[{"id":134,"date":"2026-07-22T10:06:19","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T14:06:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/?p=134"},"modified":"2026-07-22T13:37:26","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T17:37:26","slug":"managing-forest-health-bottleneck-trail-old-six-mile-road","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/managing-forest-health-bottleneck-trail-old-six-mile-road\/","title":{"rendered":"Managing Forest Health – Bottleneck Trail\/Old Six Mile Road"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\n
\n \n <\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3891,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,6,10,12,13,1],"tags":[],"coauthors":[24,8],"class_list":["post-134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education","category-forest-management","category-harvesting","category-recreation","category-trails","category-uncategorized"],"fimg_url":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3891"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":138,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134\/revisions\/138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":112,"date":"2026-05-23T09:48:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T13:48:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/?p=112"},"modified":"2026-05-23T11:46:47","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T15:46:47","slug":"following-the-blazes-trails-community-and-the-web-of-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/following-the-blazes-trails-community-and-the-web-of-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Following the Blazes: Trails, Community, and the Web of Life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ponderings & Pictures by Patricia A. Whitener, Ph.D., Extension Associate<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I often feel a sense of gratitude as I follow a well-worn trail through the forest. Someone, or many someones, over many years, found the way before me. They read the land, marked the trees with blazes, and bridged the creek. And because of their labor, we can move through the woods with confidence, our attention free to rise upward into the canopy, into thought, into wonder.
I have been thinking about trails a lot lately. Not just physical ones, but trails as metaphors, as philosophy, as the most honest diagram of how the walk of life actually looks, and it is rarely a straightforward journey. In the book On Trails: An Exploration<\/em>, author Robert Moor reminds us that trails are not simply convenient routes through difficult terrain. They are records of accumulated intelligence. Every switchback and river crossing represents a problem that was solved, a decision made, a way through something hard. Trails, Moor argues, are among the oldest forms of shared knowledge on earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


The Green Crescent Trail<\/a> is, at its core, about connections. A proposed network of paths designed to link the places we love: the Clemson University Forest, the South Carolina Botanical Garden<\/a>, neighborhoods, downtowns, schools, and the natural corridors in between. The ultimate goal is to have the communities of the greater Clemson, Central, and Pendleton area better connected because so many people move between them, live in them, and deserve a physical connection to the natural areas just beyond their doorsteps. This vision is to improve the quality of life, economic vitality, and public health through connection, and it was developed from a simple question asked among neighbors: “How do we make it easier to walk and bike in our communities?” The path to this vision now threads through the landscape like a conversation still being written.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"people<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What strikes me most is not the project’s ambition, but the honesty about how transformation happens. Each new section of trail may look like a small piece on its own, but together they start to do something different. This is, I think, how most meaningful change works. Not in grand gestures, but in the patient accumulation of small connections. Markers placed on trees, bridges repaired over creeks and volunteers showing up on workdays and Saturay mornings with loppers and good intentions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"trail<\/figure>\n\n\n\n


The ecologist and biologist E.O. Wilson gave us a word for what draws us to green spaces: biophilia<\/em>. The hypothesis, articulated most fully in his 1984 book of the same name, holds that humans possess an innate, evolutionary affinity for living systems and for green things, running water, birdsong and the particular quality of light through a forest canopy. We are not merely attracted to nature as a preference or aesthetic choice. We are, Wilson argued, drawn to it as a biological living being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Forest<\/figure>\n\n\n\n


I believe this. I believe it because I have watched children stop mid-sentence when a woodpecker hammers a snag overhead or a millipede appears on the trail before them. Because I have seen adults who claim no interest in “the outdoors” go quiet with awe and wonder when a trail opens into a meadow, or when a waterfall appears around the bend. The forest recalls something older than language, and when we build sustainable paths into it, we make it accessible. By lowering the threshold between the human community and the natural environment, we are answering a call that is literally written into our DNA.
Fritjof Capra in The Web of Life: A New Scientific Understanding of Living Systems<\/em> (1996). writes that life is not a collection of separate things, but a network of relationships. What appears to be an individual organism is actually a node in a vast web of exchange. Nutrient cycle and mycorrhizal <\/a>networks relay chemical signals beneath our feet. The forest floor, decaying and blooming simultaneously, is less a place than a process. Trails are not merely metaphors for this web; they are participants in it. They shape the ecology by directing foot traffic away from sensitive soils, channeling rainwater and creating edge habitat. Trails shape us: the act of walking a trail, of moving through space at a pace slow enough to notice it, is itself a form of ecological relationship. We are not spectators in the web of life but are integral strands woven into it.
Volunteer trail work makes this undeniable. When a crew gathers at dawn to clear a downed oak from a path, repair a bridge in the Fants Grove, or re-route the Family Trail at Issaqueena, they are doing something that is simultaneously physical, social, and philosophical. Physically, they are restoring the pathways. Socially, they are enacting the oldest form of community there is: people working together toward a shared good (which they may never fully see completed). And philosophically, they confront the truth that our pathways through this life require maintenance because the world does not hold still.
Sometimes the trail is well-designed, and the work of our predecessors carries us. Other times, a storm tears through overnight, and the path you walked last month no longer exists. Sometimes overuse compacts the soil, muddies the path, erodes the bank, and a new route must be found. This feels true well beyond the forest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"volunteers<\/figure>\n\n\n\n


The addition of trail segments in the South Forest near Fant\u2019s Grove connecting to the Green Crescent network is, as I said, a metaphor. But it is also just a fact about how communities grow. Once complete, the Green Crescent Trail will connect the downtowns of Clemson, Central, Pendleton, and Seneca through a 40-mile network, creating a continuous route that uses the Clemson University Forest to connect to the heart of campus and continue throughout the surrounding community. That kind of connective tissue changes what is possible. It changes who can get where, under what conditions, with what ease. It changes the kinds of encounters people have with nature, with one another, and with the landscape they share.
Those natural spaces are true gems. We are incredibly lucky to have them woven into our community. And yet proximity is not the same as access. A trail makes a forest reachable, but a network creates a community.
I am grateful to those who walked before me and found the way. I am grateful for the forest crews, staff, interns, and volunteers who maintain what was built, who show up when the storm passes and clear what blocks our path. I am grateful, too, for the people who look at the gaps between places and begin, patiently, to build bridges. We are all, in some sense, following the blazes that others marked. And we are all, whether we know it or not, marking blazes for those who will come after.

References<\/strong>
Capra, F. (1996). The Web of Life: A New Scientific Understanding of Living Systems. Anchor Books.
Moor, R. (2016). On Trails: An Exploration. Simon & Schuster.
Wilson, E. O. (1984). Biophilia. Harvard University Press.
Friends of the Green Crescent Trail. (n.d.). What is the Green Crescent Trail? https:\/\/www.greencrescenttrail.org\/what-is-the-green-crescent-trail\/
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ponderings & Pictures by Patricia A. Whitener, Ph.D., Extension Associate I often feel a sense of gratitude as I follow a well-worn trail through the forest. Someone, or many someones, over many years, found the way before me. They read the land, marked the trees with blazes, and bridged the creek. And because of their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3891,"featured_media":117,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,1],"tags":[21,26,25,27],"coauthors":[24],"class_list":["post-112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reflections","category-uncategorized","tag-clemson-university-forest","tag-nature","tag-trails","tag-well-being"],"fimg_url":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/files\/2026\/05\/20250929_134324-150x150.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3891"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":106,"date":"2026-05-14T13:21:27","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T17:21:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/?p=106"},"modified":"2026-05-15T12:54:30","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T16:54:30","slug":"a-biological-bomb-the-feral-hog-invasion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/a-biological-bomb-the-feral-hog-invasion\/","title":{"rendered":"A Biological Bomb: The Feral Hog Invasion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Gene W. Wood<\/strong>, Professor Emeritus<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dept. Forestry and Environmental Conservation<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clemson University<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The issue<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2025, the United States Department of Agriculture estimated that feral hog populations had caused $1.6 billion in agricultural losses in 13 states for which they had information. The combined feral hog population totals for the top ten states exceeds 8 million. Texas is the leader with an estimated 2.6-3 million, although Oklahoma (1.5 million), Louisiana (700,000\u2013750,000), Georgia (600,000), Florida (500,000) and New Mexico (500,000) also have major population levels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other states with major hog populations include South Carolina, California, Hawaii, Oklahoma and Alabama with a combined estimate of 1.9 million animals. It is notable that South Carolina, with a fraction of agricultural and forest land acreage of any of these five states, leads the group with an estimated 450,000 feral hogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most recent alarming situations is Henry County, Texas where there is an ongoing major invasion of suburban areas. Landscape damage in that area has been \u201cspiking\u201d in recent years. Urban sprawl has been blamed as a factor in the issue, but the difficulties are incurred when interacting with people and their pets living in relatively high densities exacerbate any control measures usually used in rural and wildland areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Did This Happen?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hogs roaming freely in the wildlands of the southeastern U.S. has gone on since the 1500s when the Spanish introduced them to support their attempts at colonization as well as a potential food supply for shipwrecked sailors, especially in the Caribbean islands. As eastern America became increasingly colonized, farmers commonly free-ranged their hogs and cattle. Free range remained a common and legal practice through the early 1900s. Farmers ear-notched their livestock to tell which animals belonged to whom. Early fences were mostly built to keep livestock out of crops and yards. However, by the mid-1900s almost all states had outlawed free range. By then, feral populations (populations of free ranging animals of domestic descent) of hogs, cattle and some horses were well established in some places, particularly in lower coastal plain ecosystems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to these feral hog populations, European wild boar were brought to the United States by wealthy hunting interests. The first and most notable of these importations was in the Smoky Mountains around 1912. Fencing was constructed around the large hunting preserve, but that was short-lived due to falling trees and rot. Escaped wild boar quickly interbred with free ranging hogs which developed crossbred populations. (European wild boar and domestic hogs are the same species, thus capable of interbreeding and producing offspring that can reproduce.) Today we have feral hogs and feral-wild boar cross hogs, referred to here as crossbred populations. It is doubtful that any pure wild boar populations are still in existence in the U.S., although Michigan may be an exception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Extensive genetic studies currently being done by the USDA Branch of Wildlife Services involve the collection of 40,000 samples hair, tissue and blood. 24,000 of these samples from around the nation have been analyzed for DNA information. Research goals include: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Mapping the illegal movement of feral swine from release points back to the original source populations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Distinguishing between feral swine and domestic pigs. This supports State efforts to enforce laws prohibiting the possession and\/or transport of feral swine.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Identifying the evolutionary processes that are contributing to make feral swine so profoundly invasive. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Samples from 387 feral hogs from South Carolina have contributed to this data set. These studies reveal that DNA in the South Carolina population is: 47.9% Western heritage domestic breeds, 28.8% European wild boar, 7.0% Berkshire, and 5.4% Hampshire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In the mountains and more temperate parts of the South, there is substantial advantage to being cross bred. Both feral and wild boar stock have two layers of hair. The top layer is composed of relatively thick, long hair, called guard hair, that serves mainly for protection from mechanical damage to the skin. The second layer, referred to as the undercoat, is a soft dense fur that serves for conservation of body heat. Development of the guard hairs is similar in both feral and wild boar stock. However, the undercoat in wild boar and crossbred stock is far heavier than in pure feral stock. This gives the cross-bred stock a better survival chance in extremely cold weather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Two other differences exist in hair coat features. First, the guard hairs along the top of the back, particularly of crossbred boars (males), are typically highly pronounced and stand erect, particularly when the animal is angered. Older feral boars have a similar display, but the characteristic appears to be more pronounced in crossbred stock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Second, while adults of crossbred stock are most typically black, all of those with significant amounts of wild boar DNA produce horizontally striped piglets (brown with white stripes). These piglets lose their stripes within a few months of life. Feral sows bred by crossbred boars are likely to have striped piglets. Feral sows bred by feral boars, produce colors ranging from varying shades of red to brown, shades of white, black, and mixtures of black and white.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The mixtures of colors are indicative of the wide range of breeds in the ancestry of feral and crossbred stock over many years. While the free-range stock origins are historically documented, intentional transport of feral and crossbred stock to new areas for sport hunting became a particularly major problem in the last part of the 20th<\/sup> century. This practice, while legal, exacerbated the developing ecological disaster we now face. In addition, in the last part of the last century, sport hunting plus intentional population control measures were totally inadequate as population suppressants. Natural population growth dramatically expanded the distribution and abundance of wild hogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Why Hogs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Once the basic biology of the hog is understood, the answer to the question of \u201cWhy Hogs?\u201d becomes obvious. First, why was the hog chosen by humans to be a valuable domestic animal? Thousands of years ago in a period when certain wild species were being chosen for domestication by humans, observation showed hogs to have a very wide foraging amplitude. That is, they could eat an extraordinary array of both plant and animal tissues, including terrestrial and aquatic vertebrates and invertebrates, and convert those sources of energy and nutrients into their own body tissue which a human could consume. They were collectors and concentrators of environmental energy and nutrients that could save humans a lot of work at gathering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In modern times, researchers have used these characteristics in hogs (mini-pigs) to study obesity as high digestion and metabolic efficiency in these animals easily produced large amounts of fat tissue. Hogs also have been used to study alcoholism as they are the only species other than humans known to voluntarily imbibe alcohol, sometimes showing a high predilection for intake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Second, the hog has the highest reproductive capacity of any large mammal. In domestic swine operations, a sow is expected to produce at least two litters of 10-12 piglets per year. Although she is only likely to successfully nurture 10 offspring as she has 10 mammary glands and the piglets are territorial for each of those glands. Late born piglets in litters of more than 10 have a poor chance for survival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Litter size in feral and crossbred populations in the U.S. is believed to average around 5 fetuses in utero<\/em> (in pregnant sows). An extensive study in coastal South Carolina which included fetus counts in over 100 sows showed an average of 5.1. (Baruch Forest Science Institute, Clemson University) Studies involving fetal counts in European crossbred stock in Great Smoky Mountains National Park found an average of 4.9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Sows and boars are sexually mature at six months of age. Even in situations of high mortality rates, hogs will survive through natural reproductive pressure that resists natural population expansion suppressants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A case history is developing in Japan that illustrates the potential for rapid development of crossbred populations. The Tohoku earthquake and subsequent tsunami in 2011 caused the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor disaster. The area surrounding the reactor quickly became contaminated with radioactive isotopes at levels harmful to human health. The original contamination zone was 312 square miles, but by 2017 that had been reduced to 143 square miles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Farms and forest lands were extensive in the area. The forest lands had a population of European wild boar while the farms had substantial populations of domestic swine. The area contained a population of 164,000 people which had to be evacuated. Farm livestock were either slaughtered on site, died of starvation due to human abandonment, or escaped after human abandonment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Today, a large, thriving population of wild hogs roams the abandoned area. Scientists have demonstrated a substantial occurrence of mitochondrial DNA from domestic sows. Some believe that hybrid vigor of the crossbred stock is an important factor in the rapid growth and vigor of this new population. The crossing seems to have combined the natural instincts for survival of the European wild boar with the capacity for high levels of reproduction from the sow ancestry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A second population expansion scenario of great concern is occurring in the southern portions of central Canada.  A crossbred population referred to as \u201csuper pigs\u201d is expanding rapidly and is expected to invade adjacent areas of the northern U. S. Midwest in the future. Again, hybrid vigor and the presence of a critically important undercoat needed to withstand very low temperatures are considered to be primary factors in resistance to environmental suppressants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The high intelligence level of wild hogs is another important factor contributing to their efficacy in adaptation and survival. Hogs are ranked among the five most intelligent animals. They are more intelligent than dogs, and better than dogs at solving puzzles and spacial memory. Field observations by Clemson scientists working in the South Carolina coastal plain noted excellent nest-building capabilities in feral hogs building elaborate nests for protection from cold in winter and a different type of nest for protection from biting insects in summer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Finally, wild hog populations may carry 30 viral\/bacterial diseases and 40 species of parasites. Among the diseases, brucellosis and pseudorabies (PRV) may be the most widespread and important to humans and their domestic livestock and pets. Brucellosis is a bacterial disease most commonly contracted by humans from unpasteurized dairy products. However, it can be contracted by direct contact between a skin abrasion or open wound of a human or domestic animal with raw meat of an infected hog. It can be devastating to commercial swine farming by causing \u201cabortion storms\u201d in the herd. Brucellosis has been found often among slaughterhouse workers in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    All states strive to be declared by the USDA as brucellosis-free. South Carolina was on the cusp of that designation in the mid-1970s when the disease was demonstrated to exist at a significant level in a coastal feral population by Clemson University scientists. At that time, Florida had already demonstrated substantial levels of brucellosis in its widespread feral hog population. The testing of over 1500 feral hogs killed in the past 10 years in South Carolina during control measures undertaken by federal APHIS (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service) personnel found antibodies for brucellosis in 15% of animals examined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Brucellosis is a disease dreaded by the domestic swine industry. If this disease is found on a farm, all swine must be quarantined and culled, but they may still be sold directly for slaughter.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Swine are the host of Pseudorabies virus (PRV). PRV does not affect humans, but it is lethal to pigs (particularly piglets), dogs, cats, cattle, sheep and goats, as well as a number of wild mammalian species. The same federal control program being conducted by APHIS and referred to above for brucellosis found 21% of 1500 hogs tested to have antibodies for this virus.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Wild hogs host a wide range of tick species of which two are exceptionally important to human health. Deer tick is infamous for its transmission of Lymes disease to humans. The brown dog tick is well known for its transmission of Rocky Mountain spotted fever. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Trichinosis is a human disease caused by Trichinella<\/em> round worms that may be found in the muscle tissue of hogs. It is contracted by humans through consumption of inadequately cooked meat. Symptoms range from mild flu-like reactions to serious damage to major organs and brain tissue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Population Control Measures<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In the late 1970s and continuing into 1993, Clemson University scientists, publishing in scientific journals, warned of the ecological disaster developing with feral hog populations. At the time, these warnings went unheeded at best. Today, virtually no land manager finds the issue to be unimportant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Traditionally, the most extensively used attempts at control have involved trapping and immediate euthanasia by whatever means proved to be most financially expedient and within manpower and budget limits. Intensive trapping efforts generally were limited to areas to which traps could be transported to and carcasses removed from by motorized vehicle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Sport hunting can contribute to control measures, but it also has important limitations. First, rifle hunting is sometimes constrained by state laws to the deer season. Therefore, even for hunters that may want to shoot a hog, the opportunity to do so is seriously time constrained. Second, even within the deer season, some hunters will refrain from shooting a hog as the action might preempt their opportunity to shoot a deer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Where legally allowed, hunters are now using night vision scoped rifles to shoot hogs at night. An important technological step has been taken in the use of drones with night vision cameras to locate hogs that hunters can stalk and shoot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Hunting with hounds and catch-dogs is usually open year-round, although very few hunters have the dogs needed for this sport. In addition, the spectacle of a hog-dog fight is among the most violent that occurs in any recreationally legal endeavor in the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The good news is that control measures have vastly improved in the last couple of decades. First, and by far foremost, has been the development of the National Feral Swine Damage Control Program which was inaugurated by congressional funding of the 2014 Farm Bill. The program, which today receives annual funding of around $20 million is managed by APHIS. It aims to minimize and ultimately prevent the excessive damage done by wild hogs to agricultural and forest crops and wild ecosystems. Program personnel, including professional trappers, are located in all states with substantial wild hog populations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Federal initiatives have provided for hugely improved control measures. One of the greatest advances has been funding required to support projects in which large numbers of wild hogs are shot from helicopters. This technique has proven to be highly efficient and efficacious. It is an approach that was impossible in the old days due to prohibitive costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The program has also promoted and supported use of a new and highly innovative trap commercially named the \u201cPig Brig.\u201d It is a net trap that is relatively easily transported and erected, and which is highly efficient at multiple animal captures in one setting. The device is expensive ($2500 each), but affordable under federal program support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In the last 10 years since the National Feral Swine Damage Control Program was established, APHIS and partners have successfully eliminated feral swine from 8 States (Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, and New York), and recognizes 4 States (Indiana, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin) in detection status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Other ideas for population control include drugs that control reproductive physiology and use of toxicants. Chemically induced suppression of reproductive potential of females is a procedure that has worked in humans. Females set the timing and frequency of conception in all species. Wild hogs are not seasonal breeders mimicking native wildlife, thus they are similar to humans in this respect. The primary control for human population growth is through drugs administered to adult females on a continuing periodic basis. There is no way to accomplish such a procedure with wild hogs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Virtually no population control is accomplished by attempting to remove the wild hog male contributions to reproduction. Dominant males do almost all of the breeding, One male can breed many sows. It is impossible to remove enough males from the population of breeders to have a measurable effect on pregnancy rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The next most common idea is about toxicants. The overwhelming problem confronting implementation of the use of toxicants for wild hog control is that of impacts on non-target species. In recent years, Louisiana State University developed a toxicant proven to be highly palatable to hogs and highly lethal. However, the substance has not been licensed for landscape scale use because there is, so far, no delivery system that will prevent the toxicant from being ingested by non-target wildlife, such as racoons and bears. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A Model for the Future<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The state of Missouri has likely set an example for truly meaningful control of wild hog populations. In fact, their goal is total eradication. They have made sport hunting of wild hogs on public lands and lands leased for conservation purposes illegal, thus there is no incentive for people to be transporting and releasing hogs for sport hunting. Furthermore, such transport and release activities are illegal. Landowners may shoot wild hogs on their own lands, but they cannot conduct commercial sport hunting projects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Missouri, working closely with APHIS and an array of other partners, takes full advantage of all federal support they can get, including removal by helicopter shooting projects. The result has been to demonstrably reduce wild hog populations and concomitant agricultural damage in the state. All other states need to study the Missouri model and appropriately adapt it to their own socioeconomic and ecological conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In summary, the catastrophic increase in distribution and abundance of wild hogs in the U.S. has been the greatest invasive vertebrate species catastrophe in the history of the nation. Annual agricultural damages are measured in billions of dollars. Hogs are likely the most adaptable of large vertebrate species. They also have the greatest reproductive potential of any large vertebrate species. The most important population and damage control measure is the National Feral Swine Damage Control Program instituted by the 2014 Farm Bill and managed by APHIS at a current funding level of approximately $20 million annually. While all states with significant wild hog populations have begun to take the issue seriously, Missouri appears to be the model for making demonstrably major progress in population and damage control.\u00a0\u00a0In the last 10 years APHIS and partners have successfully eliminated feral swine from 8 States, and recognizes 4 States in detection status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Acknowledgement<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Information about and gathered under the APHIS National Feral Swine Damage Control Program was supplied by James E. Combee, ER Aviation Logistics Manager, USDA Wildlife Services, Savannah River Ecology Lab, Aiken, SC 29802. Current wild hog population numbers were obtained via Google Search and verified at State websites (such as Texas Parks and Wildlife). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Scientific articles on this topic by the author<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Wood, Gene W., and Reginald H. Barrett. \u201cStatus of Wild Pigs in the United States.\u201d Wildlife Society Bulletin (1973-2006)<\/em>, vol. 7, no. 4, 1979, pp. 237\u201346. JSTOR<\/em>, http:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/3781857<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Wood, Gene W., and Ronnie E. Brenneman. \u201cFeral Hog Movements and Habitat Use in Coastal South Carolina.\u201d The Journal of Wildlife Management<\/em>, vol. 44, no. 2, 1980, pp. 420\u201327. JSTOR<\/em>, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.2307\/3807973. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Retired Clemson professor and one of the first experts to publish on on wild hogs in North America, Dr. Gene Wood writes a blog for the CU Forest. <\/p>\n

    Photo by Dr. Erin Buchholtz<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4288,"featured_media":107,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,23,1],"tags":[],"coauthors":[8],"class_list":["post-106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-forest-management","category-natural-history","category-uncategorized"],"fimg_url":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/files\/2026\/05\/1-2-150x150.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4288"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":95,"date":"2026-03-12T14:24:45","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T18:24:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/?p=95"},"modified":"2026-03-12T15:29:33","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T19:29:33","slug":"the-forest-is-calling-and-it-has-a-lot-to-show-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/the-forest-is-calling-and-it-has-a-lot-to-show-you\/","title":{"rendered":"The Forest Is Calling and It Has a Lot to Show You"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

    By Dr. Patricia A. Whitener<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Forest Fest returns to the Clemson University Forest on Saturday, March 28, 2026. Here’s why you don’t want to miss it.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Hosted annually in the Clemson University North Forest, Forest Fest is a free, family-friendly day of exploration, discovery, and connection across one of the most remarkable living landscapes in South Carolina. It covers seven stops, each with multiple activity stations stretched along four miles of forest road.<\/p>\n\n\n

    \n
    \"4-H
    Patricia A. Whitener, Ph.D., is the statewide program leader for 4-H Natural Resources Programs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    The Clemson University Forest is not a park in the conventional sense; rather, it is a working forest, a living laboratory, a classroom without walls, in continuous use for research, education, and stewardship since 1934. It encompasses pine forests managed for grassland birds, hardwood coves sheltering rare plants, creek systems that serve as indicators of watershed health, and wetlands where beaver and wood duck share habitat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Forest Fest exists to celebrate and connect students, faculty and visitors with nature and is for anyone who has ever wondered what lives in a stream, what a prescribed burn accomplishes, or what it feels like to walk across a hand-laid stone bridge built by the Civilian Conservation Corps above Six Mile Creek.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In 2025, 516 people traveled down Issaqueena Lake Road. Seventy-nine percent of them had never been to Forest Fest before. They came because a neighbor mentioned it, because a colleague forwarded an email, because a child asked to go somewhere outside. And when they left, 97 out of every 100 said they would recommend it to someone else. The most common suggestion for improvement? More time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What To Expect<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"children
    The Cooperative Extension School and Community Gardening Program hosted a “soil critters” station at last year’s Forest Fest. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    The 2026 event follows a self-guided route through the forest, with seven stops, each offering multiple activities. You\u2019re welcome to move at your own pace, linger where you\u2019re curious, and let the day unfold rather than rush through it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    At Indian Springs, you can experience forest bathing, made popular in Japan; face painting for kids; a Leave No Trace station; and a Hike to Heal and Rural Health presence that reminds us that well-being is enhanced in the outdoors. Turkey Creek Crossing offers a hands-on look at stream health with Clemson Extension Water Resources and Adopt-a Stream, where you can learn to read a creek the way a trained scientist does, by what’s living in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Willow Springs invites the youngest visitors into the forest\u2019s own magic through 4-H fairy houses, engages families in serious conversation about invasive species with extension experts, and helps keep pollutants out of the environment with the Anderson Soil and Water Conservation District. There will be a Scout troop there to share helpful information on creating habitat in your own backyard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Vernal Ponds area connects visitors to one of the most ephemeral and ecologically vital features of the piedmont forest: seasonal wetlands that sustain amphibians and a cascade of interconnected life. Learn about quail research and birding in a landscape actively managed for wildlife habitat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Wildcat Creek may be the station people talk about the most: SCDNR\u2019s Stream Team sampling alongside 4-H reptile and turtle research, Master Naturalists sharing decades of accumulated knowledge, learn from certified Wildlife Rehabilitators, expert Mountain bikers & Equestrian groups and a waterfall hike that earns its name: Wildcat Falls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Holly Springs is a gathering of forest expertise: the CUF forestry exposition demonstrates the full, interconnected complexity of a working forest presented by the people who study it every day. Learn more about Restoration Agriculture practices, and at the Lake Front Picnic Area, bring the day home with Simple Sammies food truck, live music, 4-H shooting sports, canoes and paddleboards on the lake, and a First Aid tent on-site. You can also learn how to become a Friend of the Forest!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Who This Day Is For<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Forest Fest is for everyone. For the family with young children who have never seen a turtle up close. For the neighbor who has always driven past the forest entrance, unaware of what was inside. For the retiree who grew up near these woods and wants to come back with fresh eyes. For the Clemson student who spends their days in a lab or a classroom and wants to explore the largest public university-managed forest contiguous with an open campus in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Last year, attendees ranged from toddlers in carriers to grandparents in lawn chairs. Ph.D. students ran stations alongside elementary school kids. State agency scientists stood next to 4-H volunteers. Clemson University faculty and staff who attended were joined by an almost equal number of community members from entirely outside the University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"eastern
    Research is a vital part of the forest, and the Clemson Turtle Team will be hosting a booth this year.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cEnvironmental stewardship cannot be legislated or instructed into existence. It is caught, not taught, through encounter.\u201d -2025 Forest Fest volunteer<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Mark Your Calendar<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Forest Fest 2026 takes place on Saturday, March 28, from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM at the Clemson Experimental Forest. Enter from Issaqueena Lake Road gate. The event is free. Parking is managed along Issaqueena Lake Road, which runs one-way westbound during the event. The speed limit is 15 MPH. Bring comfortable walking shoes, water, curiosity, and whoever in your life most needs an afternoon in the trees. We will CU there!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    By Dr. Patricia A. Whitener Forest Fest returns to the Clemson University Forest on Saturday, March 28, 2026. Here’s why you don’t want to miss it. Hosted annually in the Clemson University North Forest, Forest Fest is a free, family-friendly day of exploration, discovery, and connection across one of the most remarkable living landscapes in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3891,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"coauthors":[24],"class_list":["post-95","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"fimg_url":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3891"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=95"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":91,"date":"2026-03-06T12:59:41","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T17:59:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/?p=91"},"modified":"2026-03-06T12:59:41","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T17:59:41","slug":"why-do-i-volunteer-the-task-of-being-connected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/why-do-i-volunteer-the-task-of-being-connected\/","title":{"rendered":"Why do I volunteer? The task of being connected"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

    By Dr. Daniel Hanks<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/a>Tired. Dirty. Thirsty. Hungry\u2026 Proud. Satisfied. Happy. Connected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Over the past several years, volunteering in the Clemson University Forest has become something deeper than an activity or a commitment\u2014it has become part of the rhythm of my life. What began as time spent helping with trails gradually turned into a broader offering of myself to the Forest: to the trails, to the people who care for and use them, and to the ecological community that exists largely beyond our notice but sustains everything else. With time, I found myself not just showing up, but paying closer attention\u2014learning, practicing, and developing skills that I hope contribute, in some small way, to the long\u2011term well\u2011being of the Forest and the many connections that make it meaningful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    My alma mater, Presbyterian College<\/a> (yes, I\u2019m a Blue Hose), holds to the motto dum vivimus servimus<\/em><\/a>\u2014\u201cwhile we live, we serve.\u201d It\u2019s a phrase that has followed me more closely than I once realized. Presbyterian\u2019s approach to service emphasizes being engaged, purposeful, interdisciplinary, and connected. Those ideas have quietly shaped how I think about volunteering in the Forest. Engagement asks that we bring what we know and what we can do. Purpose reminds us to think beyond the moment and toward lasting relationships. Interdisciplinary work acknowledges that no single perspective is sufficient. And connection calls us to recognize the communities\u2014human and ecological\u2014that intersect in shared spaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Service is often framed as something we give away, rooted in altruism and oriented toward others. I still believe that to be true. Yet, through my time in the Forest, I\u2019ve come to understand that service also gives something back. Some of that is obvious\u2014working on trails I later ride or walk makes them more enjoyable. But much of what I\u2019ve received is harder to quantify and more enduring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Connection to purpose – <\/em>Volunteering has given me a sense of purpose\u2014something steady to return to, something to work toward without expectation of recognition or reward. That sense of purpose has brought clarity and satisfaction, especially in the quiet knowledge that small, consistent efforts matter. Improving the Forest\u2019s trail system has offered a tangible focus, but the deeper reward has been the feeling of contributing to something larger and longer\u2011lasting than myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Connection to nature – <\/em>Trail work is often physically demanding. It leaves me tired, thirsty, dirty, and hungry. And yet, those days almost always leave me feeling restored. Being immersed in the Forest\u2014moving slowly, working with my hands, noticing soil, water, trees, and terrain\u2014creates a connection to nature that feels grounding and necessary. There is something deeply rejuvenating about being outside in a natural place, something that settles the mind and reorients perspective. I find myself leaving the Forest more present than when I arrived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Connection to place – <\/em>Over time, this work has also shaped my sense of place. The Forest is no longer just a landscape I pass through; it is a place I know, care for, and feel responsible toward. That familiarity has fostered a deeper sense of belonging. As my connection to the Forest has grown, so too has my understanding of where I fit within it\u2014not as an owner or controller, but as a participant and steward. That bond has become meaningful in ways that are difficult to articulate but easy to feel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Connection to community – <\/em>Perhaps most unexpectedly, volunteering has woven me into a community. Through trail maintenance and shared workdays, I\u2019ve formed relationships that likely would not have existed otherwise. These connections\u2014built through effort, conversation, and shared purpose\u2014have grown into friendships. They\u2019ve given me a sense of being known and of knowing others who care deeply about the same place. In that way, the Forest has not only shaped my relationship with the land, but also with people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In serving the Forest, I\u2019ve found purpose, connection, and belonging\u2014often on days when all I expected was to feel tired. And maybe that is what service looks like over time: a quiet exchange, where what we give and what we receive become increasingly difficult to separate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    So I often return to that familiar sequence: tired, dirty, thirsty, hungry\u2014and somehow still proud, satisfied, happy, and connected. There is something honest about the task<\/em> itself: showing up, doing the work that needs doing, and trusting that small, physical efforts add up over time. Conan O\u2019Brien often shares the simple advice to \u201cwork hard, be kind, and amazing things will happen,\u201d and that sentiment feels especially true in the Forest. The work is rarely glamorous, but it is meaningful. Well\u2011built and well\u2011maintained trails endure long after the day\u2019s fatigue fades, quietly carrying hikers, runners, bikers, horseback riders, and families for years to come. There\u2019s comfort in knowing that care given now continues to matter later, long after we\u2019ve packed up tools and headed home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Don\u2019t get me wrong.  It\u2019s work, but what makes that work worthwhile and even richer are the people alongside me. The Forest has introduced me to a remarkable group\u2014thoughtful, generous, hardworking people who have, without trying, made me a better person. Working together toward a shared purpose creates a kind of connection that feels increasingly rare: one built through effort, conversation, laughter, and mutual respect. This is where the circle closes\u2014back to connection, back to community. Volunteering in the Clemson University Forest is an invitation to belong, to contribute, and to be part of something enduring. If you\u2019ve ever wanted to feel more connected\u2014to a place, to people, or to purpose\u2014I can think of few better ways than picking up a tool, joining the work, and seeing where the Forest leads you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/a>Yes, Tired. Dirty. Thirsty. Hungry but MOSTLY proud. Satisfied. Happy. CONNECTED<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    By Dr. Daniel Hanks Tired. Dirty. Thirsty. Hungry\u2026 Proud. Satisfied. Happy. Connected. Over the past several years, volunteering in the Clemson University Forest has become something deeper than an activity or a commitment\u2014it has become part of the rhythm of my life. What began as time spent helping with trails gradually turned into a broader […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4288,"featured_media":92,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,18,13,1],"tags":[],"coauthors":[8],"class_list":["post-91","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-recreation","category-reflections","category-trails","category-uncategorized"],"fimg_url":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/files\/2026\/03\/Daniel-volunteer-150x150.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4288"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/92"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=91"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":76,"date":"2026-02-18T07:35:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T12:35:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/?p=76"},"modified":"2026-02-23T11:57:25","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T16:57:25","slug":"what-are-clemson-university-forest-lands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/what-are-clemson-university-forest-lands\/","title":{"rendered":"What are Clemson University Forest Lands?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Clemson University Forest is an extensive New Deal-era conservation project rising out of an era when many small farmers were transitioning from rural to urban life. Originally, the project was called the Land Use Project. Underlying the Clemson University Forest are these Land Use Lands with their roots in that conservation-focused period of American history. The CU Forest is made up of the farms, fields, and forests originally purchased by the US Government during the late 1930s and early 1940s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Back at that time when farmers in this area were suffering and many areas of land were degraded to the point they could no longer make a living, Clemson faculty and staff and surrounding business owners advocated for the US Government to purchase these lands as they were doing throughout the nation. Doing so would both give the landowners much needed cash and allow the land to be restored. Using the recently passed Bankhead Jones Act (1937) and other sources, Federal dollars were spent to compensate the landowners who would move off their lands. Clemson University (then Clemson College) faculty, students and staff would lead the restoration, called the “Clemson College Community Conservation Project”.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A Clemson agricultural economist named George Aull was the most pivotal person. He lobbied government and university officials and obtained the support of dozens of local business owners, legislators, and government agencies. They wrote over 30 letters expressing concern that the degraded lands were bad for the local economy and that people on them were suffering. Also, there was hope that the restored lands would improve the environment and economy and give outdoor recreation opportunities. The then-President of the University (Sikes) was lobbied by the faculty and staff. Eventually, the land was purchased. In the beginning the project was still owned by the government but the College had begun restoration, teaching and research work on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Another big government project related to land use was looming. By this time, huge dam building and lake projects had begun to take place in the South. This was part of a massive government-funded effort to provide electricity, water, and flood control. Prior to this, few rural areas had electricity and many were subject to damaging floods and drought. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Tennessee River was the first big Southern river system to receive large-scale dams. Between the mid 1930s and 40s, dams were built under the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) who manages them to this day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Flooding of portions of the Savannah River had already begun, but large scale projects here lagged about twenty years behind the TVA. In conjunction with the discussion about creating Lake Hartwell, the Federal Government decided to give the Bankhead Jones lands to Clemson University. In 1954, the US Congress deeded the land to Clemson that became the Clemson University Forest, and construction of the Hartwell dam began shortly afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In 1961 the flooding of Lake Hartwell commenced which had significant implications for the Clemson Campus and CU Forest. There was much back and forth between the University and federal agencies resulted in the construction of the dikes we now have that protect campus, notably the athletics areas. Analogous to the TVA, the US Army Corps of Engineers manages the lake and its dam and dikes and owns the shoreline. Within the CU Forest we can see their painted and installed markers along the elevation contour that bounds their property. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    With the flooding of Hartwell the Forest lost many thousands of acres of land. For this the University was compensated and purchased other lands (the Simpson Farm – see related post). The Simpson Farm is not part of the original Land Use Lands. Nor are some other properties Clemson has acquired. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Clemson Land Use Project remains the Clemson University Forest. It has a long and storied history, is protected by various mechanisms, and has a specific purpose related to the public good – conservation, land management, recreation, education, and research. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    See related post “Are the Forest’s lands protected”?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Further Reading<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Crunkleton, Paul, “MR. AULL’S GRAND EXPERIMENT” (2012).\u00a0All Theses<\/em>. 1408.
    https:\/\/open.clemson.edu\/all_theses\/1408<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Parker, Taylor Andrew, “Forest\/People” (2021).\u00a0All Dissertations<\/em>. 2823.
    https:\/\/open.clemson.edu\/all_dissertations\/2823<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The Clemson University Forest is an extensive New Deal-era conservation project rising out of an era when many small farmers were transitioning from rural to urban life. Originally, the project was called the Land Use Project. Underlying the Clemson University Forest are these Land Use Lands with their roots in that conservation-focused period of American […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4288,"featured_media":69,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"coauthors":[8],"class_list":["post-76","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"fimg_url":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/files\/2026\/02\/cropped-aerial-forest-shoreline-150x150.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4288"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=76"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":72,"date":"2026-02-11T08:50:18","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T13:50:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/?p=72"},"modified":"2026-07-03T10:06:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T14:06:07","slug":"why-do-we-burn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/cuforest\/why-do-we-burn\/","title":{"rendered":"Why do we burn parts of the CU Forest?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

    Why do foresters set the forest on fire? The answer is long and complicated – more so than we have space for in this blog. But there are some simple concepts we can discuss, and some resources for further reading. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Bottom line is that Clemson University foresters burn parts of the CU Forest in order to make the forest healthier, more biodiverse, more resistant to catastrophic wildfire, and to foster regeneration of important tree species. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Fire is a natural and normal part of forest ecology throughout the world. It is termed an ecosystem process for the fundamental importance it has in structuring forests and leading to compositional changes underlying patterns of biodiversity. Fire creates openings in the canopy, reduces fuel loads, and fosters some species over others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    History of fire in forests of the South is a much studied topic. Forests in the South have a history of being burned whether being ignited naturally (as by lightning strikes) or by people. People set fires deliberately, to open up forests for hunting and travel, and of course, as throughout history – accidentally. The combination of natural and human-caused fires has left a legacy of forest types throughout the South, which forest managers today attempt to incorporate in their strategies using prescribed fire (controlled burns). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Some areas of the South, whole ecosystems such as the Longleaf pine systems of the Gulf and Atlantic coastal plains were structured and maintained by fire. In other words, the ecosystem would not – could not – persist without frequent, low intensity burns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In other areas, such as the Piedmont and Appalachian mountains and foothills, fire was probably prevalent, but more patchy and less of a driver of ecosystem structure and function. Cool, moist pockets of forests in Coves burned with less frequency than the xeric ridges and other dry, exposed areas. In the Piedmont and Blue Ridge areas near Clemson, there was likely large, open areas of oak and pine woodland with grassy understories resulting from fire, interspersed with the kind of dense, dark hardwood and mixed pine-oak forests we see today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    There is a strong idea in the literature that Native peoples here actively managed the forest through burning, and there is considerable evidence for this. The would have done this to open up the understory for wildlife habitat, travel, agriculture, and other reasons. Some burning occurred simply because fire escaped from habitations, or campfires on their far-flung travels. Others were deliberately set. European settlers were thought to have adopted the Native practices of using fire to open up woodlands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    By the 20th century the attitude towards fire changed completely, and suppressing fire was now the dominant practice. \u00a0Think all of the classic, old “Smoky the Bear” ads. Suppressing fire lead to some unintended consequences – whereas more frequent historic fires kept fuel loads (dead and downed wood) low, when fire was suppressed those fuel loads increased leading to – when they happened – more severe and catastrophic wildfire. Also, fire suppression led to dominance of tree species that have a more difficult time surviving burns – and loss of species that are adapted to – and benefit from – frequent fire. So, both structure and composition of forests was influenced by fire suppression – and can be restored through a careful burning program. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Clemson University Forest has many stands pine species and hardwoods that can be improved, and protected by prescribed fire. Prescribed fire is a highly controlled event, involving numerous staff. By selecting some of these stands for prescribed fire our foresters use a natural ecosystem process to help maintain areas with forest structure conducive to many wildlife species. Fuel loads are reduced thereby reducing impact of future wildfire. Some species – such as grassland birds – have natural habitats restored. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    CU Forest staff are also vigilant for wildfires – unplanned burns that can be destructive. Wildfires ignite in various ways and in our part of the state, including lightening but often by carelessness with campfires and the like. More insidiously, sometimes these are set “for fun” as in, arson. If the conditions are ripe for the fire to spread, the result can be destructive for people, property, wildlife, and future forest management. In such cases, the Forest staff works with the SC Forestry Commission and local Fire Departments to control and extinguish wildfires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    We intentionally burn several hundred acres of the Clemson Forest every year. We do so to meet specific management goals. First among these is to maintain a landscape with heterogenous (different) habitat types, giving rise to a diversity of ecosystems and species. Interspersion of grassland and forests creates a patchy landscape that gives rise to higher levels of diversity than any one type alone. The Upper Savannah River basin \u2013 where we live – is very high in plant and animal diversity, and our job is to help maintain that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    We also try to restore habitat structure within the stands themselves. In areas that have been clearcut, at first the young pines tend to grow too closely together. Even when planted at the right spacings, natural seedings from neighboring stands give rise to a high density. Pine is then thinned to reduce that density, and then as the trees grow those areas are burned to maintain an open understory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Regeneration of selected species is another goal of a good burning program. Oak forests are a very important native ecosystem, supplying food for game, nesting habitat for many birds, canopy structure, and habitat for long-lived, shade tolerant tree species.  As retired Clemson professor David Van Lear learned from his research in the Forest, without fire, young oaks are outcompeted by fast growing competitors.  Fire helps because young oaks put their growth into root systems and can resprout, while their competing species grow upward, and are less resistant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Finally, burning helps with \u201cforest health\u201d. One benefit is that it reduces the risk of catastrophic fire. When fuels are reduced by frequent, low intensity fire, wildfire has less of a chance of burning so hot that the trees themselves would be destroyed. Another benefit is controlling the spread of disease. For example, infestations by the Southern Pine Beetle – that thrives in dense stands \u2013 is reduced. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Forest staff has begun a rigorous program to map historic burns and keep a database of current and planned fires on the CU Forest Data Hub<\/a>. This enables a better management regime at the same time that it allows researchers and teachers on campus to plan classes, labs, and projects around the fires. Some are now interested in the various chemical, biological, and social aspects of prescribed burning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This year we are delighted that 9 different research labs on campus are using the CU Forest burns to further their scientific goals. CU Forest staff keep these researchers in the loop when they are planning burns so the faculty and students can implement their monitoring equipment before, during, and after the fires. Atmospheric, biodiversity, microbial function, soil composition, and other interests are being fed by the fire!             <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Notices of planned prescribed fire will be posted on the CU Forest Facebook page. However, it is impossible to know exactly when such events will take place. Weather conditions, including wind direction and strength, precipitation, and temperature influence when and where we can safely conduct a prescribed fire. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Forest fire even when well controlled in a highly managed prescribed burn is dangerous and we ask that visitors stay away from the area until it is well extinguished. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Then, come back and watch as life returns. The flush of green will soon return and if you are observant, you will see different species coming back in the years after the fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    References and Further Reading:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
    Prescribed burning<\/a><\/blockquote>