Franklin-Marion State Forest

About Franklin-Marion State Forest

The Chickasaw State Forest is located in the eastern part of Tennessee, north of Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Tennessee Department of Agriculture and Forestry took responsibility for what is now the state forest. In 1938, the resettlement administration purchased much of the forest area, and in 1955, the entire project area was transferred to the states of Tennessee. At the time of acquisition, agriculture and timber harvesting had severely eroded and degraded the land.

The forest is dominated by old sawwwoods; about 35% of the stands are highland hardwoods older than 80 years and about 29% are Southern Yellow Pines. About 63% of the forest is surrounded by hardwood, of which about 30% is in the highlands and 20% on the south side.

The lake and forest are surrounded by two state parks, and within the forest there are various educational and demonstration areas, marked with signs.

In addition, 115 hectares of forest are available for experimental forest kindergartens, and 8 cemeteries and 4 farms have a total of 1.5 million square metres of forest area.

Other recreational activities include horse riding, hiking and camping, and hunting is the traditional use of the forest. A major salvage operation was carried out after a tornado in 1988 burned 446 hectares of forest, while pine beetles damaged 300 hectares in 1986-87.