Fernow Experimental Forest is a research forest in
Tucker County
Tucker County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,762, making it West Virginia's fourth-least populous county. Its county seat is Parsons. The county was created in 1856 from a part of ...
,
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...
. It is operated by the
U.S. Forest Service's Northern Research Station. It is named for
Bernhard Fernow
Bernhard Eduard Fernow ( ; January 7, 1851 – February 6, 1923) was the third chief of the USDA's Division of Forestry of the United States from 1886 to 1898, preceding Gifford Pinchot in that position, and laying much of the groundwork for the e ...
, a prominent forester in the late 19th century and early 20th century.
History
The area that now makes up Fernow was heavily logged between 1905 and 1911.
In 1934, the drainage basin of Elklick Run in
Monongahela National Forest
The Monongahela National Forest is a national forest located in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. It protects over of federally managed land within a proclamation boundary that includes much of the Potomac Highlands Regi ...
was set aside to create the current research forest.
In the beginning, foresters studied high-elevation red spruce and the impact of fire on hardwood forests. The forest was closed during
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 ...
but reopened in 1948 to study forest and watershed management in the central Appalachians.
See also
*
Monongahela National Forest
The Monongahela National Forest is a national forest located in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. It protects over of federally managed land within a proclamation boundary that includes much of the Potomac Highlands Regi ...
References
External links
US Forest Service: Northern Research Station - Fernow Experimental Forest
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Monongahela National Forest
Protected areas of Tucker County, West Virginia
National Forests of West Virginia
Research forests