Unionville Unit
The Unionville Unit is 2,470 acres in size and is comprised of eleven separate compartments in northeast Appanoose County and northwest Davis County. There are no developed recreational facilities such as picnic areas, campgrounds or trails. Several tracts are served by all-weather roads. The Unionville Unit provides good hiking, hunting and wildlife watching opportunities.
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History
The forest's original and most important function is to serve as an example of forest management for Iowa's citizens. Stephens State Forest was a base of operation for the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930's. The CCC established hardwood and conifer plantings throughout the forest, and many of these plantings can still be viewed today. During the 1950's, recreational demand began to grow and multiple-use management became a priority. The first forest inventory and timber sales were conducted on the forest in the 1970's. Today, Stephens State Forest continues to offer multiple resources such as forest products, wildlife and recreational opportunities. Ongoing cultural practices improve the forest ecosystem for wildlife habitat, forest products, erosion control and watershed protection.
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Origin of Forest Unit Names
The forest is named for Dr. T.C. Stephens, a native of Sioux City and a prominent educator and conservationist. The forest area was named and dedicated to Dr. Stephens in 1951. Prior to that time, the area was loosely referred to as the Lucas-Monroe Forest Area. Portions of the forest have also been called the Grand River State Forest Preserve, probably after the Grand River Forest Purchase of the Forest Service; part of the original land was purchased to create a National Forest and instead, the lands were sold to the state around 1964.
Some of the unit names can be assumed, as they are named after nearby towns (Lucas, Woodburn and Unionville units). The Whitebreast Unit takes its name from Whitebreast Creek, which flows along its north boundary. The Cedar Creek Unit is located near a stream with the same name, but as late as 1946 was called the Olmitz Unit after a coal mine and town that was near that area. There is no indication as to how the Chariton Unit was named; it had been referred to as the Brown-Herrick Unit as recently as the 1950's. The Thousand Acres Unit has always been known by that name locally.
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Geology and Soils
All of Stephens State Forest is in the Southern Iowa Drift Plain landform region. The geology of this area has been influenced by the Nebraskan and Kansas glaciers which left deposits of glacial till on the land. Whenever cold weather checked the melting of the Wisconsin glacier farther north, southwesterly winds picked up materials and deposited it over southern Iowa in layers up to 100 inches thick. This fine material is called loess and is found on ridge tops overlaying the glacial till. On the sides of the hills, erosion has exposed glacially deposited materials. The relatively narrow valleys of the area are covered by alluvial material. In some areas, erosion has proceeded far enough into the valleys to expose glacial till or underlying sedimentary materials. Thus, the terrain at Stephens State Forest is largely characterized by narrow, flat ridges separated by deeply cut drainages.
The soil associations most commonly found at Stephens State Forest include: Lindley-Keswick-Weller, Gara-Pershing-Armstrong and Nodaway-Zook-Lawson associations. Lindley-Keswick-Weller soils were formed under deciduous trees and are well suited for woodland uses. Gara-Pershing-Armstrong soils formed under a mixture of deciduous trees and native grasses; this association is suited for woodland uses, but is often used as pasture of cropland. Nodaway-Zook-Lawson soils were formed under tree-prairie transition zones or prairie; these soils are common in floodplains and are suited for woodland, pasture or cropland. There are many other soils found on the forest, but these three associations represent the majority of soils.
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Flora
The flora of the region consists of the tallgrass prairie association, upland hardwood association, bottomland hardwood association and their transition zones. Since the forest area is located mainly on soils which formed under forest vegetation, plants of the prairie are not common. However, big bluestem, switch grass, Indian grass, prairie cordgrass, purple coneflower, round headed bush clover, lead plant, mountain mint and various other native grasses and forbs do occur in open, non-forest areas. These non-forest areas are also managed in accordance with the Stephens State Forest Management Plan.
On the more productive upland sites, white oak, red oak and hickory are common. The less fertile sites contain more black oak, bur oak, shingle oak and hickory. The bottomland timber type includes red and white elm, cottonwood, hackberry, ash, silver maple and black walnut.
Many areas around the forest had been planted to coniferous trees and non-native hardwoods. Many of these plantings were completed by the CCC for reforestation or by state forest staff for research and demonstration. These plantings include a variety of pines, spruce, black locust, tulip poplar and many others.
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Fauna
The forest is home to whitetail deer, gray and fox squirrels, raccoon, cottontail rabbits, woodchuck, muskrat, skunk, red and gray fox, coyote, beaver, opossum and many other small animals.
Non-poisonous snakes are common but the two poisonous snakes, rattlesnake and copperhead, are very rare.
There is a variety of birds native to the woodland and its edges. Numerous songbirds utilize the diverse habitat. Game birds include pheasant, quail and wild turkey. The woodcock is a seasonal visitor to the forest. Stephens State Forest was designated as a Bird Conservation Area in 2008.
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Rules
1. Be careful with fire. Do not leave fire unattended. Fires are only permitted where fire rings are provided. Only dead and downed wood may be collected for firewood without a permit.
2. Motor vehicle operation is permitted only on roads. ATV's are not permitted anywhere on the forest, trails or roads. Snowmobiles are only allowed on designated routes.
3. Equestrian riding is only allowed on designated trails, roads and campgrounds. Mountain bikes are allowed on equestrian trails.
4. There are no designated swimming areas.
5. Camping is allowed only in designated areas; there is no overflow camping allowed.
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For more information, call (641) 774-4559, email Jessica.Flatt@dnr.iowa.gov or write to Stephens State Forest; 1111 N. 8th Street; Chariton, IA 50049.
