State leaders, UTIA administrators, and School of Natural Resources faculty celebrated the Wolf River State Forest on March 21 in Fayette County.

Ames AgResearch and Education Center transferred 5,400 acres of land to create the new state forest. It is now the 16th state forest in Tennessee.

SNR Director Don Hodges, Professors Allan Houston, Sharon Jean-Philippe, and Scott Schlarbaum joined UTIA Senior Vice President and Senior Vice Chancellor Keith Carver and AgResearch Dean Hongwei Xin at the event. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, Department of Agriculture Commissioner Charles Hatcher, and State Forester Heather Slayton spoke at the dedication. Attendees also took a tour of the forest.