Cumberland Forest Unit | Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center

The Cumberland Forest, established in 1947, is the largest field research unit in the UT Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center, encompassing 8,361 acres of Cumberland Mountain forest land in Morgan and Scott counties. This forest facilitates several large- and small-scale forest and wildlife management research projects, as well as ecological demonstration projects. The Cumberland Forest is also the site of some of the earliest stripmine reclamation research in Tennessee.

Aerial Image icon for Cumberland Forest Nort Unit

Property Map – North Unit

Location Map – North Unit

Aerial Image icon for Cumberland Forest South Unit

Property Map – South Unit

Location Map – South Unit

Administrative sign for the Cumberland Forest Unit of the Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center

Cumberland Forest Unit receives American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds.

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Project Highlights:

The Hornyhead Branch Restoration and Habitat Enhancement Project was a cooperative effort between the University of Tennessee Forest Resources Research and Education Center and many local, state, and federal agencies. Goals included improvements and stabilization of the banks of the Hornyhead Branch of the Crooked Fork Creek in Morgan County, Tennessee, as well as providing an educational resource in stream restoration techniques for resource managers and landowners. Click here to view the details of the Hornyhead Branch Restoration Project.

Richard Evans, former Director, and Martin Schubert, Manager, UT Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center received the “Friend of Conservation” award for “Exemplary effort in planning and implementing the Hornyhead Branch Streambank Restoration Project”. The Forest Resources Center also received the 2006 Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Award for the Hornyhead Branch Restoration Project in Nashville. The award was presented on behalf of the Morgan County Soil Conservation District. Representatives of the Soil Conservation District, the Tennessee Valley Authority, Forest Resources staff members, and other award winners attended the ceremony.

This research at three sites in Morgan County, conducted by Jennifer Franklin, UT Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries and Jan Frouz, Institute of Soil Biology, Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, assessed below-ground and above-ground recovery of these sites that were mined for coal 40 – 50 years ago. Click here to view their findings and conclusions for this Restoration of Soil Function on Coal Mine Sites research project.

Research Highlights:

Weather-related damage rehabilitation, revegetation, and tree growth study. (Learn More)

Improvement of flowering Kousa Dogwoods — Our research is helps develop disease resistance and enhance flowering characteristics in kousa dogwood cultivars.

The dogwood improvement program has one the nation’s largest collections of flowering and kousa dogwood cultivars and is maintained at the Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center. (Learn More)

Integrated pest management research project — Landscape and forest pest trapping and identification as part of our Integrated Pest Management Research Project.

Several ongoing studies directly valuable for pest monitoring and management across Tennessee landscapes, nurseries, and forests. (Learn More)

Photo Gallery:

Contact the Cumberland Forest Unit:

Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center
515 Cassell Road
Oliver Springs, TN 37840

Martin R. Schubert, Forest Manager
Phone: 423-324-4925
Email: mschuber@tennessee.edu