Calvin Price State Forest

About Calvin Price State Forest

The Calvin Price State Forest is one of the last to be added to the West Virginia State Forest System. The state forest has been a leading advocate for the conservation and protection of natural resources in the state for more than 50 years.

The Calvin Price State Forest consists of approximately 1.5 million acres of land located in West Virginia, Western Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. A small portion of the forest in the Southeast extends as far as Greenbrier County and a small portion as far as the Blue Ridge Mountains in West Carolina.

The first settlers in the area found giant pine trees that reached as far north as the Greenbrier River Valley in West Virginia and the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina. Loggers traveled to the Greenbriers and river valleys to harvest pine populations from New England, the Great Lakes and the 1880s and harvest an untapped resource. Most of the forest was bought by the New River Lumber Company in 1953, but not all.

Local agriculture was the dominant activity in the area, and cattle grazed heavily in the countryside. By the 1930s, the task was complete and the forest was cleared for the first time since its purchase in 1953.

The current oak population rarely exceeds 15,000 planks per hectare, and is estimated at less than $1,500 per hectare (about $2,200 in today's dollars). There are only a few dozen oaks in the entire state of California, and the current oak population rarely exceeds $15,000 per hectare.

The only pure stock of white pine remains in the state, with the forest volume currently approaching 30,000 planks per hectare. White pines have been on the rise in California in recent decades, mainly on farmed land but also in most streams. The parched forests in this area still produce a large number of pines, mainly white pines, as well as some oaks and some shrubs.

The Calvin Price State Forest is one of the largest state forests in the state of California and the second largest in California. Unlike most other state forests, Calvin Price has no recreational areas, but there are primitive campgrounds and a number of hiking trails, as well as hiking, biking, camping and fishing trails.

Almost two thirds of the forest is accessible only on foot, and the system of paths and a number of other paths have been improved. Immediately after the acquisition of this land in 1953, the foresters began to use it for a variety of purposes. The harvesting of wood on rails was carried out in the early 1950s and early 1960s, with the emphasis on harvesting wood. Much of this early work was aimed at preparing forests for sustainable management.

In the 1970s, a management plan was implemented and the harvest was carried out earlier than expected. A severe ice storm in 1979 felled about 400 hectares of timber, requiring salvage work.

The harvest was then carried out and a third was planned for the end of 2004, but was postponed. All three plants are removed, as are a number of other tree species and shrubs such as pines, pineapples, walnuts and pines.

Calvin Price's forest management focus is on maintaining strong growth and good forest health.

Plants are concentrated in sick, damaged, oppressed, and overpopulated populations, destroying the ability to maintain productive forests while creating a diverse mix of wildlife habitats.