MOUNT VERNON — On Thursday, Knox Woods became the 83rd forest in the country to be dedicated into the Old Growth Forest Network. It joins 11 other old-growth forests in Ohio as members of the network.
The Knox County Commissioners established Knox Woods as a forest park on Dec. 18, 1972. On June 18, 1973, the park was dedicated as a state nature preserve.
Encompassing 30 acres of predominantly black walnut, shagbark hickory, red and black oaks, and sugar maples, Knox Woods is now part of Wolf Run Regional Park on Yauger Road. Like other state nature preserves in Ohio, Knox Woods features light recreation such as bird watching and hiking.
According to Charlotte McCurdy, east regional district manager of ODNR’s Division of Natural Areas and Preserves, the 136 state nature preserves in Ohio encompass a variety of land and ecosystems ranging from geological to cultural to prairie.
“These lands are protected in perpetuity, and that’s a good thing in this day of development,” she said.
McCurdy said that DNAP does not own Knox Woods, but co-manages it with the Knox County Park District.
“That’s a great thing,” she said. “We trust in the park system and they know what they are doing.”
When the first settlers came to Ohio country, about 96 percent of the land was forested. As settlers arrived and development expanded, forested land dropped to a low of 10 percent in the early 1900s. The birth of the state forestry system sparked a move toward reforestation, resulting in about 30 percent coverage today.
“Now we have less than 1 percent in what we call old-growth forest,”said Joan Maloof, founder of the Old-Growth Forest Network. “But there was no organization working to preserve these forests. … So the Old-Growth Forest Network was formed.”
Maloof said that individuals should enjoy these forests, but it is also their responsibility to educate the next generation so that they, too, will work toward preserving the forests.
“The two go hand-in-hand,” she said.
The goal of the network is to identify at least one forest in each county in the United States that is protected from logging and open to the public.
“That’s a big task, as there are 3,141 counties,” said Maloof, author of four books on old-growth forests. “This will make our 83rd forest in the Old-Growth Forest Network. Today’s dedication will be the 12th dedicated in Ohio, so that makes Ohio No. 1 in the country as far as old-growth forest network.”
Pennsylvania is second with nine.
Local dignitaries, members of the park district, and volunteers attended the dedication held at Wolf Run Regional Park.
