Bladen Lakes State Forest

Protected area in North Carolina, United States

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Bladen Lakes State Forest

IUCN category VI (protected area with sustainable use of natural resources)

View from Fire Tower towards Elizabethtown

Location of Bladen Lakes State Forest in North Carolina

Location| Bladen County, North Carolina, United States
Coordinates| 34°41′18″N 78°35′40″W﻿ / ﻿34.68833°N 78.59444°W﻿ / 34.68833; -78.59444Coordinates: 34°41′18″N 78°35′40″W﻿ / ﻿34.68833°N 78.59444°W﻿ / 34.68833; -78.59444
Area| 32,950 acres (133.3 km2)
Elevation| 15–115 ft (4.6–35.1 m)
Established| 1954
Named for| Carolina Bay
Governing body| North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; North Carolina Forest Service
Website| Bladen Lakes State Forest

Bladen Lakes State Forest (BLSF) is a North Carolina state forest near Elizabethtown, North Carolina, USA. It is managed by the North Carolina Forest Service. Covering about 32,950 acres (13,330 ha), it is the largest state owned forest in North Carolina. Bladen Lakes comprises three parcels of land and has a total of eight compartments. Adjoining the forest are Turnbull Creek Educational State Forest, Jones Lake State Park and Singletary Lake State Park. The vast majority of the forest is in the Game Lands Program, which is administered by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. There are several safety zones where hunting is prohibited or restricted (archery zones, hunting areas for disabled persons and still hunting only areas).

BLSF is a working forest, which means it is actively managed and creates its own income. Yearly revenues are generated through timber sales, pine straw sales and cooking of charcoal. It is an active partner in the Forest Stewardship Program contributing significantly to the regions clean water and air, protection of the soil, wildlife habitat, recreational resources and timber supplies.

The general public is invited to visit the forest and enjoy the scenery and multitude of landscape features, like the Carolina bays, pocosins, sand ridges, river bottoms and swamps. Horseback riding and camping at designated places is welcomed. Street legal vehicles can be used on the 100+ miles of roads and trails as long as these are not behind closed gates. There is a long list of other activities people can do at BLSF. Some use the lack of lights in the forest for star gazing at night. Several universities, community colleges and other scientific organizations have study sites within the forest boundaries. Several agencies and the military use the forest as training ground. Many activities other than hunting require a Special Use Permit, which can be obtained from the office free of charge during regular office hours.

*   * BLSF office

* Charcoal cooking

* Young Longleaf Straw Stand

* Old Cemetery near BLSF office

* Logging operation

* Prescribed burning

* Prescribed burning on BLSF

* Cypress swamp on Bladen Lakes State Forest

* Cypress swamp on BLSF in early summer

* Picture taken during Perseids meteor shower event August 14, 2015

## External links[edit]

* Official website
* North Carolina Forest Service
* North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission
* Video about the making of Charcoal at BLSF
* Restoring the Long Leaf Pine at Bladen Lakes State Forest with former Supervisor Michael Chesnutt

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Protected areas of North Carolina

Federal|

| National Parks|

* Great Smoky Mountains

|

National Historic Sites|

* Carl Sandburg Home
* Fort Raleigh

National Memorials|

* Wright Brothers

National Military Parks|

* Guilford Courthouse

National Battlefields|

* Moores Creek

National Parkways|

* Blue Ridge Parkway
* (Crabtree Falls
* Craggy Gardens
* Cumberland Knob
* Doughton Park
* E.B. Jeffress Park
* Julian Price Memorial Park
* Linville Falls
* Moses H. Cone Memorial Park
* Mount Pisgah
* Waterrock Knob)

National Trails|

* Appalachian Trail
* Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail

National Seashores|

* Cape Hatteras
* Cape Lookout

National Marine Sanctuary|

* Monitor

National Estuarine
Research Reserve|

* Currituck Banks
* Rachel Carson
* Masonboro Island
* Zeke’s Island

National Forests|

* Cherokee
* Croatan
* Nantahala
* Pisgah
* Uwharrie

National Wildlife Refuges|

* Alligator River
* Cedar Island
* Currituck
* Great Dismal Swamp
* Mackay Island
* Mattamuskeet
* Mountain Bogs
* Pea Island
* Pee Dee
* Pocosin Lakes
* Roanoke River
* Swanquarter

Wilderness Areas|

* Birkhead Mountains
* Catfish Lake South
* Ellicott Rock
* Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock
* Linville Gorge
* Middle Prong
* Pocosin
* Pond Pine
* Sheep Ridge
* Shining Rock
* Southern Nantahala
* Swanquarter

Wilderness Study Areas|

* Craggy Mountain
* Harper Creek
* Lost Cove
* Overflow
* Snowbird

Wild and Scenic Rivers|

* Chattooga River
* Horsepasture River
* Lumber River
* New River
* Wilson Creek

State|

| State Parks|

* Carolina Beach
* Carvers Creek
* Chimney Rock
* Cliffs of the Neuse
* Crowders Mountain
* Dismal Swamp
* Elk Knob
* Eno River
* Fort Macon
* Goose Creek
* Gorges
* Grandfather Mountain
* Hammocks Beach
* Hanging Rock
* Haw River
* Jockey's Ridge
* Jones Lake
* Lake James
* Lake Norman
* Lake Waccamaw
* Lumber River
* Mayo River
* Medoc Mountain
* Merchants Millpond
* Morrow Mountain
* Mount Mitchell
* New River
* Pettigrew
* Pilot Mountain
* Pisgah View
* Raven Rock
* Rendezvous Mountain
* Singletary Lake
* South Mountains
* Stone Mountain
* William B. Umstead

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State Recreation Areas|

* Falls Lake
* Fort Fisher
* Jordan Lake
* Kerr Lake

State Natural Areas|

* Hemlock Bluffs
* Lea Island
* Masonboro Island
* Mount Jefferson
* Occoneechee Mountain
* Theodore Roosevelt
* Weymouth Woods

* See also List of North Carolina State Natural Areas

State Lakes|

* Bay Tree Lake
* Jones Lake
* Lake Phelps
* Salters Lake
* Singletary Lake
* Lake Waccamaw
* White Lake

State Trails|

* Dan River
* Deep River
* East Coast Greenway
* Fonta Flora
* French Broad River
* Hickory Nut Gorge
* Mountains-to-Sea
* Northern Peaks
* Overmountain Victory
* Roanoke River
* Wilderness Gateway
* Yadkin River

State Rivers|

* Horsepasture River
* Linville River
* Lumber River
* New River

State Forests|

* Bladen Lakes
* DuPont
* Headwaters
* Rendezvous Mountain

Educational State Forests|

* Clemmons
* Holmes
* Jordan Lake
* Mountain Island
* Turnbull Creek
* Tuttle

State Historic Sites|

* Alamance Battleground
* Charles B. Aycock Birthplace
* Historic Bath
* Bennett Place
* Bentonville Battleground
* Brunswick Town / Fort Anderson
* C.S.S. Neuse and Governor Caswell Memorial
* Charlotte Hawkins Brown Memorial
* Duke Homestead
* Historic Edenton
* Fort Dobbs
* Fort Fisher
* Historic Halifax
* Horne Creek Living Historical Farm
* House in the Horseshoe
* North Carolina Transportation Museum
* President James K. Polk Historic Site
* Reed Gold Mine
* Somerset Place
* Stagville
* State Capitol
* Town Creek Indian Mound
* Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens
* Zebulon B. Vance Birthplace
* Thomas Wolfe Memorial

NC Coastal Reserve|

* Kitty Hawk Woods
* Emily and Richardson Preyer Buckridge
* Buxton Woods
* Permuda Island
* Bald Head Woods
* Bird Island

Other|

| Nature centers|

* List of nature centers in North Carolina

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Authority control

General|

* VIAF
* 1
* WorldCat (via VIAF)

National libraries|

* United States

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