The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands covering 193 million acres (780,000 km2) of land. The major divisions of the agency are the Chief's Office, National Forest System, State and Private Forestry, Business Operations, as well as Research and Development. The agency manages about 25% of federal lands and is the sole major national land management agency not part of the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Richwood is a city in Nicholas County, West Virginia, United States. In 2020, the census showed Richwood with a population of 1,661. During the 19th and early 20th century Richwood was a booming coal and lumber town. Richwood has a very rich history, including the formation of the Cherry River Navy civic organization to draw attention to issues important to the community. Richwood has also become known statewide as the "Ramp Capital of the World". Each year, in April, the city hosts a large festival that draws visitors from around the country.
The Monongahela River, sometimes referred to locally as the Mon, is a 130-mile-long (210 km) river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-central West Virginia and Southwestern Pennsylvania. The river flows from the confluence of its west and east forks in north-central West Virginia northeasterly into southwestern Pennsylvania, then northerly to Pittsburgh and its confluence with the Allegheny River to form the Ohio River. The river includes a series of locks and dams that makes it navigable.
A forester is a person who practises forest management and forestry, the science, art, and profession of managing forests. Foresters engage in a broad range of activities including ecological restoration and management of protected areas. Foresters manage forests to provide a variety of objectives including direct extraction of raw material, outdoor recreation, conservation, hunting and aesthetics. Emerging management practices include managing forestlands for biodiversity, carbon sequestration and air quality.
The Monongahela National Forest is a national forest located in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. It protects over 921,000 acres of federally managed land within a 1,700,000 acres proclamation boundary that includes much of the Potomac Highlands Region and portions of 10 counties.
Bernhard Eduard Fernow was the third chief of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Division of Forestry of the United States from 1886 to 1898, preceding Gifford Pinchot in that position, and laying much of the groundwork for the establishment of the United States Forest Service in 1905. Fernow's philosophy toward forest management may be traced to Heinrich Cotta's preface to Anweisung zum Waldbau or Linnaeus' ideas on the "economy of nature." Fernow has been called the "father of professional forestry in the United States."
Mount Porte Crayon is a mountain in the Roaring Plains Wilderness of the Monongahela National Forest in the northeastern corner of Randolph County, West Virginia, USA. It rises to an elevation of 4,770 feet (1,450 m), the elevational climax of the Allegheny Front. The mountain is named for 19th century writer and illustrator David Hunter Strother (1816–88), known as "Porte Crayon", who produced a wide array of early West Virginia landscapes in his work.
Cass is a census-designated place (CDP) and unincorporated community on the Greenbrier River in Pocahontas County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 38 at the 2020 census. The community, founded in 1901, was named for Joseph Kerr Cass, vice president and cofounder of the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company.
The Gaudineer Scenic Area (GSA) is a scenic area and National Natural Landmark in the Monongahela National Forest (MNF). It is situated just north of Gaudineer Knob of Shavers Mountain on the border of Randolph and Pocahontas Counties, West Virginia, USA, about 5 miles (8.0 km) northwest of the town of Durbin.
Yale School of the Environment (YSE) is a professional school of Yale University. It was founded to train foresters, and now trains environmental students through four 2-year degree programs, two accelerated degree programs for graduates of Yale College, and a 5-year PhD program. Still offering forestry instruction, the school has the oldest graduate forestry program in the United States.
Gaudineer Knob is a mountain summit on the Randolph/Pocahontas County line in eastern West Virginia, US. It is the highest elevation of Shavers Mountain, a ridge of the Alleghenies, and is located about 1.7 miles (2.7 km) east of Cheat Bridge. The Gaudineer Knob Lookout Tower, an important US Forest Service (USFS) fire tower, formerly occupied the crown of the knob.
Raphael Zon was a prominent U.S. Forest Service researcher.
Laurel Fork South Wilderness is a U.S. Wilderness Area located in the Greenbrier Ranger District of Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia. The Wilderness protects high-elevation lands along Laurel Fork and is bordered by Middle Mountain to the west. It is a companion to Laurel Fork North Wilderness, the two being split by Randolph County Route 40. Laurel Fork South contains 9 miles (14 km) of hiking trails.
Laurel Fork North Wilderness is a U.S. Wilderness Area located in the Greenbrier Ranger District of Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia. The Wilderness protects high-elevation lands along Laurel Fork and is bordered by Middle Mountain to the west. It is a companion to Laurel Fork South Wilderness, the two being split by Randolph County Route 40. Laurel Fork North contains 9.5 miles (15.3 km) of hiking trails.
The Forest Service Organic Administration Act of 1897 provided the main statutory basis for the management of forest reserves in the United States, hence the commonly used term "Organic Act". The legislation's formal title is the Sundry Civil Appropriations Act of 1897, which was signed into law on June 4, 1897, by President William McKinley.
Barton Knob is a mountain summit located on Cheat Mountain in southeastern Randolph County, West Virginia. Easily accessible during warm-weather months, Bickle Knob is also home to one of the few remaining fire towers in Monongahela National Forest.
An experimental forest, or experimental range, as defined by the United States Forest Service, is "an area administered ... 'to provide for the research necessary for the management of the land.'"
Spice Run Wilderness (SRW) is a U.S. Wilderness area within the Monongahela National Forest of West Virginia in the United States. The remote area has no passenger car access.
The New York State College of Forestry at Cornell was a statutory college established in 1898 at Cornell University to teach scientific forestry. The first four-year college of forestry in the country, it was defunded by the State of New York in 1903, over controversies involving the college's forestry practices in the Adirondacks. Forestry studies continued at Cornell even after the college's closing.
Spruce Mountain, located in eastern West Virginia, is the highest ridge of the Allegheny Mountains. The whale-backed ridge extends for only 16 miles (26 km) from northeast to southwest, but several of its peaks exceed 4,500 feet (1,400 m) in elevation. The summit, Spruce Knob, is the highest Allegheny Mountain point both in the state and the entire range, which spans four states.
