Eastern Tennessee and the surrounding Southern Appalachians offer an abundance of forest, park and aquatic resources for teaching and research. Several national forests, national parks, wildlife areas, TVA lakes, state parks and forest industries are within a one to two hour drive of campus. The quality and closeness of this resource base, and the agencies which manage it, are a real strength to the School. The School of Natural Resources has five University‑owned or operated forested tracts available for field work. Because of the diverse characteristics of these tracts, each one is briefly described.
Ames Plantation
The 18,600‑acre Ames Plantation is located near Grand Junction, Tennessee, 360 miles from Knoxville. About 10,000 acres are classified as forest land. The Plantation is part of the Hobart Ames Foundation established by the late Mrs. Julia Ames as a permanent memorial to her husband. A provision of Mrs. Ames’ will stipulates: “The trust herein… shall be created, held and operated exclusively for scientific and educational purposes as said CASNR or Institute of Agriculture is or may be lawfully authorized to pursue.” The School of Natural Resources has been encouraged by the Trustees to make extensive use of the area both in research and instruction. A dormitory was built, and a major purpose of this construction was to house forestry spring field session students. Forest lands on the Plantation include pine plantations, upland oak‑hickory, and some fine stands of bottomland hardwoods. The combination of a wide variety of timber types and adjacent agricultural lands provides excellent resources for both instruction and research in forest and wildlife resources.
Cherokee Woodlot
The Cherokee Woodlot, a 120‑acre area owned by the University of Tennessee, is located about one mile from the Agricultural Campus in Knoxville. This woodlot includes a wide array of forest types ranging from old‑field, Virginia and shortleaf pine, and loblolly pine plantations to oak‑hickory and excellent cove hardwoods. Extensive use is made of this easily accessible field laboratory.
Forest Resources Research and Education Center
The Forest Resources Research and Education Center is comprised of three major university-owned and managed forests that are used for research and education purposes. The Cumberland Forest is an 8,000‑acre forest tract located in Scott and Morgan counties, 64 miles from Knoxville. Major timber type groups on the forest include: yellow, pine hardwoods, cove hardwoods and upland oak‑hickory. At present the instructional use of this forest is for field trips to observe results of research in plantation management, spoil‑bank rehabilitation, species comparison tests and forest tree improvement.
UT Arboretum
The Oak Ridge Forest and Arboretum is 2,260 acres, located 18 miles from the Knoxville campus near Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Timber types range from old‑field Virginia pine on severely eroded sites to fine stands of yellow poplar. An arboretum of about 250 acres has been established as part of the Oak Ridge Forest.
