The 3500-acre Olustee Experimental Forest was established near Lake City, FL in 1931. For more than 60 years, Olustee was the site of research on gum naval stores, genetic improvement of forest trees, insuring maximum survival and growth of plantations, and protecting the forest from damage by insects, disease, and fire. Although the Research Work Unit at Olustee was closed in 1996, the Southern Research Station continues to maintain the experimental forest for long-term experiments and as a reservoir for genetic material of historic value and continuing scientific interest.