Drey Land & Environmental Education

Ever wondered how Drey Land came to be? 

In 1969, Leo Drey ’34 offered to lease 40 acres of Ozark woodland in the Pioneer Forest to the school for an annual fee of $1. Burroughs students and faculty maintain the property, which borders Sinking Creek, a clear, gravel-bottomed stream that is a tributary of the Current River. Drey Land is central to a Burroughs education, allowing for experiential orientation programs, biology field research, outdoor education, and service outings.

Leo Drey established the nearly 160,000-acre Pioneer Forest to demonstrate that Ozark forests could produce a continuous supply of timber and still maintain a range of environmental values. When he purchased his first tract of land in 1951, clear-cutting methods had left the landscape sparse and scraggly. Mr. Drey adopted a philosophy of sustainable land management—that is, selectively cutting trees as they reach maturity and maximum value. The theory, which has proven true, was that a lighter touch to logging could produce a profit while retaining the natural beauty of the forest, reducing soil erosion and preserving wildlife habitats.

Watch a video here about Leo Drey and the Pioneer Forest.