COLUMBIA — The state’s seventh publicly owned forest opened for visitors Friday amid a boom in state-owned public lands.
Pocotaligo Station State Forest, which spans parts of Beaufort, Jasper and Hampton counties, is the second new state forest to open this year. Before Old Beech Hill State Forest’s dedication in June, the last new state forest to open was Wee Tee State Forest in 2004.
The state parks department has also experienced a major uptick in properties, with three new parks opened in the past two years.
Foresters can still harvest timber from state forests, with the state Forestry Commission’s permission…