Thursday, April 8, 2010

Upcoming Event

Join the folks at Bear Creek Lake State Park and Cumberland State Forest on May 15, 2010 for an afternoon of fun as we celebrate our natural resources and the grand opening of some new trails on the park. There will be refreshments, guest speakers, activities for children, and guided hikes for anyone interested. I will be leading a tree id hike along the Channel Cat Loop trail.

Did you know?...Bear Creek Lake State Park and Cumberland State Forest were at one time just one big recreation area. Towards the end of the Great Depression the land was deeded to the Commonwealth of Virginia by the federal government who had purchased the land through the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act. The land was in poor condition after constant agricultural use and people there could no longer farm it for a living. Bear Creek Lake was built on the property which provided a recreational opportunity. Slowly more recreational features were developed around the lake and eventually Bear Creek State Park was formed to handle the lake and recreation while Cumberland State Forest was split off to care for the developing forest land.

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