Kansas Forest Service Demonstration Arboretum and Honor Grove

The Kansas Forest Service is the Nation’s fifth oldest state forestry agency, created by legislative act in 1887. The Agency serves citizens of the state through its Conservation Tree and Shrub Planting, Fire Management, Community Forestry, Rural Forestry, Marketing and Utilization, and Forest Health programs.

In the late 1930s, on property that would become the future home of the Kansas Forest Service, Dr. Donald Duncan planted hundreds of Ponderosa pines as part of an Agriculture Research Service provenance study from seeds that he had collected from all over the pine’s native range. Since the late 1970s, landscaped-sized trees have been planted west of the Kansas Forest Service State Office to honor foresters and staff who have retired or passed away while in service to the agency. Oaks, pines, pecan, male Osage-orange, eastern redbud, Kentucky coffeetree, Ginkgo, and black walnut are among the species found in the Honor Grove.

The loss of several aging pines has prompted the planting of new Ponderosa pines and other less common and rare species of trees. Many of the new species are not typically found in Great Plains communities or homesteads, while several species showcased are durable options. Evergreen and deciduous tree collections, a shrub collection, and several rare and unusual species can be found throughout the property.