- City:
- Carver, South Carver, MA
- Site Type:
- Forestry and Agriculture, Tree Planting
- New Deal Agencies:
- Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), Work Relief Programs
- Quality of Information:
- Moderate
- Site Survival:
- Extant
Description
“As a result of colonial wood utilization and wildfires, most of the original forest was cleared and burnt over by the mid-1800s. The Massachusetts Game Sanctuary Association initiated reforestation efforts in 1912 by planting 30,000 white pines around Barrett Pond and East Head Reservoir. In 1916, the State Forest Commission purchased the 5,700-acre Game Sanctuary Association property, creating Myles Standish State Forest (MSSF). By the end of the 1920s, the state had purchased the majority of the land we now know as MSSF. Today, MSSF has approximately 12,404 acres and is the largest public recreation area in southeastern Massachusetts.
“After acquiring the land, the state continued the reforestation program over the next 40 years. With the help of state unemployed crews and Civilian Conservation Corps crews in the 1930s, approximately 1.9 million white, red, Austrian, jack and Scots pines, spruce, and other species were planted in the forest between 1916 and 1937. After the 1957 fire, several stands of red pine, white pine and Norway spruce were planted in the western portion of MSSF in an effort to reforest the area” (mass.gov).
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