New State Forest Plan
A new plan to direct the future management of our 2.1 million acres of state forest land is in its final draft form and now available for public review. On the surface, it looks like a sound environmental package that places protection and recreation on an even plane with timber harvest. A meeting to unveil details of the new Resource Management Plan, one of 28 to be held across the state, was held Wednesday in State College. Another meeting in the second round will probably be held in Huntingdon later this summer.
Local state forest lands available for hunting, fishing, hiking and other recreational activities include Rothrock State Forest (over 94,000 acres between Huntingdon & State College), Bald Eagle State Forest (nearly 196,000 acres to the north east), Sproul State Forest (280,000 acres to the north), and Moshannon State Forest (184,000 acres surrounding Black Moshannon State Park).
Our state forests are priceless gems — a large reason why Pennsylvania is such a wonderful place to live. A few readers of this column sadly view the state forest system as part of some eco-government plot to remove all land from private ownership. A quick look at the green and brown areas (national and state forests and state game lands) on a Pennsylvania map will tell you how well that “plot” is progressing. State forests need protection.
The state forest system began in 1898 out of the ashes of private ownership’s care (or non-care) of our resources during the 1800s and early 1900s. Timber barons and the charcoal industry stripped the land of most trees. What greenery they didn’t get was finished off by the uncontrolled forest fires that followed in their wake. Sediment and ashes poured into our waterways, smothering their life-sustaining capacities. Tanneries, the oil industry, and the biggest culprit of them all – king coal – poisoned thousands of miles of once-clean streams.
The state forest system was initiated in order to repair the damage, protect watersheds, provide outdoor recreation opportunities, and make available a continuous supply of wood products. The early lands were purchased for next to nothing — often just for back taxes.
In many ways, the state forest system was the savior of a wild and natural Pennsylvania preserved for all to enjoy. Fortunately, the dark period is behind us, but state forests still provide many benefits to our citizens, even for those who don’t appreciate the outdoors in the way that most readers of this column do. Much has changed since 1898, but the benefits continue.
According to State Forester Dr. James R. Grace, “The harvest of quality hardwood timber helps support the state’s $5 billion forest products industry that employs almost 100,000 people. These same forests provide habitat for a wide array of flora and fauna, including many rare, threatened, and endangered species. They also protect watersheds, which provide some of the cleanest water found in the Commonwealth for drinking and recreational opportunities. Our forests provide all this while facing dramatic increases in recreational activities that have become vital to Pennsylvania’s tourism industry.”
Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Michael DiBerardinis explained, “In the more than 15 years since the last plan, the resources, values and uses of our state forest have changed dramatically. And we have reflected that change with a flexible, dynamic guidance document that will continue to evolve in order to protect the long-term sustainability of our forests.”
DiBerardinis noted that while the first resource management plan almost 50 years ago focused on timber management, the new plan takes an ecosystem approach, with a goal of forest sustainability, in order to provide an array of resources, uses, and values for current and future generations.
After five years of work and 42 public meetings, the new comprehensive plan, a 12-chapter, 450-page document is ready for public review and comment. Referring to the development of the new plan, Secretary DiBerardinis added, “We have listened to the public like never before.”
The revised plan includes a number of significant changes. These include:
* the expansion of the state’s wild and natural areas by more than 20,000 acres;
* the commitment to ecosystem management, which is based on ecological units such as ecoregions, landscapes, and a newly developed plant community classification system;
* a revised and expanded forest inventory to include additional ecological parameters, an annualized five-year inventory cycle, and permanent crews to conduct the inventory;
* maintaining the present ATV trail system while developing an environmentally sensitive strategy to address the concerns of users, including improved trailhead facilities;
* a new computer-based timber harvest planning system, which calls for the average harvest levels calculated for the years 1985 to 1999, developed in collaboration with Penn State University;
* the establishment of the regeneration fund, which designates a portion of the receipts from state timber sales to be used to implement management practices addressing over-browsing by deer in order to obtain successful forest regeneration;
* improvement of existing scenic vistas and the development of new viewing areas;
* construction of parking areas for elk viewing; developing food plots; patrolling public highways to assist visitors, promote safety, and reduce resident/visitor conflicts; continuing to purchase key habitats in the range; and promoting other nature-viewing opportunities in the area along with elk viewing.
* mapping of proposed bio-reserve and old-growth management
areas; and
* the addition of several new sections to the plan, including Communications, Ecological Considerations, Soil Resources, Non-timber Forest Products, and Infrastructure.
The preceding list only scratches the surface of the plan and, as with any such plan, the real meaning of lofty phrases will be visible when the application of the plan occurs in individual state forests. The Forest Coalition, the Sierra Club, ATV users, and others will not be totally happy with the plan. Could any plan satisfy everyone?
David Bonta of Tyrone, who attended Wednesday’s meeting, commented that it seemed to be a good plan, but he declined to elaborate because he hasn’t had time to read all 450 pages yet. Fair enough.
Comment on the final draft plan is desired. The public is encouraged to attend the meeting, consider the information presented, and make suggestions. The complete plan is available at www.dcnr.state.pa.us — click on “State Forests” in the left margin.
Individual meetings will also be scheduled to discuss each specific state forest management plan. At least three of those should be within easy driving distance from the Tyrone-Bellwood area.
Mark Nale can be reached at MarkAngler@aol.com
