Palustris Experimental Forest
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Palustris Experimental Forest | |
|---|---|
 Longleaf Tract in 2023 | |
  Location in Louisiana  Location in United States | |
| Location | Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States |
| Nearest city | Alexandria, Louisiana |
| Coordinates | 31°11′00″N 92°40′00″W / 31.18333°N 92.66667°W[1] |
| Area | 7,500 acres (3,000 ha)[1] |
| Established | July 19, 1935[1] |
| Governing body | USFS, Southern Research Station |
Palustris Experimental Forest is an experimental forest operated by the Southern Research Station (SRS) of the United States Forest Service in Rapides Parish, Louisiana. It is located south of Alexandria, Louisiana within the Kisatchie National Forest.[2] The experimental forest bears the name of the predominant pine species (Pinus palustris) that covered this region before the virgin pine forests were harvested in the early 1900s.[2]
At the end of the 19th century, the longleaf pine ecosystem covered millions of acres across the southeastern US, from Virginia to Texas.[3] In the early 1900s, aggressive harvesting of these old-growth pine forests resulted in a barren landscape in need of reforestation. Under federal programs such as the Weeks Act and Clarke-McNary Act,[4] the US government began buying thousands of cutover acres in Louisiana and other southeastern states to create National Forests with the goal of rehabilitating these former old-growth forests.[5]
