Clark State Forest
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Clark State Forest, located just north of Henryville, Indiana in the United States, is Indiana's oldest state forest, formed in 1903 as a forest research facility and a nursery. It is bisected by Interstate 65.
Originally 2,000 acres (8 km²), it is now 24,000 acres (100 km²). It features two internal trails, and the 59-mile Knobstone Trail, meant exclusively for hikers. There are nine horse trails, ranging from easy to rugged. There are also five miles of mountain bike trails. Two nature preserves are also situated in the park: the White Oak (160 acres (0.6 km²)) and the Chestnut Oak/Virginia Pine (20 acres). The park also contains a 100-yard outdoor gun range.
[edit] History
It was feared that many woodworking facilities would be closed without adequate wood to work, and that establishing the state forest would ensure the continued existence of such facilities, allowing Indiana to maintain its ability to export hardwood to the rest of the country. This included not only furniture makers, but also shipbuilders such as the Howard Shipyards. The timber industry was a major part of southern Indiana's agricultural income, but thousands of acres had already been deforested. The Indiana General Assembly in 1901 created the Indiana State Board of Forestry.[1][2]
In May 1903 the Indiana state government purchased 2,028 acres of forest in the northern part of Clark County, noted for its knob features, for use as Indiana's first state forest, at the cost of $16,000.[3] Seedlings were planted at Clark State Forest, with many intended to be later moved to other parts of the state. This provided not only using the land of the state forest productively, but to also instruct the art of forestry. Charles C. Deam, a botanist that became Indiana's state forester in 1909, was in charge of making the state forest a experimental laboratory for 20th-century forest care.[4][5]
During the Great Depression, the Works Progress Administration chose to make Clark State Forest a training center for the Civilian Conservation Corps, and made it Indiana's largest CCC cantonment in November 1933. They created artificial lakes within Clark State Forest, and built many bridges, to aid in water conservation, provide beauty spots within the forest, and teach members of the Civilian Conservation Corps forestry skills. The state forest proximity to the Jeffersonville Quartermaster Depot was key in the decision to focus so much attention o the state forest.[6][7]
[edit] Features
From the original two thousand acres, Clark State Forest now covers twenty-four thousand acres, with many curvy roads and paths. This includes a hundred miles of horsepaths, which was a major cause for the future plans for Charlestown State Park to not include horse trails. Hunting is also allowed on the property, save for those areas specifically for human recreation. All the campsites are primitive, and the only other areas allowed for camping in the state forest is hundred feet off the Knobstone Trail. Hiking, biking, fishing, and picnicking are other pursuits to visitors to the state forest. However, all of these human activities are of secondary importance to the main purpose of the state forest.[8]
The lakes of Clark State Forest include:
- Bowen (7 acres)
- Deam
- Franke (13 acres)
- Oak (2.5 acres)
- Pine (2 acres)
- Schlamm (18 acres)
- Shaw (13 acres)
- Wilcox (5 acres)[9]
Schlamm Lake has a fish hatchery is just north of it.[10]
Timber management is the main purpose of Clark State Forest today. Both native and non-native tree saplings are grown within the forest. Trees sold for lumber within the state forest are between 70 and 100 years old, and are previously marked for such use. Often, the chosen trees are cut to provide an area for the native deer to live in the open, and to give smaller animals a brush area they need to subsist upon.[11]
Besides deer, the prominent wildlife in the state forest for hunting are foxes, ruffed grouse, squirrels, turkeys, raccoonss and woodcocks.[12]
[edit] References
- ^ Kleber, John E. Encyclopedia of Louisville. (University Press of Kentucky). pg.204.
- ^ Kramer, Carl. This Place We Call Home (Indiana University Press, 2007) pg. 265)
- ^ Taylor, Robert. Indiana: A New Historical Guide (Indiana Historical Society, 1989) p.181
- ^ Kleber 204.
- ^ Kramer 265,266
- ^ Kleber 204
- ^ Kramer 337
- ^ Kleber 204
- ^ Department of Natural Resources :: Division of Forestry
- ^ Keller, Charles. Indiana Birds and Their Haunts: A Checklist and Finding Guide p.66
- ^ Kleber 204
- ^ Department of Natural Resources :: Division of Forestry
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