Forest soils workshop at Zaleski State Forest teaches landowners trail planning
Forest soils shape the trails, runoff and timber decisions that matter at Zaleski State Forest, where a June 12 workshop costs $20 and fills up by June 5.
The ground underfoot at Zaleski State Forest does more than hold up boots and bike tires. For Vinton County residents who hike, hunt and rely on outdoor tourism, soil conditions help determine whether trails stay durable, whether rain washes out banks and whether the forest can keep serving both recreation and timber needs.
That is the focus of Forest Soils: From Trees to Trails, a hands-on workshop in the A Day In The Woods series set for Friday, June 12, 2026, at the Zaleski ODNR Complex within Zaleski State Forest. The program will run from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., cost $20 and include lunch and program materials. Registration is due by June 5, and people can sign up online, call OSU Extension Jackson County or email Annie Miller.
The workshop is built around the idea that soil health affects far more than tree growth. Organizers say participants will learn how earlier land use and management history shaped today’s forest conditions, how soils influence tree health and productivity, and why soil characteristics matter when trails are laid out or maintained. For a county where woods, ridges and creek bottoms shape daily life and the local economy, that means soil science with immediate practical value.
The setting makes the lesson hard to miss. Zaleski State Forest covers 27,822 acres, making it Ohio’s second-largest state forest. It also operates the state’s only state-owned sawmill, turning rough-sawn lumber for state forests, state parks and other government agencies. Historic Moonville Tunnel sits within the forest on the Moonville Rail Trail right-of-way, a reminder that recreation and land management meet in the same landscape.
Nearby Vinton Furnace State Forest adds another layer to the picture. The 12,089-acre forest near McArthur is home to Ohio’s largest known population of bobcats, along with timber rattlesnakes, cerulean warblers and several rare plant species. In that kind of habitat, careful trail planning and soil management are not abstractions. They are part of keeping the forest usable without wearing it down.
The workshop will also introduce the Web Soil Survey, an online tool from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service that provides soil and related information for land-use and management decisions. The Forest Service says its trail plans and specifications are available to agencies, communities, trail partners and volunteers, underscoring how widely this kind of information is used once a trail leaves the map and hits the ground.
A Day In The Woods is sponsored by the Education and Demonstration Subcommittee of the Vinton Furnace State Forest with support from Ohio State University Extension, the ODNR divisions of forestry and wildlife, the U.S. Forest Service, the Vinton Soil and Water Conservation District and other conservation partners. The series has drawn strong interest before, including an estimated 200 attendees at a related event at Vinton Furnace State Forest in 2023, suggesting that soil, woods and trails remain a draw in southern Ohio.
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