Daniel Boone National Forest
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Daniel Boone National Forest | |
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| IUCN Category VI (Managed Resource Protected Area) | |
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| Location: | Kentucky, USA |
| Nearest city: | Winchester, KY |
| Coordinates: | |
| Area: | 2.1 million acres (8,500 km²) (proclamation boundary); 706,000 acres (2,860 km²) (Forest Service) |
| Established: | 1937 |
| Visitation: | 2,507,000 (in 2004) |
| Governing body: | U.S. Forest Service |
Daniel Boone National Forest is the only national forest completely within the boundary of Kentucky. Established in 1937, it was originally named the Cumberland National Forest, after the core region called the Cumberland Purchase Unit (established in 1930 -WorldBook 1949 vol#10 - 900,000 acres in coverage). About 2.1 million acres (8500 km²) are contained within its current proclamation boundary, of which 706,000 acres (2860 km²) are owned and managed by the United States Forest Service (as of April, 2006), up from around 620,000 acres (2500 km²) in the early to mid 1990s.
The forest was named after Daniel Boone, a frontiersman and explorer in the late eighteenth century who contributed greatly to the exploration and settlement of Kentucky.
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[edit] Notable features
Daniel Boone National Forest surrounds or contains a variety of popular and notable features, including:
- Cave Run Lake - a USACE reservoir
- Laurel River Lake - a USACE reservoir
- Buckhorn Lake - a USACE reservoir
- Red River Gorge Geologic Area - popular with hikers, campers, and rock climbers
- Sheltowee Trace Trail
- Natural Bridge State Park (Kentucky)
- Yahoo Falls
- Cumberland Falls
There are two areas designated as Wilderness:
- Clifty Wilderness
- Beaver Creek Wilderness
[edit] History
In 1937, when the national forest was established, it contained 1,338,214 acres within its proclamation boundary. As of June 1937, the United States Forest Service had purchased 336,692 acres. WorldBook 1949 vol#10 lists 900,000 acres in "coverage." Most of the early purchases were large tracts owned by lumber and coal companies. These lands were relatively isolated and unpopulated. The Forest Service has had difficulty acquiring more land within the proclamation boundary, the bulk of which was, and still is, made up of small owner-operated farms of about 100-300 acres.
Due in part to World War Two, funds for land acquisition was curtailed in the early 1940s. Substantial acquisition efforts did not resume again until the middle 1960s. Part of the reason for the forest's highly fragmented ownership pattern is due to the lengthy cessation of land acquisitions starting shortly after the national forest's creation.
During the 1960s, part of the Daniel Boone National Forest was established as the Primitive Weapons Area, renamed Pioneer Weapons Area, for hunting with longbow, crossbow, or muzzle-loading firearms (either flintlock or percussion). In 1970, this was the only area in the United States where deer could be legally hunted with crossbows, and it is still unique in allowing only muzzle-loaded firearms.
The name of the forest was debated since before its establishment. The name "Daniel Boone National Forest" was suggested and advocated by various people during the 1930s, before its establishment as the Cumberland National Forest. A majority of local leaders in Kentucky favored the name "Daniel Boone" when polled in the 1930s. Protests about the name began immediately after the national forest was established. According to Robert F. Collins of the Forest Service, the name of the forest was reopened in the late 1950s. The Forest Service investigated the name "Cumberland" and found it came to Kentucky in 1750 when Dr. Walker named the Cumberland River in honor of Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, who had defeated the Scottish Highlanders in the 1746 Battle of Culloden. The aftermath of the battle was noted for its brutality and many Scottish families fled to America and ultimately Kentucky, according to the Forest Service's investigation. Some of these families, the Forest Service noted, still live in eastern Kentucky and find the name "Cumberland" distasteful (Collins, pg. 244).
In addition, the Forest Service noted that the settlement of Kentucky, while beginning before the American Revolution, grew dramatically after the war. Many of the early settlers had received land grants in reward for service during the war with the British. During this period of time, place names with British connotations were out of favor, and various changes were made (for example, the Kentucky River had been called the Louisa River (or Levisa), after the wife of the Duke of Cumberland).
During the 1960s, a new movement to rename the national forest took place. The Kentucky Senate passed a resolution in 1966 urging the Forest Service to change to name to "Daniel Boone National Forest." In late 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed a proclamation renaming the forest to "Daniel Boone National Forest."
In 1967, a large and disconnected addition to the national forest was created, called the Redbird Purchase Unit, after the key purchase from the Red Bird Timber Company.
[edit] Recent controversies
About a third of the land within the national forest proclamation boundary is owned or managed by the Forest Service. The pattern of land ownership is highly fragmented and changes relatively frequently. One of the goals of the Forest Service is to consolidate holdings into larger blocks, which is often done by trading tracts with other organizations. The boundaries of Forest Service lands are marked in various ways, including red paint on trees. The shifting boundaries and growing size of Forest Service lands sometimes results in local complaints and boundary disputes. In addition, it can be difficult for recreational users to know whether they are on Forest Service lands or not. "No Trespassing" signs are frequently use by landowners. Conflicts between landowners and recreational users are not uncommon. As is common in many national forests, some recreational users trespass on private property, sometimes leaving litter, campfire rings, and causing other damage. In contrast, the population of eastern Kentucky has long been strong proponents of property rights. Feelings of local ownership traditionally extended into nearby public lands, used as woodlots, for hunting and herb gathering, and other such uses. The conflict between long-term local residents and recreational users is exacerbated by the highly fragmented pattern of land ownership.
Boundary disputes are often not contested in court when impoverished landowners find the commercial value of disputed land is less than the legal cost of fighting the Forest Service. Some of those affected claim the government takes advantage of archaic deed language and vague border markers or descriptions to shave away property in favor of forrest holdings. Local county governments receive "Permanent fund" payments "in lue of property taxes" from the Agraculture Dept. which can increase their bond rating as well as revenue Ratio analysis to provide further financial incentives for the process to continue.
Issues such as logging and wildlife protection have resulted in lawsuits. Concerns have been raised about organizations promoting the introduction and population growth of animals such as bears, cougars, and red wolves. The successful introduction of red wolves to nearby Great Smoky Mountains National Park as well as failed attempts at other nearby areas, such as the Land Between the Lakes, has generated concern and debate throughout the Appalachian region.
On many commercially available maps the whole region within the proclamation boundary is shown as solid green, but the national forest is actually a patchwork of tracts intermingled with private, county, and state properties. Tracts are often shuffled through swaps, barters and exchange, or purchase. One example is the nearly unforested quarry tracts swapped near Clearfield's Klack Mountain for land on the Licking River in Morgan County.
The controversy over logging and wildlife habitat has resulted in several lawsuits involving management of the public lands that are nicknamed "the boone" by some environmental activists, that tend to refer to the entire eastern half of the state when referring to the forest which was taken as the footprint for the original "Cumberland National Forest" program from the United States Department of Agriculture as evidenced on some older pre-1965 topographical series maps.
Many members of the public may not realise that federal "payments in lieu of property taxes" are made to the local governments to allow management of forest designated lands and create an interest in allowing takeover of any derelict tracts not of commercial value to increase local off-the-budget re-venues. In addition, nongovernmental organizations also acquire land using donations to reserve for forested land, some of which may be donated to the government.
Some vagueness in the state legislative process (or record) for the constitutional ownership of these lands in Kentucky was highlighted by the efforts of State Representative Perry Clark in the late 1990s regarding his investigation along with "Take Back Kentucky", the "United Nations Man and the Biosphere project", and restricted land use associated with lands adjacent to such areas like Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area and Mammoth Cave National Park, designated as "Biosphere Reserves" and "Core Areas". While in office, Perry Clark visited several offices and also inquired as to the legislative record for where constitutionally required permission was ever granted for federal purchase and occupation of various forest lands in Kentucky and was not given concrete proof from any of his investigation in Frankfort for constitutionally required state legislative permission for a "Article 1 Section 8 Clause 17" (from the federal constitution, i.e.- forts magazines and other needful buildings without said state's permission) federal purchase and ownership of such lands within Kentucky. This is thought to be the reason for the use of the management and "payments in lieu of property taxes" phrases as technically "ownership" would be more in a nomen juris precise since "occupation" militarily, not constitutionally.
A state resolution was passed in 1998 against the UN Man and the Biosphere Project by the state, one of the first in America, rejecting the effects of imposed buffer zone restrictions on private lands near designated wildlands and core areas. Like many such resolutions (as opposed to enactments) little, if any, effect occurred to retain private property from being restricted by such federal and or international designations and presidential edicts.
[edit] References
- Daniel Boone National Forest. U.S. Forest Service. Retrieved on 2006-09-29.
- Collins, Robert F. "A History of the Daniel Boone National Forest 1770-1970". (Lexington: 1975)
- WorldBook 1949 vol#10 -Cumberland National Forest- 900,000 acres in coverage
