A History of the Daniel Boone National Forest 1770 - 1970

With the change in Forest Supervisors of the Cumberland National Forest in 1953, a reanalysis of the natural resource situation in eastern Kentucky, as a basis for realigning objectives and programs for the Forest, indicated that one of the most critical resource situations in the general area was that of watershed. Although four major rivers had their origin in eastern Kentucky, the headwaters of none of these were included within the Cumberland National Forest.

A review of the history of the U.S. Forest Service interest and activity in eastern Kentucky indicated that this situation had been recognized almost from the beginning of the Forest Service when Gifford Pinchot, the first Chief of the Forest Service, sent Forest officers into the area to determine its suitability for National Forest purposes.

An analysis of the watershed situation, from the standpoint of the general welfare of the people of Kentucky, pointed to the Kentucky River as having the most critical situation. The Kentucky River is the lifeblood of the Bluegrass, the most intensely developed part of the state and, by all reports, due for an increase in population and industrial development in the years immediately ahead. The cities and towns of the Bluegrass region are dependent on the Kentucky River for their water supply, both domestic and industrial. Many of the larger cities of the Bluegrass are located on the Kentucky, portions of them in the floodplain of the river. Therefore, the quality and quantity of the flow of the Kentucky is of vital importance to the several million people who are dependent on the Kentucky River for their water supply and are at its mercy in the event of extreme flood.

It has long been recognized that the characteristics of a river are largely determined by the conditions of its headwaters watershed. The headwaters of the Kentucky lie in the mountains of eastern Kentucky, the three forks coming together in Beattyville to form the Kentucky River. The watersheds of these three forks had been heavily logged prior to 1920, and heavily and repeatedly burned by forest fires since that time. Coal drift mines have penetrated the mountains with the resultant siltation from the piles of spoil and from the roads and tramways which served the mines. In addition, acid pollution from mine drainage is present in the small feeder streams throughout the watershed. Coupled with this adverse situation was the beginning of extensive strip mining along the coal seam and outcrops in nearly every major drainage of the area. From the miles of spoil banks along the mountainside came heavy siltation, earth slides and, for the spoil that contained acid shale, acid pollution of the water itself.

This situation has been described repeatedly in the public press, discussed by state organizations and publicized nationally, but no action to correct or even halt the spread of the situation had been initiated. Public demand had enacted a strip-mine law whose effect, when measured by the improvement of the end product of halting pollution and siltation of the streams, was of no consequence.

The critical watershed importance of the headwaters watershed of the Kentucky has long been recognized. The Forest Service had examined the area in 1907, again in 1914, and again in 1921, each report recommending it as desirable for establishment of National Forests, in each case based the recommendation heavily on its critical watershed characteristics. In each case establishment of National Forests was discouraged by large financial interests, organized as coal and timber companies, which held large key tracts of land which they declined to sell until their program of exploitation of coal and timber resources was complete.

Again in 1933, Mrs. Mary Breckinridge, founder and director of the Frontier Nursing Service, made every possible effort to secure establishment of a National Forest on the headwaters of the Kentucky River. She personally visited Washington where she appealed to the Chief of the Forest Service and, finally, to the National Forest Reservation Commission through its Chairman, Secretary of War George H. Dern, a personal friend; all to no avail. Again in 1934, W. E. Hedges visited the area, conferred with Mrs. Breckinridge and examined the area, reporting most favorably on the need to locate a National Forest purchase unit there to insure protection and continued management of the critical headwaters watershed of the Kentucky River.

In her book, Wide Neighborhoods, Mrs. Breckinridge has stated of this effort, "Our failure to get the National Forest Reservation, with all that it would have meant to Americans from the sources of the Middle Fork to the Mississippi Delta, was total and in a few years there will be no forests as we once knew them. The reason for this failure seems to have lain in minerals that underlies the forest, which could not be bought by the Forest Service, or side-stepped in the purchase of surface rights."

After his return to Washington, W.E. Hedges, Chief Land Examiner of the Forest Service in the Eastern Region, wrote to Mrs. Breckinridge about the continued uninterrupted destruction of the Forest. Mrs. Breckinridge commented on this in the last paragraph of Chapter 35 of Wide Neighborhoods, "For this destruction one should not place blame on the lumber companies. The tax laws of many states, including Kentucky, discourage forestry and favor lumbering. No cash concessions are given companies to conserve trees of small girth for later harvesting; no penalties are laid on men for the destruction of such trees. The fault for this lies partly with us, an apathetic citizenry. Meanwhile, floods in here and in lowlands, are bigger and more frequent, as the forest cover disappears, and terrible forest fires start on cutover land, strewn with dead branches, to destroy such of the soil as had not already been washed away by erosion. Meanwhile, the cities on the Ohio River build more and better flood walls. If a man from Mars were to drop in upon the planet Earth, he might find it perplexing to understand why money, including Federal money, is paid out in the construction of the flood walls to protect the cities in the lowland valleys when the same money, spent in the conservation of the highland forests, would have controlled the flood. Some of those who travel through here see the operations of the lumber companies, including outside companies who take out of the region the wealth they glean from it, and think that an economic outlet has been assured our people through them. This is transient. It will soon pass away, but the desolation left by the destruction of the forest will remain for generations to come."

Again in 1939, two years after the Proclamation of the Cumberland National Forest, the Forest Service sent Mr. W. E. Hedges and David Tabbutt into the area for a more detailed study of the critical watershed area which had been recognized and by-passed for many years. Their report, which covered nearly 50 pages, spelled out in detail the conditions found within an area of nearly a half-million acres of forest land on the headwaters of the Kentucky and the Cumberland rivers.

In discussing the watershed protection and soil conservation aspects of this area, the report quoted from U.S.D.A. Miscellaneous Publication Number 351 as follows, "The one system of attack on erosion which promises success is . . . to begin where the erosion begins, at the crest of the ridge, and working down . . . to the stream banks in the valleys below. Control of timber and watershed . . . in order to conserve and restore vegetation and increase the absorptive capacity of the soil, will provide the kind of land management that will cause reduction in flood runoff, silt damage, destructive mud flow, and deposit of erosional debris."

The report continues by pointing out that the description given above is particularly applicable to the area covered in the report. The report states that the slopes are not only steep and the ridgetops and valley floors narrow, but the soil, when exposed, is very susceptible to erosion. Consequently, a heavy contribution is made to practically all downstream floods and to the silt deposits in downstream channels.

The report continues, "In view of the fact that this area affects a much larger area, from a watershed and soil conservation standpoint, it should be given a high place in any plan of action on any part of these watersheds."

Although these facts have been known for a long time, there is little effort, except on National Forest land, to correct, or even slow, this process of erosion and development of conditions favorable to flood development to this day.

As a result of reviewing the above history of the area in question, foresters agreed that spearheading an effort to establish a National Forest purchase unit on the headwaters of the Kentucky River ranked high in the long-range objectives of the Forest in the field of watershed protection. Such a unit, once established, could initiate intensive control of forest fires, establish and maintain the continuing forest cover on the slopes, take action to heal eroding abandoned roads and tramways and, where abandoned strip-mine areas would be purchased, possibly be eligible for Federal funds to restore these bleeding areas to a reasonable watershed condition.

In addition, a Natural Forest purchase unit could provide the normal benefits of some increased employment and vigorous leadership in all phases of rural development involving employment on natural resources and the use of public land.

Personnel of the Cumberland National Forest immediately initiated the program by laying a groundwork for such a proposal. At every opportunity, such as talks to conservation groups, talks to service clubs, contacts with other government agencies, discussion programs in the State Rural Development Committee, reports to the Regional Office, discussions with Regional and Chief's office staff personnel, and even in discussions in barber shops and social gatherings, the importance of flood and erosion control on the headwaters of the Kentucky River were illustrated and emphasized.

By 1960, the information was becoming familiar to many people, some of whom had become real supporters of the idea. Among these were some of the staff officers of Governor Bert T. Combs, and the governor himself, a resident of eastern Kentucky, was familiar and sympathetic with the need to do something on the headwaters of the Kentucky River.

Simultaneously, events in Kentucky were developing what was to prove a fertile seedbed for ideas as to the desirability of a National Forest purchase unit on the headwaters of the Kentucky. The poverty program was in full swing, and Gov. Combs of Kentucky, as Chairman of the Organization of Appalachian Governors, had called the famous White House Conference to meet in Washington in late March of 1963.

During that same period of March, 1963, another event focused public attention on watershed situations in eastern Kentucky. During that period destructive floods occurred throughout the area causing much damage and financial loss.

Just prior to the meeting of the White House Conference of Appalachian Governors, the Forest Supervisor of the Cumberland National Forest, reading about the proposed conference in the newspaper, called one of Gov. Combs staff officers, with whom he was associated on the State Rural Development Committee, and suggested that the proposal for a new National Forest purchase unit on the headwaters of the Kentucky be included in the Kentucky program for the conference. The Governor's staff officer thought the suggestion merited consideration and asked for detailed information on the proposal to be telephoned to him that night at his hotel room in Washington, for which he was leaving within the hour. The information was provided and, to the surprise of the Chief of the Forest Service, who was attending the meeting, Gov. Combs proposed, as one of the 12 key points for development of Kentucky, the establishment of a National Forest on the headwaters of the Kentucky River, and added that Forest Supervisor Bob Collins has a map showing just where it should be located. Needless to say, the telephone in the Forest Supervisor's headquarters in Winchester started ringing shortly after that, and the interest of the Chief's Office in the proposal picked up materially.

As a direct result of this chain of events, the Eastern Region (R-7) made another study of the watershed situation in eastern Kentucky. Entitled, The Kentucky Highlands, it covered an area of over five million acres of the mountainland of eastern Kentucky which includes the headwaters of the four major river systems which drain eastern Kentucky — the Big Sandy, the Licking, the Kentucky, and the Cumberland.

Certain portions of this report were particularly significant in view of the situation. For example, "The disastrous floods which swept through eastern Kentucky in March of 1963 have highlighted again the fact that upstream watershed protection and rehabilitation and construction of effective flood control structures on the major streams are essential to the economic development of the region." At another point the following paragraph appears, "On March 28, 1963, at the White House conference on eastern Kentucky, Gov. Combs of Kentucky recommended the establishment of National Forest units on the headwaters of major eastern Kentucky streams. As a result, the Forest Service has brought together this information." And still a third paragraph appears significant, "The objective of this report is to further expand on the major conclusions reached above and purchase units roughly conforming to upstream watershed boundaries and ranging in size from 100,000 to 400,000 acres would be established in any of the four major river drainages where sufficient forest, watershed and sub-marginal farm land are voluntarily offered for purchase."

Studies to delineate the boundary of the initial purchase unit were initiated promptly. These studies were based on the principle that purchase unit boundaries should coincide with watershed boundaries rather than conform to man-made boundaries such as property lines or county lines. The studies were based on a number of small units, each a complete watershed segment. This would facilitate expansion of the original nucleus by logical watershed subdivisions as well as facilitate selection of the most critical areas as the initial base unit.

After considerable study, three of these watershed units, numbers 7, 8 and 9, including some 591,000 acres lying on the headwaters of Goose Creek, the Red Bird River, the South Fork and Middle Fork of the Kentucky River, were selected as the initial purchase unit. The area included all of Leslie County, 95 percent of Clay County, 12 percent of Harlan County and two percent of Bell County. The initial objective was the purchase of 300,000 acres by the end of 1971.

In the meantime, the program of public information, contacts with key individuals and organizations, and generation of favorable news stories proceeded on a planned and organized basis.

The local attitude toward the establishment of a National Forest was generally enthusiastic. This applied to the county officials as well as individuals. However, the large mineral owners were generally not in favor of Federal ownership of the surface although they did not voice opposition at the local level.

State officials were enthusiastic about the establishment of National Forest areas in eastern Kentucky. Endorsements were received from the Governor, Commissioner of Natural Resources, State Forester and the entire Kentucky Congressional Delegation. The Kentucky Farm Bureau endorsed the project on the basis of its contribution to watershed protection. The establishment of a National Forest in eastern Kentucky was received with as near unanimous approval as could ever be expected. It was enthusiastically supported at the local, state and federal level. The only questions raised by the public were how soon will it start, and how big will the program be.

On February 24, 1964, the Redbird Purchase Unit was established by the National Forest Reservation Commission. On April 13, 1965, Robert Montgomery, Deputy Commissioner, Kentucky Department of Natural Resources, appeared before the Senate Appropriations Committee in Washington and presented a statement in support of restoring $500,000 to the Appalachian Regional Development Act Appropriation for the purpose of forest land acquisition under the Week's Act for National Forest purposes. Here, again, was emphasized the critical flood control and pollution influence of the headwaters of the Kentucky River.

Full cooperation by State and other Federal agencies, as well as the press and public, was outstanding in establishing this purchase unit and getting its administration underway.

District Ranger Thomas R. Frazier of the Williamsburg District, Cumberland National Forest, was assigned as the Ranger of the new purchase unit with headquarters at Manchester, Kentucky, the county seat of Clay County.

Daniel Boone National Forest Proclaimed April 11, 1966 (showing Redbird Purchase Unit) (click on image for a PDF version)

The initiative and community leadership demonstrated by Ranger Frazier, not only in administering the work of the Forest Service, but in his participation in the development program of the area, won him and the Forest Service respect and support from the community leaders and the majority of the people.

As a standard practice, a new purchase unit is usually established around a large tract of forest land available for purchase as a nucleus for the purchase unit. In this case the key purchase was a tract of 60,000 acres which had been purchased by the Ford Motor Company in the days when hardwood was an essential material for automobile bodies and wheel spokes. It had been held uncut for many years and was famous for its stands of old growth hardwood timber. This tract was frequently referred to in the early Forest Service studies of the area. It had finally been sold and cutover several times before becoming the property of the Red Bird Timber Corporation who sold it to the Government.

It was the first acquisition case on the Redbird Purchase Unit to be paid for. As this was a milestone in the development of the Redbird, the passing of the check in payment was the occasion of a brief ceremony inasmuch as it was the largest single land purchase to be made by the Forest Service in many years.

The following news release, issued by the Supervisor's Office of the Daniel Boone National Forest on January 6, 1967, presents the details of the occasion. It reads, "A two million dollar check presented today in Barbourville, Kentucky to Moses Richter, Charlotte, North Carolina, President of Red Bird Timber Corporation, represents final transfer of ownership of 60,000 acres of forest land to become part of the Redbird Purchase Unit, an administrative unit of the Daniel Boone National Forest. The check, presented on behalf of the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, by Grady Simmons of the Department's Office of General Counsel, Atlanta, Georgia, represents funds authorized under the Appalachian Regional Development Act. This is one of the largest single land transactions ever made by the U. S. Forest Service in recent years."

The land was purchased under authority of the Week's Act of 1911, a law designed to protect headwaters of major streams and to promote timber production.

The 60,000 acres, made up of two tracts, are located in Leslie, Clay, Harlan and Bell counties. These are the first tracts to become a part of the Redbird Purchase Unit which was established as part of the Daniel Boone National Forest by the National Forest Reservation Commission with concurrence of the Governor, Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Robert F. Collins, Winchester, Supervisor of the Daniel Boone National Forest, who was present at the land transfer ceremony in Barbourville, explained that National Forest watershed management on headwaters of the Kentucky River would have a most favorable impact upon water quality of that stream. "This is especially important to the larger cities downstream, such as Lexington and Frankfort, who depend upon the Kentucky River for their water supply," he added.

Supervisor Collins stressed that all National Forest lands are open to public hunting, fishing, camping, and other recreational uses, including the 60,000-acre area on the Redbird Purchase Unit.

Thomas R. Frazier, Peabody, Kentucky, Project Leader of the purchase unit, is a Forestry graduate of North Carolina State College, and has been with the U.S. Forest Service since 1956.

As of July 1, 1975, the Forest Service has acquired in excess of 126,000 acres on the Redbird Purchase Unit.