An Urban Oasis

Housing developments are steadily closing in on the borders of W. Goodrich Jones State Forest. The forest is located in the busy commercial corridor along Interstate 45 north of Houston and offers a slice of solitude to the many residents of the surrounding area. The solid forested area is striking from above, with residential streets dominating the area southwest of the forest and the bright white of commercial areas running north to south just east of the forest. A closer look reveals the utter lack of development — apart from one major road cutting through the north end — within the forest in contrast to the adjacent neighborhoods. 

Jones State Forest is open to the public year-round and provides resource education, enrichment and recreation opportunities. The forest is home to a population of red-cockaded woodpeckers, an endangered species. Approximately 80,000 people visit the forest each year. For more information on the Jones and other state forests, check out this story map.

The images shown here are courtesy of Google Imagery Service; the context image is at a scale of 1:100,000 and the close-up 1:20,000. A light green border is used to subtly highlight the forest.

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Jones State Forest pops as an urban oasis among development. https://t.co/4BSSGBXK26#MapMonday#MonthlyMapMonday#TexasStateForests#JonesStateForest@TNRISpic.twitter.com/KvJXOpzRT1

— Texas A&M Forest Service (@TXForestService) February 19, 2018