Source: NCDA&CS, 5/27/15

The public is invited to celebrate the N.C. Forest Service’s 100th anniversary Saturday, June 6, at Jordan Lake Educational State Forest.

The open house will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be firefighting equipment on display, exhibits and activities for kids, such as tree-cookie necklaces and ornaments. The Jordan Lake Educational State Forest log cabin will be open for people to walk through, and visitors can try their hand at using a crosscut saw to cut a tree cookie off a log.

Big Smokey, the Forest Service’s 21-foot-tall talking Smokey Bear, will also be there to greet visitors and deliver his wildfire prevention message.

“Celebrating our 100th anniversary at one of our educational state forests is completely in tune with the N.C. Forest Service’s mission of protecting, managing and promoting the state’s forest resources,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “Our state forests are important for teaching the public about the advantages of good forest management, as well as the economic and ecological benefits of our forests.”

The General Assembly created the N.C. Forest Service in 1915, and John Simcox Holmes was appointed the first state forester. He was given specific wildfire-control responsibilities in addition to his work cataloging and assessing the state’s forests.
“The N.C. Forest Service has gone through many changes throughout its 100 years, but it still continues its core missions of wildfire control and the protection of the abundant and important forest resources of the state,” Troxler said.

To learn more about the N.C. Forest Service, visit http://ncforestservice.gov.