Of its original 1 57,71 8 acres, 

 97 percent was classified 

 as timberland. This 

 consisted of longleaf yellow 

 pine with undergrowth of 

 different species of oak. 

 There was some spruce 

 pine along watercourses, 

 mixed with other species, 

 pure near the coast, but 

 not plentiful enough to be 

 of commercial consequence 

 (Hill 1916b). 



The Choctawhatchee and 

 the Ocala were consolidated 

 by Presidential proclamation 

 on April 17, 1911, and 

 became the Florida National 

 Forest. 



One other tract of public 

 domain land in the South 

 was destined to become 

 national forest: 152,960 



acres in Lawrence and 

 Winston counties in north 

 Alabama, withdrawn from 

 the public domain in 1913. 

 This acreage became a 

 purchase unit which, 

 augmented by Weeks Law 

 purchases, formed the 

 Alabama National Forest in 

 1 91 8. Its name was changed 

 to the William B. Bankhead 

 National Forest in 1942. 



The lands withdrawn from 

 the public domain 

 constituted the limited 

 holdings of the Forest 

 Service in the South when 

 conservationists won 

 passage of the Weeks Law 

 in 1911, opening the door 

 for purchase of national 

 forest lands. 



11 



