Content deleted Content added
- iucn cat, not listed in iucn database |
Scottyoak2 (talk | contribs) Adding short description: "State forest in Florida, United States" |
||
| (5 intermediate revisions by 4 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{Short description|State forest in Florida, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox protected area
| name = Lake George State Forest
Line 26 ⟶ 28:
Lake George State Forest is divided into three tracts of land. The northernmost Astor Tract stretches roughly from a point between Pierson and Lake George south to [[Florida State Road 40|State Road 40]] east of the Volusia settlement. South of SR 40 are the Mary Farms and Dexter Tracts, which encompasses land between the [[St. Johns River]] to the west, and Barberville, [[U.S. Route 17 in Florida|US 17]], and [[De Leon Springs State Park]] to the east, and south to the banks of Lake Dexter, Spring Garden Creek, and the [[Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge]].<ref name=DOF/>
Lake George State Forest should not be confused with the Lake George Forest, a separate {{convert|7858|acres|ha|0|sing=on}} property to the immediate north which is jointly owned by Volusia County and the [[St. Johns River Water Management District]] (''SJRWMD''),<ref>[http://www.sjrwmd.com/recreationguide/lakegeorge2/index.html "Recreation Guide to District Lands: Lake George Forest".] [http://www.sjrwmd.com/ ''St. Johns River Water Management District''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190930221300/https://www.sjrwmd.com/ |date=September 30, 2019 }}. Retrieved March 27, 2010.</ref> or the Lake George Conservation Area, a {{convert|11973|acres|ha|0|sing=on}} site owned by the SJRWMD.<ref>[http://www.sjrwmd.com/recreationguide/lakegeorge1/index.html "Recreation Guide to District Lands: Lake George Conservation Area".] [http://www.sjrwmd.com/ ''St. Johns River Water Management District''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190930221300/https://www.sjrwmd.com/ |date=September 30, 2019 }}. Retrieved March 27, 2010.</ref>
== History ==
Prior to European settlement, the area had for thousands of years been the home to Native American tribes like the extinct [[Timucua]]. They left behind a rich archaeological history in the form of large [[midden]]s of freshwater shellfish, which they deposited along the banks of the St. Johns River and Lake George. The Bluffton Mound and [[Midden]] at the Bluffton Recreation Area in Lake George State Forest is one such example.<ref name=DOF/>
Lake George State Forest is formed from lands previously resourced for timber, production of naval stores, cattle grazing, and hunting. [[Taxodium distichum|Cypress]] logging, by way of canals dug into the swampland, occurred up until 1910. The 1930s saw much of the land forested with [[longleaf pine|longleaf]] and [[slash pine]], or left in service of the [[Florida cracker]] cattle industry. After decades of aggressive harvesting, the 1960s saw [[reforestation]] efforts again plant slash pine.<ref name=DOF/>
Dry conditions brought on by severe drought led to massive wildfires in 1998, which left close to half of the forest charred and damaged. After efforts to salvage the area's timber, restoration again involved planting of pine seedlings.<ref name=DOF/>
Line 54 ⟶ 56:
== External links ==
{{
* [
* [http://www.volusia.org/birding/george.htm Lake George State Forest: Volusia County]
| |||