The Wayne National Forest is located in the south-eastern part of the US state of Ohio, in the Unglaciated Allegheny Plateau. It is the first and only national forest in Ohio. Forest headquarters are located between The Plains and Nelsonville, Ohio, on US Route 33 overlooking the Hocking River.
| Wayne National Forest | |
|---|---|
Welcome Sign for Wayne National Forest
| |
Location of Wayne National Forest
| |
| Location | Ohio, United States |
| Coordinates | 39°30′0″N 82°0′0″W / 39.50000°N 82.00000°W / 39.50000; -82.00000 |
| Area | 240,101 acres (971.65 km2)[1] |
| Established | December 1992[2] |
| Named for | Anthony Wayne |
| Website | Wayne National Forest |
The forest comprises three administrative and purchase units: Athens, Marietta, and Ironton. The Athens and Marietta Units are managed together as the Athens Ranger District, while the Ironton Unit is managed as the Ironton Ranger District. Many of the lands included in the national forest are former coal-mining lands, and much of this land is owned by the federal government without the mineral rights, those having been retained by former owners.
As of September 2018, Wayne National Forest has 244,265 acres (989 km2) in federal ownership within a proclamation boundary of 832,147 acres (3,368 km2).[1]
The North Country Trail passes through several areas of Wayne, in which it is coincident with the Buckeye Trail and the American Discovery Trail. The area of Ohio included within the national forest is based on late Paleozoic geology, heavy in sandstones and shales, including redbeds, with many coal beds. The topography is typically very rugged, with elevation changes typically in the 200–400-foot range.
The Wayne National Forest was named in honor of General Anthony Wayne, an American soldier, officer, statesman, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He served in the American Revolutionary War and was later recalled from civilian life by President George Washington after St. Clair's defeat to command the Legion of the United States in the Northwest Indian War to gain control of the British controlled ceded Northwest Territory, including the region that is now Ohio.[3]
During the late 18th and 19th century, The forested land was cleared for agricultural and lumbering use, but years of poor timbering and agricultural practices led to severe erosion and poor soil composition. The Wayne National Forest was started as part of a reforestation program. It was established as a National Forest for the public in December 1992.[4]
On April 4, 2024, A new Bureau of Land Management plan to open 40,000 acres of the Wayne National Forest to fracking for oil and gas. The new proposal, released in late March 2024, is nearly identical to the fracking plan that was blocked in 2020 by a federal judge after conservation groups had challenged it in federal court.[5]
On May 23, 2024, The Wayne National Forest planted a Moon Tree sapling at its Forest Headquarters building in Nelsonville, Ohio, as part of an initiative between NASA and the U.S. Forest Service. The sweetgum sapling was one of less than 1,500 seedlings flown thousands of miles beyond the moon aboard the unmanned Orion spacecraft, spending six weeks in space during NASA’s Artemis I mission that had launched on November 16, 2022.[6]