Description

Beginning in the mid-1920’s, Duke University purchased many small farms and interspersed forestland as a buffer and expansion land for the new campus. These tracts, totaling 4,696 acres, became the Duke Forest in 1931 when they were placed under the stewardship of Dr. Clarence Korstian, the first director of the Duke Forest and dean of the School of Forestry. Today the Duke Forest covers over 7,000 acres of land in six divisions. The Duke Forest objectives were: to demonstrate practical and economical techniques for managing timber; to develop an experimental forest for research in the sciences associated with growing timber; and to provide an outdoor laboratory for students of forestry. Over the years, academic uses of the Duke Forest have broadened beyond the original forestry objectives to encompass a variety of disciplines in the natural and environmental sciences. Now the Duke Forest is nationally recognized as a premier facility for outdoor education and environmental science research.