On the way we drove past a multiple acre clear cut that crossed Keister Road and gave hike participants an up-close and personal visual understanding of this Division Of Forestry (DOF) management practice. The usual buffer zone between the road and the cleared area was missing and participants remarked about the apparent erasure of the trees from the hillsides and wondered how erosion on the steep incline would be prevented.
Our hike started at the trail across from the Horse Camp entrance on Keister Rd and we hiked through a heavily logged area that Paul and Mark had brought to the attention of BFC in August 2006 in an attempt to stop a logging sale in an area Mark described as follows in a letter to Forestry Manager David Glass “This 130 acre cut has many specimen trees, up to 36 inch diameter breast height, probably in the 80-120 year old range. It is one of the few exceptional mature hardwood forests still intact in Hocking State Forest.”
In a September 2006 letter to DOF from BFC, Paul had the following to say: “This is a rare bit of forest in Hocking County… Biologically this section of forest is vigorous, has species of plants and animals not found in younger, disturbed forest, has a healthy forest floor (thick duff, numerous fungi) and a good supply of fallen dead trees. This older growth stand (no cutting for the past 100 years or so) would be ideal as a living laboratory for the Division; as a comparison to nearby managed forest (Paul Knoop, letter to David Glass, September 21, 2006).
The sale of this public gem and subsequent logging proceeded and our hike was a return to view the damage to an area of older growth trees that had succumbed to the Forest Plans of the Division of Forestry.
The remainder of the hike left participants in awed amazement at the beauty and serenity found in our State Forests.
On March 15th some of the same people came out for a hike in The Zaleski State Forest. BFC is working with Matt Peters in the formation of an Athens area Forest Monitor group, and this hike was an introduction for some of the participants to the plans and practices of DOF. Matt had earlier scoped out a potential cutting area and led 14 participants back into the forest via an old logging road. First stop was the site of a massive hillside clearcut in the Waterloo State Forest that looked down on the Moonville Rail Trail. According to the DOF “Waterloo State Forest consists of 447 acres that have been incorporated into the overall management of Zaleski State Forest. Some of the largest White Pine in Ohio can be found at Waterloo.”
But they won’t be found there much longer. We observed many white pines marked for cutting in the near future. The State Forest brochure goes on to indicate: “This area was one of the first state forest land acquisitions, making it one of the oldest areas of the state that has received continuous forest management.” One hiker remarked that his grandchildren would miss an amazing experience when these trees are cut down.
The experience of hiking in State Forest areas to be cut or burned is essential to people interested in Buckeye Forest Council’s Forest Monitor program. While the planned devastation on our public lands can be depressing, the work of saving these sacred places for future generations is critical for the planet. We were lucky on this particular hike to be audience to an impromptu concert provided at the end of the day by two of our hikers.
If you are interested in participating in future hikes or in becoming a Forest Monitor, simply go to the Forest Watch page take a look at our information there, click on the “contact us” button and fill in the form. We will be back in touch with you soon.