, dove, Florida black bear, bear, and small game. The area is jointly managed between the Wildlife Resources Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the Georgia Forestry Commission. The Dixon Memorial Shooting Range is also located on Dixon Memorial State Forest.

Leased Areas

A few entities lease portions of Dixon Memorial State Forest from the Georgia Forestry Commission. These include Okefenokee Swamp Park, the Okefenokee Swamp Park, Laura S. Walker State Park, and the Georgia Lions Camp for the Blind.

References

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