| Wayne National Forest | |
|---|---|
 Welcome Sign for Wayne National Forest | |
 Location of Wayne National Forest | |
| Location | Ohio, United States |
| Coordinates | 39°30′0″N82°0′0″W / 39.50000°N 82.00000°W /39.50000; -82.00000 |
| Area | 240,101 acres (971.65 km2)[1] |
| Established | December 1992[2] |
| Named for | Anthony Wayne |
| Website | Wayne National Forest |
TheWayne National Forest is located in theAppalachian part of the US state ofOhio, in theUnglaciated Allegheny Plateau. It is the first and onlynational forest in Ohio. Forest headquarters are located betweenThe Plains andNelsonville, Ohio, onUS Route 33 overlooking theHocking River.
First referred to as "Ohio National Forest" (unofficially),[3] the Wayne National Forest was later officially named in honor ofGeneral Anthony Wayne, an American soldier, officer, statesman, and one of theFounding Fathers of the United States. He served in theAmerican Revolutionary War and was later recalled from civilian life by PresidentGeorge Washington afterSt. Clair's defeat to command theLegion of the United States in theNorthwest Indian War to gain control of the British controlled cededNorthwest Territory, including the region that is now Ohio.[4]
The forest comprises three administrative and purchase units:Athens,Marietta, andIronton. The Athens and Marietta Units are managed together as the Athens Ranger District, while the Ironton Unit is managed as the Ironton Ranger District. Many of the lands included in the national forest are former coal-mining lands, and much of this land is owned by the federal government without the mineral rights, those having been retained by former owners.
As of September 2018, Wayne National Forest has 244,265 acres (989 km2) in federal ownership within a proclamation boundary of 832,147 acres (3,368 km2).[1]
TheNorth Country Trail passes through several areas of Wayne, in which it is coincident with theBuckeye Trail and theAmerican Discovery Trail. The area of Ohio included within the national forest is based on latePaleozoic geology, heavy in sandstones and shales, includingredbeds, with many coal beds. The topography is typically very rugged, with elevation changes typically in the 200–400-foot range.
The land on which the forest exists and grows was consigned to the United States by theNorthwestern Confederacy in 1795 as part of theTreaty of Greenville; it is in the State of Ohio which was named for an indigenous word translating to "Good River."[5][6][7][8]
During the late 18th and 19th century, the forested land was cleared foragricultural andlumbering use, but years of poor timbering and agricultural practices led to severe erosion and poor soil composition. The Wayne National Forest was started as part of areforestation program. It was established as a National Forest for the public in December 1992.[9]
In 2022, approximately 1,300 acres (530 ha) of the forest were burned by fires that were deliberately set by a former fire department administrator and police officer. In 2025, the culprit was sentenced to 18 months in prison and required to pay $368,000 in restitution.[10]
On April 4, 2024, theBiden Administration proposed thatfracking be permitted in the forest, a plan which drew widespread criticism.[11] The administration'sBureau of Land Management announced it would open 40,000 acres (16,000 ha) of the Wayne to fracking for oil and gas. The new proposal, released in late March 2024, is nearly identical to the fracking plan that was blocked in 2020 by a federal judge after conservation groups had challenged it in federal court.[12]
On May 23, 2024, The Wayne National Forest planted aMoon Tree sapling at its Forest Headquarters building inNelsonville, Ohio, as part of an initiative betweenNASA and theU.S. Forest Service. The sweetgum sapling was one of fewer than 1,500 seedlings flown thousands of miles beyond themoon aboard the unmannedOrion spacecraft, spending six weeks in space during NASA’sArtemis I mission that had launched on November 16, 2022.[13]
On August 21, 2023, theU.S. Forest Service proposed changing the forest's name to "Buckeye National Forest" after considering other names that included "Ohio National Forest" (its first unofficial name) and "Koteewa National Forest" (Shawnee word for Buckeye).[14] Some supporters of changing the name, including theCity Council of Athens in an official letter dated September 5, 2023,[15] prefer "Ohio National Forest," or "Pawpaw National Forest" for the official state native fruit,[16] to be chosen instead of "Buckeye National Forest."[17] The change, if adopted byU.S. Secretary of AgricultureTom Vilsack ofIowa, would cost $400,000 to implement. The call to change the name was initiated primarily by American Indian tribes who objected to its namesake of Anthony Wayne.[18][19] Opposition to changing the name centers on preserving Wayne's impact to Ohio, critiques ofpop history (citing Wayne's complexity), and the violence caused by both tribes and settlers.[20]
Ohio comes from the Seneca (Iroquoian) 'ohiiyo' 'good river'
From Iroquois word meaning 'great river'
Ohio ('large creek')
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