Fernow Experimental Forest

The Fernow Experimental Forest (hereafter Fernow) is a designated special research area established in 1934 within the Monongahela National Forest. The Fernow is a 4,700-acre outdoor laboratory and classroom in the mountains of Tucker County, West Virginia, named in honor of Bernhard Fernow, a pioneer in American forestry research. The Fernow was originally established to address water quantity, water quality, and timber quality issues. Research on the Fernow was terminated during World War II; however, a new research program was reinitiated in 1948 to study the silviculture of mixed hardwood forests and watersheds of the Central Appalachians. Today, forest health and clean water are still a focus. Data collected on the Fernow are also contributing to research issues of today, such as biodiversity, endangered species management, carbon sequestration, atmospheric deposition, and climate change.

Scientists at the Fernow Experimental Forest have:

• Contributed to design of Best Management Practices that protect water quality while also permitting forest operations.
• Developed two-age management as an alternative to clearcutting and provided demonstrations of different types of forest management, such as even-age and uneven-age management.
• Researched management actions to support high-elevation red spruce ecosystem restoration.
• Explored prescribed fire to sustain central Appalachian mixed-oak forests and better understand fire effects on some wildlife species.
• Answered questions about ecosystem properties related to climate change as part of the national Experimental Forest network.
• Contributed to the Central Appalachian Forest Vulnerability assessment considering anticipated global changes in climate over the next century.
• Provided hydrological and stream chemistry data for the past half-century that are freely available on the internet and are one of the most downloaded Forest Service data sets nationally.
• Demonstrated the resiliency of upland woodland salamander communities to prescribed fires of low to moderate intensities.
• Contributed to demonstrating that the central Appalachian Mountains provide important winter habitat for golden eagles.

The Fernow lies in the Allegheny Mountain section of the unglaciated Allegheny Plateau. Elevations range from 1,750 to 3,650 feet; hillslopes are generally steep, and soils are shallow. Bedrock is composed of sandstone and softer shale underlies most of the experimental forest, but a belt of Greenbrier limestone exists about midway upslope on McGowan Mountain, which supports a highly productive zone of soil in the Belmont series.  Most Fernow soils belong to the Calvin and Dekalb series, which are more acidic and less productive than soils derived from limestone.  The area has a rainy and cool climate. Mean annual precipitation is about 58 inches, with most occurring in the winter, spring, and summer. The mean annual temperature is about 48 degrees Fahrenheit, and the frost-free season lasts about 145 days.

The Fernow encompasses most of the Elklick Run drainage. Elklick Run drains into the Black Fork River and has seven larger named tributaries and several smaller unnamed tributaries. Elklick Run was dammed in 1936 just below its confluence with Camp Hollow Run to create a drinking water reservoir for the town of Parsons. The reservoir still exists but has not provided drinking water since 1996.

The forest is classified as second-growth, developed after exploitative logging in the early 1900s.  The mixed mesophytic forest has characteristics of mixed-oak and northern hardwood forest types. Upland oaks are the most common species group, but American beech, red and sugar maple, yellow-poplar, black cherry, cucumbertree, sweet birch, and American basswood are common species found on the Fernow. A wide variety of wildlife can be observed on the Fernow, including white-tailed deer, black bear, wild turkey, ruffed grouse, red and grey foxes, squirrels, many rodents, and many species of neotropical migratory songbirds. Brook trout, blacknose dace, and mottled sculpin occur in perennial streams of the Fernow. Suckers and sunfish have been observed in the reservoir.

Facilities associated with the Fernow are located at or near the Timber & Watershed Laboratory in Parsons, West Virginia. The Laboratory houses all research staff offices, a water quality laboratory, and a small conference room. Nearby facilities include another laboratory, a workshop, a greenhouse, and short-term guest housing. The Cheat Ranger District of the Monongahela National Forest is also located at this site.

The Fernow is accessed by County Road 219/7, the Brooklyn Heights Road, from U.S. Route 219 in Parsons, West Virginia. The Timber & Watershed Laboratory is located on FR50 off U.S. Route 219 just east of Parsons.

Fernow Experimental Forest: latitude 39°3′16″ N, longitude 79°41′0″ W
Timber & Watershed Laboratory: latitude 39°5′35″ N, longitude 79°39′47″ W

Contacts are:

• Project Leader: Melissa Thomas-Van Gundy (at Parsons), 304-478-2000 ext. 114
• Fernow Scientist-in-Charge: Benjamin Rau (at Parsons), 304-478-2000 ext. 131

Visitors are welcome to tour the Fernow Experimental Forest. Signs are located along the main roads describing various research studies. A guided tour through the Forest can be arranged for interested groups by contacting the Site Administrator at 304-478-2000.

Hunting and fishing are allowed on the Fernow with the appropriate licenses. Wildlife viewing, bird watching, and wildflower walks are popular activities. Camping and the collection of plant materials are not permitted on the Fernow.

Photo Credit

USDA Forest Service photo by Cheryl Wiles.

Sapsucker damage on a black cherry tree in a silviculture plot on the Fernow Experimental Forest being examined by forester David Helon (front), forestry technician Alan Petukh (back left) and data manager Lacy Rucker (back right).

Research, Past and Present

Scientific studies on the Fernow have followed two lines of research, with considerable integration between them. Silvicultural research focuses primarily on mixed hardwood stands and addresses questions about regenerating, growing, tending, and harvesting trees and stands. Watershed research addresses some basic questions about forest hydrology and water use by forests, as well as important issues related to roads, best management practices, and forest management effects on water and soil resources.

Many silviculture and watershed studies begun in the early 1950s continue today, adding to our knowledge of how forest management affects species diversity, log quality, regrowth, soil erosion, streamflow quantity and quality, microclimate, soil moisture regimes, and wildlife diversity and abundance. Over time, natural and human-induced disturbance factors have been incorporated into the research program, including acid deposition, non-native invasive species, and fire exclusion.

Today, research on the Fernow is multidisciplinary, and the focus includes aquatic and wildlife ecology topics. Current research topics include silviculture, hydrology, soil productivity, species restoration using fire, acid deposition effects on forest ecosystems, nutrient cycling, carbon allocation, and threatened and endangered species.

Cross-Site Research

The Fernow participates in several cross-site comparisons within the Forest Service network of Experimental Forests and Ranges. Studies include:

• Effects of harvesting treatments on stream water quality
• Effects of forest management and changing climate on streamflow
• Effects of silvicultural treatment, site, and climate on growth
• Quantifying uncertainty in ecosystem studies

Data from the Fernow has been extensively used in regional comparisons of nitrogen (N) cycling and ecosystem N processes, a testament to the quality and significance of the studies conducted at Fernow. A Fernow study is an affiliated site in the Long-Term Soil Productivity network, further highlighting its importance in the field of forest management and ecosystem studies.

Monitoring stations for two national networks are located at the Timber & Watershed Laboratory:

• National Atmospheric Deposition Program National Trends Network (NADP NTN) site WV18
• Clean Air Status and Trends Network (CASTNet) site PAR107

Conducting Research

Research at the Fernow is encouraged but must be managed to protect the environment, research infrastructure, other studies, and other researchers and technical staff. Studies that have the potential to disturb or alter the landscape must meet specific guidelines and may require formal environmental analysis.

All research on the Fernow Experimental Forest requires a study plan approved by the Fernow scientist-in-charge regardless of type, extent, duration, or impact.

If you are interested in conducting research at Fernow, please contact Benjamin Rau, the scientist in charge, before initiating the study.

Watershed research was begun on the Fernow in 1951 when different levels of harvesting and different harvesting techniques were applied to several watersheds. Basic questions about forest hydrology and water use by forests, as well as important questions related to forest roads, best management practices, and forest management effects on water and soil resources have been research topics over the past 60 years. Long-term monitoring sites (60+ years) include seven gauged watersheds, where streamflow is measured continuously, and two weather stations, where precipitation, temperature, and several other meteorological measurements are collected.  Three additional watersheds have been instrumented to measure streamflow since the mid-1980s.

• Fernow Experimental Forest daily air temperature
• Fernow Experimental Forest daily precipitation
• Fernow Experimental Forest daily streamflow
• Fernow Experimental Forest precipitation chemistry
• Fernow Experimental Forest stream chemistry