1939 – Photograph by Department of Forestry, Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station
Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center Forestry Image Collection

The Land Utilization Program (LUP) was another federal New Deal program that greatly benefited Ohio’s state forests in the late 1930s. The LUP enabled the purchase of large areas of marginal land with little potential for profit and the resettlement of affected landowners. Many of the purchased farms were converted to forest areas to serve wildlife, timber, and recreational purposes. Zaleski, Tar Hollow, and Blue Rock (totaling almost 40,000 acres) were among the purchased areas and were eventually developed into state forests. In 1939, the United States Department of Agriculture transferred operational control of these areas to the Department of Forestry at the Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station.