It is a story spanning a century: one man’s hunting grounds - a Foundation - and a University, and a growing forest resource providing research and teaching that has become virtually unrivaled. The forest is one of the first private licencees within the SFI. The National Field Trials for all-age bird dogs are run on the property every year.

Turn the pages back to the turn of the century. A rich man with a passion for quail hunting bought a small place in west Tennessee, and eventually controlled 25,000 acres. About that time, it was decided among a group of bird dog loving sportsmen that a yearly fistfight would be decided instead by something called the National Field Trials to decide the world champion bird dog. The trials moved to Ames Plantation

Hobart died in 1945 and the Plantation came to Mrs. Ames, but not Mr. Ames’ wealth. She wanted to leave the Plantation to: support the National Field Trials and run for the benefit of the University of Tennessee. She raised a Trust by cutting the forest. After Ms. Ames passed away, a Board of Trustees became responsible for the property and a Forestry Unit was created. Forestry began at Ames without a forest.

Forestry crews reclaimed worn out cotton fields and gullied land with pine. They improved young hardwood stands. A little sawmill was set up on the Plantation. Things were looking up.

Today there are 14,500 acres of forest land on Ames: a working forest. Research is accomplished on large scales and wildlife, or water quality studies often encompass the entire property. Crop tree enhancement, quail ecology, river ecology, hardwood seed orchards, mammalian predator ecology, hawk ecology, development of silvicultural systems to introduce improved oak seedlings to partially harvested hardwood stands in a manner that landowners will adopt, Quality Deer Management --and more.

Students come from around the region and the world. UT's forestry camp has been held here continuously since the mid 60's. In the early 80's the Plantation dedicated resources to a program called Woods Walk - Woods Talk to educate local teachers about natural resource management. Since that time nearly 1,500 teachers have been through the program. That program supports a Teachers Conservation Workshop and now teachers statewide spend a week learning the same lessons. Ames set aside a Natural Area, 50 acres of massive timber as a teaching tool, providing one of the finest outdoor classrooms in the country. Expansive historical investigations at Ames and forest management go hand in hand, successfully protecting an array of sites. Memphis was once over the horizon. Now the population has exploded outward. Traditional values on a new interface bring continuing challenge and opportunity.

It is a story of a land that went from individual parcels to one ownership to a Foundation running in cooperation with a major University. And a forest to carry a vision.