The American Legion State Forest was established in 1929 as an independent entity, bordering the Northern Highland State Forest to the south. The American Legion was in Oneida County and the Northern Highland in Vilas and Iron Counties. In 1968 the American Legion State Forest and the Northern Highland State Forest were combined and became the Southern and Northern Units of the Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest. It comprises about 220,000 acres of second growth forest, managed for recreation, wildlife and forest production.

The Forest headquarters is on Trout Lake, still at the original historic site of the earliest forest management work, including a nursery, in Wisconsin. It is located on the west side of the lake, just at the connecting point between upper and lower Touut Lake. A picnic site on the point is reached by driving, and then walking, through the headquarters. The site is marked by spectacular old growth red (or Norway) pines.

In 2007 the DNR, University of Wisconsin, and other groups sponsored a forest art exhibit along the Raven Trail. 28 artists created interesting large-scale forest art exhibits with various ecological themes. For more information, and pictures, see the website linked above, and these two bibliographic references: Wisconsin Natural Resources and Forest Art.

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Major References

Minor References

• Forest Art, 2007