The 4,579-acre Blue Rock State Forest, located 12 miles southeast of Zanesville is accessed primarily via State Route 60 and Culter Lake Road. Most of the marginally productive farmland was originally acquired by the federal government during the 1930s under the Resettlement Administration. Surface ownership was later transferred to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources' Division of Forestry while the federal government retained three-fourths interest in the oil and gas rights. Subsequent reforestration and the application of forest management and protection practices have transformed low quality farmland into one of Ohio's most beautiful and productive forests. In 1949, management of Cutler Lake and the adjoining recreation facilities was transferred to the Division of Parks and Recreation.