George Washington and Jefferson National Forests

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George Washington and Jefferson National Forests
IUCN Category VI (Managed Resource Protected Area)
Location	Virginia, West Virginia, & Kentucky, USA
Nearest city	Roanoke, VA
Coordinates	38°30′0″N 79°00′0″W / 38.5, -79
Area	1,788,739 acres (7,238.77 km²)
Established	1995
Governing body	U.S. Forest Service

The George Washington and Jefferson National Forests are U.S. National Forests that combine to form one of the largest areas of public land in the Eastern United States. They cover 1.8 million acres (7,300 km²) of land in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky. The forest extends the along the entire length of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Alleghany Mountains to the North Carolina border. Just over one third of the forest is actively used for timber harvesting, with the bulk of that used for furniture manufacturing and pulp for paper products. Approximately one million acres (4,000 km²) of the forest are remote and undeveloped and 89,862 acres (363.66 km²) have been designated as wilderness areas, which eliminates future development.

George Washington National Forest was established in 1917, and Jefferson National Forest was established in 1936. The two forests were administratively combined in 1995. North of the James River the forest is called George Washington National Forest. South of the James River it is called Jefferson National Forest. Forest headquarters are located in Roanoke, Virginia.

Contents 1 Notable features 2 Flora and fauna 3 Activities 4 Counties 4.1 George Washington National Forest 4.2 Jefferson National Forest 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Notable features

• The northern portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway which is separately administered by the National Park Service runs through the Forest.
• Over 2,000 miles (3,000 km) of hiking trails go through the forest.
• Virginia's highest point, Mount Rogers, is located in the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area that is part of the forest. Other notable mountains include Elliott Knob which has one of the last remaining fire lookout towers in the eastern U.S. and White Top Mountain.

[edit] Flora and fauna

There are over 500 species of trees and plants and the forest is dominated by various species of oaks and hickory with maple and pine also common. The black bear is relatively common, enough so that there is a short hunting season to prevent overpopulation. White-tailed deer, bobcat, bald eagles, weasel, otter, and marten are also known to inhabit the forest.

[edit] Activities

The forests are popular hiking, mountain biking, and hunting destinations. The Appalachian Trail extends for 330 miles (530 km) from the southern end of Shenandoah National Park through the forest and along the Blue Ridge Parkway. The forest is within a two hour drive to over 10 million people and receives heavy visitation, especially in the region closest to Shenandoah National Park.

The George Washington National Forest is a popular destination for trail runners. It is the location for several Ultramarathons, including the Massanutten Mountain Trails 100 miler, the Old Dominion 100 miler, and the Old Dominion Memorial 100 miler^[1].

[edit] Counties

Counties are listed in descending order of forestland area within county. Note that Jefferson National Forest is located in 22 separate counties, more than any other National Forest except Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri, which lies in 29 counties. Note also that Botetourt, Monroe, and Rockbridge counties, at the dividing line between the two forests, include parts of both forests. Thirdly, note that the state of Kentucky actually has very little acreage, with its two counties bringing up the tail end of Jefferson National Forest. As of 30 September 2007 George Washington National Forest has a total area of 1,065,389 acres (1,664.7 sq mi, or 4,311.5 km²). There are local ranger district offices located in Bridgewater, Covington, Edinburg, Hot Springs, and Staunton. Jefferson National Forest has a total area of 723,350 acres (1,130.2 sq mi, or 2,927.3 km²). [1] There are local ranger district offices located in Blacksburg, Marion, Natural Bridge, New Castle, and Wise.

[edit] See also

• Great North Mountain
• Massanutten Mountain
• Shenandoah Mountain

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• George Washington and Jefferson National Forests

v • d • e Protected Areas of Virginia Units of the National Park Service and affiliated areas Appalachian Trail • Appomattox Court House NHP • Arlington House • Assateague Island NS • Blue Ridge Parkway • Booker T. Washington NM • Captain John Smith Chesapeake NHT • Cedar Creek and Belle Grove NHP • Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network • Claude Moore Colonial Farm • Colonial NHP • Cumberland Gap NHP • Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania NMP • George Washington Memorial Parkway • George Washington Birthplace NM • Great Falls Park • Green Spring District • Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove on the Potomac • Maggie L. Walker NHS • Manassas NBP • Overmountain Victory NHT • Petersburg NB • Potomac Heritage Trail • Prince William Forest Park • Richmond NBP • Shenandoah NP • Wolf Trap National cemeteries Alexandria • Arlington • Balls Bluff • City Point • Cold Harbor • Culpeper • Danville • Fort Harrison • Fredericksburg • Glendale • Hampton • Hampton VA • Poplar Grove • Quantico • Richmond • Seven Pines • Staunton • Winchester • Yorktown National Wildlife Refuges Back Bay • Chincoteague • Eastern Shore of Virginia • Mason Neck • Featherstone • Fisherman Island • Great Dismal Swamp • James River • Nansemond • Occoquan Bay • Plum Tree Island • Presquile • Rappahannock River Valley • Wallops Island National Forests and affiliated areas George Washington • Jefferson • Mount Rogers National Recreation Area • Mountain Lake Wilderness State parks Bear Creek Lake • Belle Isle • Breaks Interstate • Caledon Natural Area • Chippokes Plantation • Claytor Lake • Douthat • Fairy Stone • False Cape • First Landing • Grayson Highlands • High Bridge Trail • Holliday Lake • Hungry Mother • James River • Kiptopeke • Lake Anna • Leesylvania • Mason Neck • Natural Tunnel • New River Trail • Occoneechee • Pocahontas • Sailor's Creek Battlefield • Shot Tower • Shenandoah River • Sky Meadows • Smith Mountain Lake • Southwest Virginia Museum • Staunton River • Staunton River Battlefield • Tabb Monument • Twin Lakes • Westmoreland • Wilderness Road • York River State forests Appomattox-Buckingham • Bourassa • Browne • Channels • Chilton Woods • Conway-Robinson • Crawfords • Cumberland • Devil's Backbone • Dragon Run • Hawks • Lesesne • Matthews • Niday Place • Paul • Prince Edward-Gallion • Sandy Point • Whitney • Zoar Natural area preserves Antioch Pines • Bethel Beach • Big Spring Bog • Blackwater • Buffalo Mountain • Bull Run Mountains • Bush Mill Stream • Camp Branch Wetlands • Cape Charles Coastal Habitat • The Cedars • The Channels • Cherry Orchard Bog • Chestnut Creek Wetlands • Chestnut Ridge • Chotank Creek • Chub Sandhill • Cleveland Barrens • Clover Hollow • Cowbane Prairie • Crow's Nest • Cumberland Marsh • Dameron Marsh • Deep Run Ponds • Dendron Swamp • Difficult Creek • Elklick Woodlands • False Cape • Folly Mills Creek Fen • Goshen Pass • Grafton Ponds • Grassy Hill • Grayson Glades • Hickory Hollow • Hughlett Point • Johnsons Creek • Magothy Bay • Mark's and Jack's Island • Mount Joy Pond • Mutton Hunk Fen • Naked Mountain • New Point Comfort • New Landing River • Northwest River • Ogdens Cave • Parkers Marsh • Parramore Island • Pedlars Hill • Pinnacle • Poor Mountain • Red Rock Mountain • Savage Neck Dunes • Unthanks Cave • William B. Trower Bayshore • Wreck Island Wildlife management areas Amelia • Big Survey • Briery Creek • Chester F. Phelps • Cavalier • Chickahominy • Clinch Mountain • Crooked Creek • Dick Cross • Fairystone Farms • Featherfin • G. Richard Thompson • Game Farm Marsh • Goshen and Little North Mountain • Hardware River • Havens • Hidden Valley • Highland • Hog Island • Horsepen Lake • James River • Land's End • Mockhorn Island • Pettigrew • Powhatan • Princess Anne • Ragged Island • Rapidan • Saxis • Stewarts Creek • T. M. Gathright • Turkeycock • Weston • White Oak Mountain Registered Historic Places in Virginia Counties A-B • C • D-G • H-M • N-R • S-Z • • Bridges • • National Historic Landmarks Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation • Virginia Department of Forestry • Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries • Virginia Landmarks Register

v • d • e Protected Areas of West Virginia Federal protected areas Appalachian National Scenic Trail • Bluestone National Scenic River • Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge • Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park • Cranberry Wilderness • Dolly Sods Wilderness • Gauley River National Recreation Area • George Washington National Forest • Harpers Ferry National Historical Park • Jefferson National Forest • Laurel Fork North Wilderness • Laurel Fork South Wilderness • Monongahela National Forest • Mountain Lake Wilderness • New River Gorge National River • Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge • Otter Creek Wilderness • Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area State parks Audra • Babcock • Beartown • Beech Fork • Berkeley Springs • Blackwater Falls • Blennerhassett Island • Bluestone • Cacapon Resort • Camp Creek • Canaan Valley Resort • Carnifex Ferry Battlefield • Cass Scenic Railroad • Cathedral • Cedar Creek • Chief Logan • Droop Mountain Battlefield • Fairfax Stone • Greenbrier River Trail • Hawks Nest • Holly River • Little Beaver • Lost River • Moncove Lake • North Bend Rail Trail • North Bend • Pinnacle Rock • Pipestem Resort • Prickett's Fort • Stonewall Jackson Lake • Tomlinson Run • Tu-Endie-Wei • Twin Falls Resort • Tygart Lake • Valley Falls • Watoga • Watters Smith Memorial State forests Cabwaylingo • Calvin Price • Camp Creek • Coopers Rock • Greenbrier • Kanawha • Kumbrabow • Panther • Seneca Wildlife management areas Allegheny • Amherst-Plymouth • Anawalt Lake • Bear Rock Lakes • Becky Creek • Beech Fork Lake • Berwind Lake • Beury Mountain • Big Ditch • Big Ugly • Bluestone Lake • Briery Mountain • Burches Run Lake • Burnsville Lake • Castleman Run Lake • Cecil H. Underwood • Center Branch • Chief Cornstalk • Conaway Run Lake • Cross Creek • Dunkard Fork • East Lynn Lake • Edwards Run • Elk Creek • Elk River • Fork Creek • Fort Mill Ridge • Frozen Camp • Green Bottom • Handley • Hilbert • Hillcrest • Horse Creek • Hughes River • Huttonsville State Farm • Lantz Farm and Nature Preserve • Laurel Lake • Lewis Wetzel • Little Indian Creek • McClintic • Meadow River • Mill Creek • Moncove Lake • Morris Creek • Nathaniel Mountain • Pedlar • Pleasant Creek • Plum Orchard Lake • Pruntytown • R.D. Bailey Lake • Ritchie Mines • Sand Hill • Shannondale Springs • Short Mountain • Slatyfork • Sleepy Creek • Smoke Camp • Snake Hill • South Branch • Stonecoal Lake • Stonewall Jackson Lake • Stumptown • Summersville Lake • Tate Lohr • Teter Creek Lake • The Jug • Thorn Creek • Tug Fork • Turkey Run • Upper Deckers Creek • Upper Mud River • Valley Bend • Wallback • Widmeyer • Woodrum West Virginia Division of Forestry • West Virginia Division of Natural Resources