View source for Florida state forests

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{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}

'''Florida's state forests''' are [[state forest]]s overseen by the '''Florida Forest Service'''. There are 38 state forests in Florida covering more than 1,058,000 acres.<ref name=ffs>[http://www.freshfromflorida.com/Divisions-Offices/Florida-Forest-Service/Our-Forests/State-Forests State Forests] Florida Forest Service</ref> The first state forest in Florida was [[Pine Log State Forest]], established on 6,960 acres in 1936. [[Cary State Forest]] was established in 1937.<ref>[http://www.freshfromflorida.com/Divisions-Offices/Florida-Forest-Service/Our-Forests/State-Forests/Florida-State-Forests-Historical-Timeline Historical Timeline] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140523231345/http://www.freshfromflorida.com/Divisions-Offices/Florida-Forest-Service/Our-Forests/State-Forests/Florida-State-Forests-Historical-Timeline |date=2014-05-23 }} Florida  State Forests Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services</ref> [[Blackwater River State Forest]] and [[Withlacoochee State Forest]] were added in the late 1950s and early 1960s.<ref name=ffs/>
[[File:Pine Log State Forest Florida from SR79.jpg|alt=The sign for Pine Log State Forest|thumb|Sign for Pine Log State Forest]]
Florida began large land purchase and preservation efforts in the late 1970s and management focus shifted from timber and wildlife focuses to a "multiple land use management ethic"  including "conservation of natural and cultural resources, wildlife management, protection of water resources, and outdoor recreation."<ref name=ffs/>

==Florida state forests==
<ref>[http://www.freshfromflorida.com/Divisions-Offices/Florida-Forest-Service/Our-Forests/State-Forests/Current-State-Forest-Management-Plans Current State Forest Management Plans] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140523225703/http://www.freshfromflorida.com/Divisions-Offices/Florida-Forest-Service/Our-Forests/State-Forests/Current-State-Forest-Management-Plans |date=2014-05-23 }} Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Name
! style="text-align:left" | Location<br />{{nobold|''(of main entrance)''}}
|-
| [[Belmore State Forest]]
| [[Clay County, Florida|Clay County]]
|-
| [[Big Shoals State Forest]]
| [[Hamilton County, Florida|Hamilton County]]
|-
| [[Blackwater River State Forest]]
| [[Milton, Florida|Milton]]
|-
| [[Carl Duval Moore State Forest]]
| [[Putnam County, Florida|Putnam County]]
|-
| [[Cary State Forest]]
| [[Bryceville, Florida|Bryceville]]
|-
| [[Charles H. Bronson State Forest]]
| [[Christmas, Florida|Christmas]]
|-
| [[Cottage Hill State Forest]]
| [[Escambia County, Florida|Escambia County]]
|-
| [[Deep Creek State Forest]]
| [[St. Johns County, Florida|St. Johns County]]
|-
| [[Etoniah Creek State Forest]]
| [[Florahome, Florida|Florahome]]
|-
| [[Four Creeks State Forest]]
| [[Nassau County, Florida|Nassau County]]
|-
| [[Goethe State Forest]]
| [[Dunnellon, Florida|Dunnellon]]
|-
| [[Holopaw State Forest]]
| [[Osceola County, Florida|Osceola County]]
|-
| [[Indian Lake State Forest]]
| [[Ocala, Florida|Ocala]]
|-
| [[Jennings State Forest]]
| [[Middleburg, Florida|Middleburg]]
|-
| [[John M. Bethea State Forest]]
| [[Sanderson, Florida|Sanderson]]
|-
| Kissimmee Bend State Forest
| [[Okeechobee, Florida|Okeechobee]]
|-
| [[Lake George State Forest]]
| [[DeLeon Springs, Florida|DeLeon Springs]]
|-
| [[Lake Talquin State Forest]]
| [[Tallahassee, Florida|Tallahassee]]
|-
| [[Lake Wales Ridge State Forest]]
| [[Frostproof, Florida|Frostproof]]
|-
| [[Little Big Econ State Forest]]
| [[Geneva, Florida|Geneva]]
|-
| [[Matanzas State Forest]]
| [[St. Johns County, Florida|St. Johns County]]
|-
| [[Myakka State Forest]]
| [[Bradenton, Florida|Bradenton]]
|-
| [[Newnans Lake State Forest]]
| [[Gainesville, Florida|Gainesville]]
|-
| [[Okaloacoochee Slough State Forest]]
| [[Felda, Florida|Felda]]
|-
| [[Plank Road State Forest]]
| [[Cody, Florida|Cody]]
|-
| [[Picayune Strand State Forest]]
| [[Collier County, Florida|Collier County]]
|-
| [[Pine Log State Forest]]
| [[Ebro, Florida|Ebro]]
|-
| [[Point Washington State Forest]]
| [[Santa Rosa Beach, Florida|Santa Rosa Beach]]
|-
| [[Ralph E. Simmons Memorial State Forest]]
| [[Hilliard, Florida|Hilliard]]
|-
| [[Ross Prairie State Forest]]
| [[Marion County, Florida|Marion County]]
|-
| [[Seminole State Forest]]
| [[Leesburg, Florida|Leesburg]]
|-
| [[Tate's Hell State Forest]]
| [[Carrabelle, Florida|Carrabelle]]
|-
| [[Tiger Bay State Forest]]
| [[Daytona Beach, Florida|Daytona Beach]]
|-
| [[Twin Rivers State Forest]]
| [[Live Oak, Florida|Live Oak]]
|-
| [[Wakulla State Forest]]
| [[Wakulla County, Florida|Wakulla County]]
|-
| [[Watson Island State Forest]]
| [[St. Johns County, Florida|St. Johns County]]
|-
| [[Welaka State Forest]]
| [[Welaka, Florida|Welaka]]
|-
| [[Withlacoochee State Forest]]
| [[Brooksville, Florida|Brooksville]]
|}
References{{reflist}}

==Florida Forest Service website==
* [http://www.floridaforestservice.com/state_forests/ Florida Forest Service]

==See also==
* [[List of U.S. National Forests]]

{{Protected Areas of Florida}}
{{Geography of Florida}}
{{Florida}}

[[Category:Florida state forests| ]]
[[Category:Lists of state forests in the United States|Florida]]
[[Category:Florida geography-related lists|State forests]]


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