Toumey Woods, also called the Toumey Woodlot, is a 24 acres (97,124.6 m²) tract of Beech-maple forest

Beech-maple forest

A beech-maple forest is a climax mesic closed canopy hardwood forest. It is primarily composed of American Beech and Sugar Maple trees which co-dominate the forest and which are the pinnacle of plant succession in their range...

 located on the campus of Michigan State University

Michigan State University

Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...

 in East Lansing, Michigan

East Lansing, Michigan

East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located directly east of Lansing, Michigan, the state's capital. Most of the city is within Ingham County, though a small portion lies in Clinton County. The population was 48,579 at the time of the 2010 census, an increase from...

. 13.5 acres (54,632.6 m²) of this wooded parcel of property are classified as old-growth woodland, and this subplot was listed as a United States National Natural Landmark

National Natural Landmark

The National Natural Landmark program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only natural areas program of national scope that identifies and recognizes the best examples of biological and geological features in...

 in 1976.

Ecology

Michigan State University (MSU), the owner, reports that the primary old-growth tree species represented within Toumey Woods are American beech and sugar maple. White ash, basswood

Tilia americana

Tilia americana is a species of Tilia native to eastern North America, from southeast Manitoba east to New Brunswick, southwest to northeast Texas, and southeast to South Carolina, and west along the Niobrara River to Cherry County, Nebraska...

, wild black cherry, and red oak are also noted.

History

Many early Euro-American settlers of the U.S. state of Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

 set aside woodlots

Woodlot

A woodlot is a term used in North America to refer to a segment of a woodland or forest capable of small-scale production of forest products such as wood fuel, sap for maple syrup, sawlogs, as well as recreational uses like bird watching, bushwalking, and wildflower appreciation...

 for personal use. The Bennett family did this when they settled this tract in 1852. The family maintained 13.5 acres (54,632.6 m²), the future Toumey Woods, in a nondisturbed condition, and sold the woodlot to MSU in 1939. From 1852 until the present, the woodlot has had only two owners.

The woods are named after James W. Toumey, an MSU graduate who later served as dean of the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies

Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies

The Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies is one of the graduate professional schools of Yale University. Founded to train foresters, it now trains leaders and creates new knowledge that will sustain and restore the health of the biosphere and the well-being of its people...

 and helped found the Ecological Society of America

Ecological Society of America

The Ecological Society of America is a professional organization of ecological scientists. Based in the United States, ESA publishes a suite of publications, from peer-reviewed journals to newsletters, fact sheets and teaching resources. It holds an annual meeting at different locations in the...

.