Daniel Boone National Forest
The Daniel Boone National Forest (originally the Cumberland National Forest) is a national forest in Kentucky. Established in 1937, it includes 708,000 acres (287,000 ha) of federally owned land within a 2,100,000 acres (850,000 ha) proclamation boundary. The name of the forest was changed in 1966 in honor of the explorer Daniel Boone.
The terrain of the forest is generally rugged, and includes multiple prominent water features. It is home to a range of plant and animal species, although many areas still bear evidence of industrial logging and other practices which took place mostly prior to federal protection. It is a popular recreational and tourist destination which serves a million or more visitors a year, and contains several widely recognized areas which are protected in their own right, including state parks, trails, wilderness areas, and landmarks.
Major river systems include the Licking River, Kentucky River, and Cumberland River, all of which flow into the Ohio River.[4]:S-10 Four reservoirs are located within the forest, administered by the US Army Corps of Engineers. These are Cave Run Lake, Buckhorn Lake, Lake Cumberland and Laurel River Lake. Taken together, at normal water levels these reservoirs comprise 63,850 acres (25,840 ha) of water.[4]:III-2 The forest additionally encompasses thousands of miles of smaller streams, many of which flow only after heavy rain.[4]:III-1 About 12,500 acres (5,100 ha) are classified as riparian zones, while 7,000 acres (2,800 ha) are classified as floodplains or wetlands.[4]:S-11
Water is of an overall good quality, but is impacted by activities related to mining, and exploration for oil and gas.[4]:S-10 The area averages 46 inches (1,200 mm) of rainfall annually, with thunderstorms occurring an average of 46 days per year.[4]:III-2 Due to shallow soil, heavy rains may result in severe local flooding, and conversely, many tributaries may become completely dry during periods of little rainfall.
By the early 16th century both the French and the British had laid claim to the land that would become the Daniel Boone National Forest. Among the first Europeans to enter the area was the French René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle in 1669.[10]:1 He was later followed by the party of the English Thomas Walker in 1750, who would go on to make the first European discoveries of the Cumberland Gap, Cumberland River, and the pass through Pine Mountain[b][10]:1–3 Several others made expeditions in the area over the following decades with mixed success.[c]
Around 1760, Daniel Boone reached an understanding with Richard Henderson for the exploration and preparation of the wilderness beyond the Appalachian Mountains, so that it may be more easily settled by those who sought to move westward.[10]:15–6 Boone made an expedition in 1767 into the area of modern-day Prestonsburg, Kentucky,[10]:17–8 and then in 1769, he set out with five others on an extended expedition through the Cumberland Gap and into Kentucky, where he stayed until March 1771.[10]:21–2, 30 Boone set out on a failed attempt at settlement in 1773, and then again in 1774, where he served as an officer in Lord Dunmore's War.[10]:33–4, 37–8
On March 17, 1775, the Transylvania Colony, founded by Henderson, and for which Boone was employed, reached an agreement (over the objections of the governors of Virginia and North Carolina) with a grand counsel of the Cherokee Nation to purchase all land from the Kentucky River to the Cumberland River, including large part of modern day Kentucky and Tennessee, an area known as the Transylvania Purchase.[10]:47–50[d] In anticipation of this purchase, Boone and a party were dispatched on March 10, marking and clearing trails in the newly acquired lands, and eventually founding Fort Boone, near the confluence of Station Camp Creek and the Kentucky River.[10]:57–66[e] This became the fledgling Transylvania Colony,[10]:73–85 until being eliminated in 1778 by the Virginia House of Delegates, becoming Kentucky County, Virginia, and by 1792, the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
The Daniel Boone National Forest provides a range of recreational activities, including approximately 100 developed recreation areas and 600 miles (970 km) of trails, that see more than a million visitors per year.[13][14][g] Across the forest, developed recreation sites have a combined capacity to accommodate 15,830 visitors at-a-time, in addition to the capacity of dispersed recreational activities such as hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, boating and horse riding.[12]:3–241, 3–243
Within the forest's boundaries lie three state managed parks, Buckhorn Lake, Cumberland Falls, and Natural Bridge. There is one designated National Recreation Area, the Big South Fork, located in the southwest corner of the forest,[4]:III-2 and one National Recreation Trail, the Sheltowee Trace, which stretches almost 290 miles (470 km) from northern Kentucky to Pickett CCC Memorial State Park near Jamestown, Tennessee.[16][h] There are two designated wilderness areas, Beaver Creek, consisting of 4,877 acres (1,974 ha) set aside in 1975,[4]:III-13[18] and Clifty Wilderness, consisting of 12,646 acres (5,118 ha) near the Red River Gorge.[19] The Red River Gorge itself is a designated National Natural Landmark, along with the Rock Creek Natural Research Area.[4]:III-14
Hunting is also popular as a recreational activity.[12]:3–242 One location, the Pioneer Weapons Wildlife Management Area, representing 7,610 acres (3,080 ha) near Cave Run Lake, was created as a partnership between Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources and the US Forest Service, and is an area where hunters are permitted to use only comparatively primitive weapons, such muzzleloaders, bow and arrow, or crossbows.
Matthew Ginnow, Matt Ginnow
