The forest has been commercially exploited in the past, with over 20,000 hectares being logged between the 1960s and 1980s, and has recently been under pressure for the exploitation of diamonds and iron ore and was the subject of a recent report by Global Witness.

The project is a collaboration between the Government of Sierra Leone, the Conservation Society of Sierra Leone and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

A similar arrangement has also been instituted across the Liberian border in the Liberian Gola Forest Community, since the two communities share similar cultures and people as well as animal and plant species.

The national park was declared by President of Sierra Leone Ernest Bai Koroma and enacted by the Parliament of Sierra Leone in December 2010.

It was officially opened on December 2011, in a ceremony held by President Koroma.