List of Pennsylvania state forests

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Forest Fire Wardens Monument with small stones for each of the 20 state forests at Hyner View State Park Pennsylvania State Forest Fire Wardens Monument, Hyner View.JPG
Forest Fire Wardens Monument with small stones for each of the 20 state forests at Hyner View State Park
Size and location of Pennsylvania's state forests Size and Location of State Forests.pdf
Size and location of Pennsylvania's state forests

There are 20 state forests in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the United States. They are managed by the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry, a division of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Contents

A reorganization effective July 1, 2005 shifted territory among several state forests in eastern Pennsylvania, resulting in the elimination of Wyoming State Forest and the creation of Loyalsock State Forest.

List of Pennsylvania state forests

State Forest Name  County  Area
acres (ha)  
Founded  Remarks  
Bald Eagle Centre, Clinton, Mifflin, Union, & Snyder

194,602 acres (78,750 ha) [1]

Contains 1,781 combined acres of old grown forest [2]
Buchanan Bedford, Franklin, & Fulton 71,683 acres (29,010 ha) [3]
Clear Creek Clarion, Forest, Jefferson, Mercer & Venango 16,716 acres (6,765 ha) [4] 1919, as Kittanning State ForestName changed 2007
Cornplanter Crawford, Forest, & Warren 1,585 acres (641 ha) [5] Named in honor of Seneca Chief Cornplanter
Delaware Pike & Monroe

85,114 acres (34,444 ha) [6]

Elk Cameron, Clinton, Elk, McKean, & Potter 217,000 acres (87,820 ha) [7] 1900
Forbes Fayette, Somerset, & Westmoreland 59,000 acres (23,880 ha) [8]
Gallitzin Bedford, Cambria, Indiana, & Somerset 24,370 acres (9,862 ha) [9] 1916
Loyalsock Bradford, Lycoming, & Sullivan 114,552 acres (46,360 ha) [10] July 1, 2005Replaced Wyoming State Forest
Michaux Adams, Cumberland, & Franklin over 85,500 acres (34,600 ha) [11]
Moshannon Cameron, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, & Elk

190,031 acres (76,903 ha) [12]

1898
Pinchot Lackawanna, Luzerne, Wayne, & Wyoming 54,000 acres (21,853 ha) [13]
Rothrock Centre, Huntingdon, & Mifflin 96,975 acres (39,240 ha) [14]
Sproul Cameron, Centre, Clinton, Lycoming, & Potter 305,450 acres (123,610 ha) [15] 1898
Susquehannock Clinton, McKean, & Potter

265,000 acres (107,242 ha) [16]

Tiadaghton Clinton, Lycoming, Potter, Tioga, & Union 146,539 acres (59,300 ha) [17]
Tioga Bradford, Lycoming, & Tioga 161,890 acres (65,510 ha) [18] 1900
Tuscarora Cumberland, Franklin, Huntingdon, Juniata, Mifflin, & Perry 96,025 acres (38,860 ha) [19]
Weiser Carbon, Columbia, Dauphin, Northumberland, & Schuylkill 30,000 acres (12,141 ha) [20]
William Penn Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, & Lancaster 1,683 acres (681 ha) [21] January 1935, as Valley Forge State ForestAugust 2007, became William Penn State Forest

Former State Forests

State Forest Name  County  Area
acres (ha)  
Founded  Remarks  
Wyoming Sullivan July 2005, became Loyalsock State Forest

Former Names of State Forests

State Forest Name  County  Area
acres (ha)  
Founded  Remarks  
Kittanning Jefferson 13,266 acres (5,369 ha)1919Summer 2007, renamed Clear Creek State Forest
Valley Forge Chester 812 acres (329 ha)January 1935August 2007, renamed William Penn State Forest
Lackawanna Lackawanna44,743 acres (18,107 ha)August 2015, renamed Pinchot State Forest

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lycoming County, Pennsylvania</span> County in Pennsylvania, United States

Lycoming County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 114,188. Its county seat is Williamsport. The county is part of the Central Pennsylvania region of the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Worlds End State Park</span> Park in Sullivan County, Pennsylvania

Worlds End State Park is a 780-acre (316 ha) Pennsylvania state park in Sullivan County, Pennsylvania. The park, nearly surrounded by Loyalsock State Forest, is in the Loyalsock Creek valley on Pennsylvania Route 154 in Forks and Shrewsbury Townships southeast of the borough of Forksville. The name Worlds End has been used since at least 1872, but its origins are uncertain. Although it was founded as Worlds End State Forest Park by Governor Gifford Pinchot in 1932, the park was officially known as Whirls End State Forest Park from 1936 to 1943.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rothrock State Forest</span> State forest in Pennsylvania, United States

Rothrock State Forest is a Pennsylvania state forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #5. The main offices are located in Huntingdon in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bald Eagle State Forest</span> State forest in Pennsylvania, United States

Bald Eagle State Forest is a Pennsylvania state forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #7. The main office is located in Laurelton in Union County, Pennsylvania. The forest is found in Centre, Clinton, Mifflin, Snyder, and Union Counties. Bald Eagle shares a common border on its western extent with Rothrock State Forest and on its northern extent with Tiadaghton State Forest.

Tuscarora State Forest is a Pennsylvania state forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #3. The main office is located in Blain in Perry County, Pennsylvania in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White Deer Hole Creek</span> Tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River

White Deer Hole Creek is a 20.5-mile (33.0 km) tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River in Clinton, Lycoming and Union counties in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. A part of the Chesapeake Bay drainage basin, the White Deer Hole Creek watershed drains parts of ten townships. The creek flows east in a valley of the Ridge-and-valley Appalachians, through sandstone, limestone, and shale from the Ordovician, Silurian, and Devonian periods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tiadaghton State Forest</span> State forest in Pennsylvania, United States

Tiadaghton State Forest is a Pennsylvania State Forest in the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Forestry. The forest is primarily in western and southern Lycoming County, with small portions in Clinton, Potter, Tioga, and Union Counties. The district's topography consists of narrow, flat to sloping plateaus cut by deep, steep-sloped valleys carved by fast moving mountain streams, including Pine Creek, Slate Run, and their tributaries. The Tiadaghton district extends south across the lowland along the west branch of the Susquehanna River to the narrow crests of Bald Eagle Mountain and North and South White Deer Ridge. The majority of forest cover is dominated by mixed oak forests, with some areas of northern hardwoods. The Tiadaghton State Forest is one of eight forest districts in the Pennsylvania Wilds region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tioga State Forest</span> State forest in Pennsylvania, United States

Tioga State Forest is a Pennsylvania State Forest in District #16, in the Allegheny Plateau region within Tioga County, Pennsylvania.

Wyoming State Forest was the name of the Pennsylvania State Forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #20. As of July 1, 2005, a reorganization of Pennsylvania State Forests in eastern Pennsylvania resulted in the elimination of the name "Wyoming State Forest". The District #20 main office was located in Bloomsburg in Columbia County, Pennsylvania in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pinchot State Forest</span> State forest in Pennsylvania, United States

Pinchot State Forest is a Pennsylvania State Forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #11. The main offices are located in Lackawanna State Park in North Abington Township in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weiser State Forest</span> State forest in Pennsylvania, United States

Weiser State Forest is a Pennsylvania State Forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #18. The main offices are located in Cressona in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loyalsock State Forest</span> State forest in Pennsylvania, United States

Loyalsock State Forest is a Pennsylvania state forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #20. The forest spans across the northern tier's "Endless Mountains" and is a total of 114,552 acres (46,358 ha). The Loyalsock is a “working forest” and is managed for pure water, recreation, plant and animal habitats, sustainable timber, and natural gas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erie Bluffs State Park</span> State Park in Pennsylvania, United States

Erie Bluffs State Park is a 587-acre (238 ha) Pennsylvania state park in Girard and Springfield Townships, Erie County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park is the largest undeveloped stretch of land overlooking Lake Erie in Pennsylvania. Erie Bluffs State Park is just north of Pennsylvania Route 5 near Lake City and 12 miles (19 km) west of Erie. It is one of Pennsylvania's newest state parks.

The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), established in 1995, is the agency in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania responsible for maintaining and preserving the state's 124 state parks and 20 state forests; providing information on the state's natural resources; and working with communities to benefit local recreation and natural areas. The agency has its headquarters in the Rachel Carson State Office Building in Harrisburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plunketts Creek (Loyalsock Creek tributary)</span> River in the US state of Pennsylvania

Plunketts Creek is an approximately 6.2-mile-long (10 km) tributary of Loyalsock Creek in Lycoming and Sullivan counties in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Two unincorporated villages and a hamlet are on the creek, and its watershed drains 23.6 square miles (61 km2) in parts of five townships. The creek is a part of the Chesapeake Bay drainage basin via Loyalsock Creek and the West Branch Susquehanna and Susquehanna Rivers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snyder-Middleswarth Natural Area</span> Natural area in Pennsylvania

Snyder-Middleswarth Natural Area is a 500 acre (202 ha) National Natural Landmark within Bald Eagle State Forest in Spring Township, Snyder County, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is named for two Pennsylvania politicians from Snyder County: Simon Snyder and Ner Alexander Middleswarth. It was formerly a Pennsylvania state park and was the only one in Snyder County, but lost its state park status in the mid 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kettle Creek Gorge Natural Area</span> Natural area in Pennsylvania

Kettle Creek Gorge Natural Area is a 774-acre (313 ha) protected area in Sullivan County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of Loyalsock State Forest.

References

  1. "Bald Eagle State Forest". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  2. "Bald Eagle State Forest" (PDF). PA DCNR. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  3. "Buchanan State Forest". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  4. "Clear Creek State Forest". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  5. "Cornplanter State Forest". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  6. "Pennsylvania's Delaware State Forest Grows by 555 Acres". The Conservation Fund. 2023-06-26. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  7. "Elk State Forest". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  8. "Forbes State Forest". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  9. "Gallitzin State Forest". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources. Retrieved 2023-06-29.
  10. "Loyalsock State Forest". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  11. "Michaux State Forest". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  12. "Moshannon State Forest". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  13. "Pinchot State Forest". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  14. "Rothrock State Forest". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  15. "Sproul State Forest". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  16. "Susquehannock State Forest". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  17. "Tiadaghton State Forest". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  18. "Tioga State Forest". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  19. "Tuscarora State Forest". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  20. "Weiser State Forest". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  21. "William Penn State Forest". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources. Retrieved 23 October 2024.