Michigan were released into the forest near Parsons. From 1937 to 1939, a total of 17 more deer were released in the Flatrock-Roaring Plains area of the Forest. These releases served as the nucleus for reestablishing the healthy breeding populations of eastern West Virginia. (By the mid-1940s, deer were so numerous in the area that crop farmers had to patrol their fields by night.) In 1943 and 1944, as part of the West Virginia Maneuver Area, the U.S. Army used parts of the Monongahela National Forest as a practice artillery and mortar range and maneuver area before troops were sent to Europe to fight in World War II. Artillery and mortar shells shot into the area for practice are still occasionally found there today. Seneca Rocks and other area cliffs were also used for assault climbing instruction. This was the Army's only low-altitude climbing school. The fisher (Pekania pennanti), believed to have been exterminated in the state by 1912, was reintroduced during the winter of 1969. At that time 23 fishers were translocated from New Hampshire to two sites within the boundaries of the Monongahela National Forest (at Canaan Mountain in Tucker County and Cranberry Glades in Pocahontas County). In 1980, and again in 2005, the Monongahela National Forest was the venue for the annual counterculture Rainbow Gathering. In 1993, the Craig Run East Fork Rockshelter and Laurel Run Rockshelter in the Gauley Ranger District were listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Statistics and general information General Land area: over Wilderness areas: Roads: Visitor centers: 2 (Cranberry Mountain Nature Center and Seneca Rocks Discovery Center) Designated Scenic Areas: 3 Visitor observation towers: 2 (Bickle Knob Tower and Olson Tower) Picnic areas: 17 Campgrounds: 23 Snowmobile areas: 1 (Highland Scenic Highway) Wildlife management areas (managed with West Virginia Division of Natural Resources): 10 Warm-water fishing steams: Trout streams: Impoundments (reservoirs): 5 Trails Trails: 825 miles (1,327 km) Outside Wilderness Areas: 660 miles (1,062 km), not counting the 3 newest wildernesses In Wilderness Areas: 165 miles (265 km), not counting the 3 newest wildernesses Natural features Wilderness areas: 8 Sensitive species Sensitive plants and wildlife: 50 Threatened and endangered species: 9 Geography The Monongahela National Forest encompasses most of the southern third of the Allegheny Mountains range (a section of the vast Appalachian Mountains range) and is entirely within the state of West Virginia. Elevations within the Monongahela National Forest