Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
mountains in the state. This national forest offers some of the best camping, hiking, and back-
packing opportunities in Alabama, and the birding on this forest can occasionally be very
good.
Oakmulgee Ranger District
This portion of the Talladega National Forest is undoubtedly one of the most important
areas for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker, as this ranger district has more wood-
pecker colonies than any other area in Alabama and Mississippi. As of early 1992, Oakmul-
gee had more than 300 colonies with over 130 of them being active at the time. The map of
the forest at the district ranger station in Centerville is virtually covered with the outlines of
the colonies and the dots that indicate the trees used for nesting. The number of woodpeckers
here is so high (relative to their scarcity elsewhere) that many of these colony trees are right
next to roadways, including some next to a state highway that runs through the forest. This
ease of access to the colony trees means that the visiting birder has an excellent opportunity
for watching red-cockaded woodpeckers in a large, remaining portion of their natural habit-
at. With so many of the protected birds, not nearly as much of Oakmulgee has fallen prey to
the clearcuts and the short-term rotation of pine plantations that have taken over many of our
national forests. Thus, large expanses of natural, old-age pine forests can be found, and these
beautiful forests provide a chance to see the South as much of it once was.
