UPDATE 4/17/2020

State forests to reopen after temporary closure amid coronavirus pandemic. 

Governor Greg Abbott announced, Friday, that all state parks will be re-opened on Monday, April 20, 2020. Visitors must follow strict guidelines to reduce transmission of COVID-19 – including requiring visitors to wear face coverings, maintain a six-foot distance from individuals outside of their party, and prohibiting the gathering of groups larger than five. With this direction, all state forests also will be re-opened at this same time.  Visitors must follow state and local orders related to the pandemic and guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Texas Department of State Health Services.  

You may read the full article here https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-issues-executive-order-establishing-strike-force-to-open-texas. 

4/07/2020

As the State of Texas responds to COVID-19, Texas state forests and arboretums will be temporarily closed starting today, April 7, 2020, at 5 p.m. This closing follows Governor Greg Abbott’s mandate to Texas state parks and historical sites to close as part of the state’s efforts to strengthen social distancing practices and prevent gatherings of large groups of people. 

The following state forests and arboretums are affected:  W. Goodrich Jones State Forest in Montgomery County, I.D. Fairchild State Forest in Cherokee County, E.O. Siecke State Forest in Newton County, John Henry Kirby Memorial State Forest Tyler County, Masterson State Forest in Jasper County, Ruth Bowling Nichols Arboretum in Cherokee County, and the Olive Scott Petty Arboretum in Hardin County.

Sites will reopen as the governor directs parks and historical sites to reopen.

For future news about reopening you may follow the Texas A&M Forest Service Facebook page @texasforestservice, Twitter page @TXForestService and website https://tfsweb.tamu.edu.

Read the full news release from the Office of the Governor at https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-announces-temporary-closure-of-state-parks-and-historic-sites