Smokey Bear 75th Anniversary GeoTour
Since 1944, Smokey Bear has taught millions of Americans about their role in preventing wildfires. 75 years later, Smokey is celebrating a milestone birthday. Honor him and this timeless message of wildfire prevention by finding all 75 caches in this GeoTour.
About This Specific Location
Placed with the permission of the Ohio Division of Forestry. You should not have to climb the firetower to access this geocache. This is 1 of 10 Smokey Bear geocaches in OH and 1 of 75 hidden on the entire GeoTour which is located in the following 7 states: VA, MD, OH, DE, NJ, PA and WV.
This 80-foot firetower was constructed in 1934. Land acquisition for the forest began in 1928 and has continued with the accumulation of more than 4,600 acres (exclusive of state park land). The land use history of the forest is typical of eastern Ohio.
Original forests were cleared for agriculture, but eventually erosion ensued because of poor agricultural practices and fertility decreased. Farms were abandoned and subsequently reverted to brush and woodland. At the time of acquisition, planting of trees on abandoned land was a high priority activity. This resulted in the many plantations of white and red pine, plus mixtures of these and other pine species that you see today.
Much of the tree planting was done by personnel of the Civilian Conservation Corps whose camp was located on the forest during the 1930s. Native hardwoods of the oak-hickory and beech-maple types, with associated species of gum, aspen, ash, cherry and walnut occur on unplanted areas. Native white pine and hemlock are also found.
More About This GeoTour
By visiting all of these locations, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of why it is so important to prevent wildfires - whether in your backyard or out in the forest. The Middle-Atlantic Interstate Forest Fire Protection Compact are the Hosts of this GeoTour. We offer several trackable prizes so please use this GeoTour Passport to keep track of your progress.