Toumey Woods, also called the ''Toumey Woodlot'', is a tract of Beech-maple forest on the campus of Michigan State University in

East Lansing, Michigan East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County with a smaller portion extending north into Clinton County. At the 2020 Census the population was 47,741. Located directly east of the state capital ...

. of the property are classified as

old-growth An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological feature ...

woodland, and were listed as a United States

National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best ...

in 1976.

Ecology

Michigan State University (MSU), the woods' owner, reports that the primary old-growth trees are American beech and

sugar maple ''Acer saccharum'', the sugar maple, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is native to the hardwood forests of eastern Canada and eastern United States. Sugar maple is best known for being the prim ...

. White ash, basswood, wild black cherry, and

red oak The genus ''Quercus'' contains about 500 species, some of which are listed here. The genus, as is the case with many large genera, is divided into subgenera and sections. Traditionally, the genus ''Quercus'' was divided into the two subgenera ''C ...

are also present.

History

Like many early Euro-American settlers of

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, the Bennett family set aside

woodlot A woodlot is a parcel of a woodland or forest capable of small-scale production of forest products (such as wood fuel, sap for maple syrup, sawlogs, and pulpwood) as well as recreational uses like bird watching, bushwalking, and wildflower appr ...

s for personal use when they settled the tract in 1852. They maintained , the future Toumey Woods, in their natural condition, and sold the woodlot to MSU in 1939; thus the woodlot has had only two owners. The woods are named after

James Toumey James Toumey (1865-1932) was a pioneer in American forestry, an influential botanist, and a distinguished educator at the Yale School of Forestry (now the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies). Early life and education James William ...

, an MSU graduate who was later dean of the

Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies Yale School of the Environment (YSE) is a professional school of Yale University. It was founded to train foresters, and now trains environmental leaders through four 2-year degree programs ( Master of Environmental Management, Master of Environm ...

and helped found the

Ecological Society of America The Ecological Society of America (ESA) is a professional organization of ecological scientists. Based in the United States and founded in 1915, ESA publications include peer-reviewed journals, newsletters, fact sheets, and teaching resources. I ...

References

{{authority control Forests of Michigan National Natural Landmarks in Michigan Protected areas established in 1976 Protected areas of Ingham County, Michigan Research forests Old-growth forests