About

The University Forest Enterprise (VšLP) was established on 1 January 1958 as a separate organizational economic entity. Its establishment was necessary due to the resettlement of the University of Forestry and Wood Technology from Košice to Zvolen. In particular, the Faculty of Forestry needed to have a natural laboratory performing hands-on training for students and forestry research. During its existence, VšLP has undergone several organizational and territorial changes and is currently an organizational part of the Technical University in Zvolen. VšLP manages forests in three orographic units - Kremnické pohorie (Kremnica Hills), Štiavnické vrchy (Štiavnica Hills) and Javorie, divided by the rivers Hron and Slatina in the immediate surroundings of Zvolen. The area of managed forest land is 9,724 hectares, where  9,106 hectares are territorial property of the state.

The main aim of the forestry activities of the VšLP is the active implementation of the principles of close-to-nature silviculture. Their professional staffs, in cooperation with the pedagogical and research staff of the Faculty of Forestry departments are directly involved in the process of renewal of forest care programmes. The objective is to prioritise the shelterwood and close-to-nature economic methods while maximizing the natural potential of the native stands.

The main mission of VŠLP is to provide educational and scientific research activities of the Technical University in Zvolen. Due to the character of the natural conditions and the operational activities, this is mostly used by the Faculty of Forestry. A growing trend is also at other faculties of the University. Some projects are also being launched in cooperation with other universities, and the organization makes efforts to develop these activities further.

Due to the mission and the main tasks, up to 80% of the forests are used by the VšLP in the category of the special purpose forests.

Within the scope of nature conservation, two national nature reserves (Boky and Mláčik) with a total area of 342 ha, one protected natural monument and 14 protected trees, located in the territory of VšLP are worth mentioning.