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Uwharrie national forest case study

Informally Refereed

Abstract

The Uwharrie National Forest (originally called the Uwharrie Reservation) was first purchased by the federal government in 1931 during the Great Depression. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy proclaimed the federal lands in Montgomery, Randolph, and Davidson Counties (Fig. A1.6). The UNF is within a two-hour drive of North Carolina’s largest population centers, including Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Charlotte, Raleigh, and Durham. The forest is fragmented into 61 separate parcels, which pose unique forest management challenges (Fig. A1.6). Therefore, much of UNF has been modified from a natural to a managed ecological condition. UNF has a rolling topography, with elevation ranging from 122 to 305 m above sea level. Although small by most national forest standards (20,383 ha), the UNF provides a variety of natural resources, including clean rivers and streams, diverse vegetation for scenery, wildlife habitat, and wood products. There is also a wide variety of recreational activities, and UNF is a natural setting for tourism and economic development.

Citation

McNulty, S.G. 2008. Uwharrie national forest case study. In: Preliminary review of adaptation options for climate-sensitive ecosystems and resources: Appendix A. A Report by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program and the Subcommittee on Global Change Research. [Julius, S.H., J.M. West (eds.), J.S. Baron, B. Griffith, L.A. Joyce, P. Kareiva, B.D. Keller, M.A. Palmer, C.H. Peterson, and J.M. Scott (Authors)]. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, USA. pp. A26-A29.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/30907