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31-607: With old-growth hardwood pine forests, a stand of 300-year-old hemlocks, and a stream qualifying for Wild and Scenic river status, the area is one of the finest natural settings in Southwest Virginia. A trail leading into the area begins with a one-mile section of hand-laid steps built by the Youth Conservation Corp in the 1970s. This wildland is part of the Clinch Ranger District Cluster . The area

62-490: A pathway for Brown-headed cowbirds in their search for the location of nests of smaller birds, who then destroy the eggs and replace them with their own eggs leaving the unwitting owner to raise the cowbird hatchlings. The Plateau Province is covered by a complex forest composed of northern hardwood interspersed with conifers. The southern Appalachians contain more plant species than anywhere else in North America since

93-486: A recreational opportunity setting that informs visitors of the diverse range of opportunities available in the forest. The area includes land designated as "Eligible Wild River" along Roaring Branch, "Scenic Corridor" for a spur near Big Stone Gap, and "Mix of Successional Habitats" from the northeastern end to the southwestern corner. The Forest Service approved the Wells Branch timber sale in 2012, with up to 27 acres in

124-638: Is located in the Cumberland Mountains of Southwestern Virginia, about 4 miles southwest of Big Stone Gap, Virginia and 24 miles northwest of Mount Carmel, Tennessee . It is west of US 58. The 14.3 mile Stone Mountain Trail passes from the Keokee Lake area to the Stone Mountain Wilderness while going through the area. From Roaring Branch, it climbs the southern side of Stone Mountain and then to

155-573: Is not located in the forest and is primarily an administrative location. District offices are listed from north to south. Counties are in Virginia unless otherwise indicated. There are 139,461 acres (564 km ) of federally designated wilderness areas in the two forests under the United States National Wilderness Preservation System . All are in the state of Virginia, except as indicated. The largest of these

186-465: Is relatively common, enough so that there is a short hunting season to prevent overpopulation. White-tailed deer , bobcat , bald eagles , weasel , otter , and marten are also known to inhabit the Forests. The forests are popular hiking , mountain biking , and hunting destinations. The Appalachian Trail extends for 330 miles (530 km) from the southern end of Shenandoah National Park through

217-801: Is the Mountain Lake Wilderness , at 16,511 acres (67 km ). There are 17 wildernesses in Jefferson National Forest, second only to Tongass National Forest , which has 19. In 1999 the Wilderness Society conducted a review of lands in the Jefferson National Forest to look for large, intact areas that satisfy a need for backcountry recreation, ecological study, biodiversity, and the preservation of cultural history from early America. The report found 67 such areas and identified them as “Mountain Treasures”. In 2012 The New River Group of

248-547: The Appalachian Mountains of Virginia , West Virginia , and Kentucky . Approximately 1 million acres (1,600 sq mi) of the forest are remote and undeveloped and 139,461 acres (218 sq mi) have been designated as wilderness areas, which prohibits future development. George Washington National Forest was established on May 16, 1918, as the Shenandoah National Forest. The forest

279-877: The James River . The combined forest is administered from its headquarters in Roanoke , Virginia . The Forests' vast and mountainous terrain harbors a great variety of plant life—over 50 species of trees and over 2,000 species of shrubs and herbaceous plants . The Forests contain some 230,000 acres (930 km ) of old growth forests , representing all of the major forest communities found within them. Locations of old growth include Peters Mountain, Mount Pleasant National Scenic Area , Rich Hole Wilderness , Flannery Ridge, Pick Breeches Ridge, and Laurel Fork Gorge, Pickem Mountain , and Mount Rogers National Recreation Area . The Ramsey's Draft and Kimberling Creek Wildernesses in particular are mostly old-growth. The black bear

310-683: The United States Geological Survey (USGS). The Roaring Branch wild area is covered by USGS topographic map Appalachia and Big Stone Gap . A length of old-growth forest along the Stone Mountain Trail provides habitat for the Swainson’s Warbler and other songbirds. The Roaring Branch special biological area, identified by Natural Heritage, occupies about 42% of the area, with a two-to-three century old hemlock-mixed mesophytic forest and old-growth chestnut oak. Part of

341-555: The Forest Service who regard it as one of the finest natural settings in Virginia. The Forest Service has conducted a survey of their lands to determine the potential for wilderness designation. Wilderness designation provides a high degree of protection from development. The areas that were found suitable are referred to as inventoried roadless areas . Later a Roadless Rule was adopted that limited road construction in these areas. The rule provided some degree of protection by reducing

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372-755: The Keokee Lake-Laurel Fork Divide special biological area, located at the headwaters of Laurel Fork, has two rare species of plants. Old growth forest is found along Roaring Branch, and the area near High Butte has forest over 140 years old. The area is part of the Pine and Cumberland Mountains Subsection of the Southern Cumberland Mountain Section of the Central Appalachian Broadleaf Coniferous Forest-Meadow Province. The highest point in

403-772: The Nature Conservancy as globally rare. The Clinch Ranger District Cluster lies within the Clinch Ranger District of the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest. To protect the headwaters of the Tennessee Valley drainage from flooding caused by timbering and the stripping of whole mountains by mining, the US Forest Service purchased the Clinch Range District in 1936. Other clusters of

434-794: The Old Dominion 100 miler, and the Old Dominion Memorial 100 miler. George Washington Forest is also the venue for Nature Camp , a natural science education-oriented summer camp for youth. The camp is located on national forest land near the town of Vesuvius , Virginia . It has operated at this location since the summer of 1953. Jefferson National Forest is located in 23 separate counties, more than any other National Forest except Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri , which lies in 29 counties. Botetourt, Monroe, and Rockbridge counties, at

465-527: The Sierra Club commissioned a study to review the status of these areas. Some of the areas had been converted into Wilderness Areas, while others had not received any special protection. Areas in close proximity were grouped with nearby wilderness areas into eleven clusters. The clusters, from north to south, are: The first camp of the Civilian Conservation Corps NF-1, Camp Roosevelt ,

496-403: The Stone Mountain Wilderness. There are no roads into the area. The boundary of the wildland as determined by the Wilderness Society is shown in the adjacent map. Additional roads and trails are given on National Geographic Maps 789 (Clinch Ranger District). A great variety of information, including topographic maps, aerial views, satellite data and weather information, is obtained by selecting

527-498: The Wilderness Society as worthy of protection from timbering and roads. The cluster contains the following areas, all within the Clinch Ranger District of the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests : The Clinch Ranger District is divided into two parts, the northern section parallels Pine Mountain and the southern section follows Powell Mountain. US Highway 23 runs between the two sections. Other roads and trails in

558-546: The Wilderness Society's "Mountain Treasures" in the Jefferson National Forest (north to south): George Washington and Jefferson National Forests The George Washington and Jefferson National Forests is an administrative entity combining two U.S. National Forests into one of the largest areas of public land in the Eastern United States . The forests cover 1.8 million acres (2,800 sq mi) of land in

589-529: The area are shown on National Geographic Map 793, Clinch Ranger District . The Clinch Ranger District lies in the Alleghany Plateau, a highly dissected plateau composed of relatively flat-lying bedrock of Mississippian and Pennsylvania age. In places the dissection is so pronounced that the area has the appearance of mountains. But compared to the Ridge and Valley Province to the east with long uplifted ridges,

620-474: The area is High Butte at an elevation of 3050 feet. A three-mile section of Roaring Branch is considered eligible for inclusion in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System . For this designation, a waterway must be free of impoundments, generally inaccessible except by trail., and have an unpolluted watershed. The area’s extensive old-growth forests, as well as its undisturbed nature, has been recognized by

651-568: The avoidance of predators and other stress-inducing hazards. The construction of roads breaks up the landscape into islands which limit the free migration of forest species. Such edge effects have been shown to minimize the diversity required for the maintenance of a rich biological habitat. The bird population is also affected by the division of undisturbed forest into islands with edges defined by roads. Predators of birds, such as raccoons, snakes, skunks, house cats and egg-eating crows and blue jays, are often found at forest edges. And roads provide

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682-542: The dividing line between the two forests, include parts of both forests. Thirdly, note that the state of Kentucky actually has very little area, with its two counties bringing up the tail end of Jefferson National Forest. Ranger offices are the Forest Service's public service offices. Maps and other information about the forests can be obtained at these locations. These offices are open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Supervisor's Office in Roanoke

713-538: The forest and along the Blue Ridge Parkway . The forest is within a two-hour drive for over ten million people and thus receives large numbers of visitors, especially in the region closest to Shenandoah National Park. The George Washington National Forest is a popular destination for trail runners . It is the location for several Ultramarathons , including the Massanutten Mountain Trails 100 miler,

744-604: The headwaters of the Laurel Branch watershed. Clinch Ranger District Cluster Clinch Ranger District Cluster The Clinch Ranger District Cluster is a region in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests recognized by The Wilderness Society for its rich biodiversity and rugged scenery. It offers a unique habitat for rare plants, salamanders and other rare species. The region includes wilderness areas protected by Congressional action, as well as inventoried wilderness and uninventoried areas recognized by

775-424: The link with the wildland's gps coordinates in the upper right of this page. Beyond maintained trails, old logging roads can be used to explore the area. The Cumberland Mountains were extensively timbered in the early twentieth century leaving logging roads that are becoming overgrown but still passable. Old logging roads and railroad grades can be located by consulting the historical topographic maps available from

806-548: The mountains are in random directions formed by the erosion of streams into deep, narrow valleys leaving rugged mountains. The Russell Fork River is an example of formations in the Plateau with almost 1000-foot-deep gorge and striking erosional features with descriptive names such as the Palisades, The Towers, and The Chimneys. . The horizontal layering of the Plateau, seen in road cuts and rocky cliffs in river gorges, contrasts with

837-430: The negative environmental impact of road construction and thus promoting the conservation of roadless areas . Roaring Branch was inventoried as part of RARE II, an inventory conducted in the late 1970s. However, the Forest Service stripped the area of this designation in the 2004 Forest Plan removing protection from possible road construction and timber sales. The forest service classifies areas under their management by

868-489: The region was a refuge for many species when glaciers covered the northern part of the hemisphere. In modern times, game species disappeared after widespread hunting, but with the beginning of game management many species have begun to recover to the extent that animals such as black bear, deer and turkeys can be found. The watershed for the cluster contains many endangered fresh_water mussel species. The identified species has been reduced from 60 to about 40, with 26 listed by

899-527: The tilted up thrusts in the Ridge and Valley province on the east. Seams of high-quality coal led to mining beginning in the late 1800s. Clusters of wild areas, such as the Clinch Ranger District Cluster, are important for the maintenance of biological diversity. A natural landscape contains a blend of ecosystems—mountain slopes, moist areas, soil types, temperatures—over which species can roam in their search for mates, foraging for food, and

930-818: Was established in the George Washington National Forest near Luray, Virginia. It is now the site of the Camp Roosevelt Recreation Area. In 2018–2019, protests occurred near Peters Mountain to block the Mountain Valley Pipeline . The 303-mile pipeline would transport natural gas through the Jefferson National Forest and cross the Appalachian Trail . In 2023 a small plane carrying four people strayed into restricted Washington, D.C., airspace. Because of this,

961-467: Was renamed after the first President on June 28, 1932. Natural Bridge National Forest was added on July 22, 1933. Jefferson National Forest was formed on April 21, 1936, by combining portions of the Unaka and George Washington National Forests with other land. In 1995, the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests were administratively combined. The border between the two forests roughly follows

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