History and overview
The forest and surrounding area of the Crow Wing River valley were originally inhabited by the Eastern Dakota and Ojibwe people. European exploration began as a result of the fur trade by the Coureur des bois, French in the early 18th century, and subsequently the Canada, Canadian and United Kingdom, British in the 1760s. The old-growth forests were logging, logged extensively between 1870 and the early 20th century; the lumber industry in the area declined rapidly after the depletion of the mature forests. Wildfires historically occurred every 10 to 40 years, which explains the dominance of Jack Pine, Aspen, and Paper Birch in the forest, although stands of Pinus strobus, Eastern White and Pinus resinosa, Red Pine also occur. The topography, topographical features of the forest, such as terminal moraines, outwash plains, till plains, and drumlin fields, as well as the sandy loam soil texture, were caused by the Wisconsinan glaciation.Recreation
Popular outdoor recreational activities are hunting and Dispersed_camping#Backcountry_camping, dispersed camping. Trails are designated for hiking, with designated for Class I all-terrain vehicle and Types_of_motorcycles#Off-road, off-road motorcycling use.See also
*List of Minnesota state forestsExternal links
References
{{Protected Areas of Minnesota Minnesota state forests Protected areas of Wadena County, Minnesota Protected areas established in 1963