Dolly Sods, is a high mountain plateau, wilderness area that reaches 4,700 feet above sea level. The Sods are a 17,371 acre preserve located within the Monongahela National Forest and is part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Dolly Sods was part of an immense 919,000 acres that was deforested in the early 1900's. Once it was a lush old growth forests of Northern Red Spruce--impressive with their massive trunks and towering heights. The land was clear cut and fires broke out on the brush that was left behind. These fires burned for years burning the land, in many places, to its bedrock.
In the 1940's the area was used for military bombing practice. Occasionally a hiker will still come across an unexploded ordinance. The bombing ended shortly before D Day in 1944.
Stewards such as the Nature Conservancy and the National Forest Service have protected and worked towards restoring the habitat in a century long rewilding project. Hundreds of volunteers have put in the effort that such a large scale effort requires.