This Land, Your Land

The state has added more than 1,500 acres of natural woodlands to the Bladen Lakes State Forest near Elizabethtown, The Fayetteville Observer reported Tuesday.

Bladen Lakes State Forest encompasses about 33,000 acres adjacent to Jones Lake and Singletary Lake state parks and Turnbull Creek Educational State Forest. White Lake is nearby, as well.

Bladen Lakes is one of the largest state-owned forests in North Carolina, The Observer says. It has 130 miles of dirt roads, and is open for hunting, fishing, camping, hiking and horseback riding, but requires permits.

The 1,562-acre addition comprises an approximately 777-acre Prestage tract, a 683-acre Boyette tract and the approximately 140-acre Stevens tract.