Florida National Forests

THE Osceola National Forest, with a gross area of 161,813 acres, is located in northeastern Florida in Columbia and Baker Counties, 12 miles south of the Georgia line. The Suwannee River, made famous by song and story, flows within 2 miles of its western boundary and the St. Mary's River within the same distance of its eastern boundary. The "Old Spanish Trail," U S 90, and the Seaboard Air Line Railroad run along the southern boundary. Lake City, the county seat of Columbia Count and headquarters for the district ranger, has a population of 5,000 and is located only 2 miles from the southwest corner of the forest.

The forest was named for Osceola, the daring and intellectual Seminole chief whose capture and imprisonment in Fort Marion at St. Augustine is a tragic story in Florida's history.

The entire forest is extremely flat, and the area is dotted with numerous small ponds and swamps where the soil is covered with water varying in depth from a few inches to several feet. Longleaf and slash pine grow on the higher areas, and with adequate protection from fire the pine reproduction has become well established. Slash pine and cypress predominate in the shallow swamps, and hardwood and cypress on the muck soil in the deep swamps. In the larger swamps are virgin stands of cypress.

OSCEOLA NATIONAL FOREST (click on image for a PDF version)

The Osceola National Forest is managed primarily for naval stores and saw timber. After the trees have been worked out for turpentine, the larger trees are taken as saw timber and poles, the small trees and tops are sold as pulpwood and the turpentined butts as fuel wood. Cypress in the large swamps is being cut as saw timber, and much of the cypress in the ponds is being taken out as cross ties.

FOREST SERVICE ROADS HAVE MADE THESE AREAS ACCESSIBLE TO MOTOR TRAVEL AND FOR MARKETING PRODUCTS F—352971

The forest was established primarily as a naval stores demonstration area to show that proper forest management could be practiced economically and effectively in the naval stores belt. Because the area favors intensive management, research, and demonstration, many permanent improvements have been constructed. The most important of these are located near Olustee, 12 miles east of Lake City. Three miles east of the town is the Olustee guard station. Here the key fire-lookout tower and a modern equipment depot and machine shop are located, also a complete modern seed extractory which furnishes pine seed for national forest nurseries elsewhere.

At Olustee is located the naval stores branch of the Southern Forest Experiment Station and the naval stores laboratory of the Bureau of Chemistry and Soils. The Southern Forest Experiment Station manages 3,000 acres of the Osceola National Forest as an experimental and demonstrational area, and conducts large-scale experiments on the management of southern pines for naval stores, The naval stores station of the Bureau of Chemistry and Soils conducts studies to determine the most efficient methods of harvesting raw gum and distilling and refining turpentine and rosin. Many of the theories that are worked out in an experimental way by these agencies are practiced in a commercial way on the Osceola Forest. Activities here are of great importance to the entire industry and many prominent naval stores operators visit the forest and laboratories to get first-hand information on the latest developments in their field. Since the establishment of the Osceola Forest in 1931, it has produced revenue in excess of a quarter of a million dollars, and has increased its annual cuppage of naval stores and its sale of pulpwood, saw timber, and other forest products. It is not only on a sustained-yield basis, but also is increasing its inventory of merchantable forest products.

RECREATION

Because of its low, swampy topography, this forest has very limited recreation resources. The only attractive area for recreation use lies along the shores of Ocean Pond, a lake of open water, 1-1/2 miles in diameter, which offers good possibilities for fishing, boating, and swimming. Osceola Lodge has been constructed on the north shore of the lake and is used by forest school students, Boy Scout troops, and similar organizations. Improved picnic areas are planned on the south and west shores.

HUNTING AND FISHING

In cooperation with the State Commission of Game and Fresh Water Fish, a wildlife management area of 107,000 acres has been established within the Osceola. This area will be closed to hunting until it has been satisfactorily restocked with deer and other species of wildlife. When the population of these animals has been built up sufficiently, they will be placed under scientific management. Fishing, except for bream in the small streams scattered through the forest, is limited to Ocean Pond. The Forest Service plans to remove the garfish from this lake and stock it with game fish.