Forest Celebration Events
Join us as we celebrate the landmark of our state forest’s centennial year. Celebration events will be held at the W.G. Jones State Forest (Oct. 19),
I.D. Fairchild State Forest (April 26, 2025), and E.O. Siecke State Forest
(fall, 2025).
Texas state forests are essential to our ecosystems,
communities, and growth in the forestry industry. They are owned and operated
by Texas A&M Forest Service and are an experimental ground for forestry
practices. When state forest trees reach maturity, they are harvested and sold,
and new trees are replanted. Profits made from state forest timber harvests are
either reinvested to the forest or presented as scholarships to students across
the state.
State forests have multiple hiking and horse riding trails
as well as an outdoor classroom that is open to the public, which attracts
thousands of visitors and horseback riders every year.
Our state forest centennial celebration honors the century
of hard work and dedication to the science of forestry that has taken place on
our state forests. Family-friendly activities in and around the forests are in
store for each event, including wildlife exhibits, forest therapy walks, tree
seedling giveaways, and more.
Join us as we travel across East Texas over the next year to
celebrate the ways our state forests benefit us and how we can give back to
them.
+ October 19, 2024 - W.G. Jones State Forest Centennial Celebration
The W.G. Jones State Forest Centennial Celebration is at
the forest on Saturday, Oct. 16, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event will feature
health and nature exhibits, native animal presentations, emergency response
vehicles, games and crafts, and much more.
The W.G. Jones State Forest is one
of the nation's largest working urban forests, and its primary purpose is to be
used as an educational resource for students and the community. Efforts to
protect the red-cockaded woodpecker (RCW), a federally endangered woodpecker,
take place on the forest. RCW thrive in the live pine trees of this state
forest.
+ April 26, 2025 - I.D. Fairchild State Forest Centennial Celebration
The I.D. Fairchild State Forest Centennial Celebration is on April 26, 2025.
The was
formerly owned by the State Prison and was home to the only state-operated
sawmill before being acquired by Texas A&M Forest Service. The ecosystem of
I.D. Fairchild State Forest is incredibly diverse, and youth deer hunts are
hosted annually.
+ Fall 2025 - E.O. Siecke State Forest Centennial Celebration
The E.O. Siecke State Forest Centennial Celebration will be in the fall of 2025.
It the first state
forest was acquired by Texas A&M Forest Service in 1924, is home to
pioneering East Texas forest research. The state forest was also the site of
the first fire lookout tower in Texas, which was constructed in 1926 and stood
80 feet tall.