Pennsylvania Keeps Pulling Ahead

July was a busy month for Pennsylvania forests as the Old-Growth Forest Network dedicated not one, but two new forests into the Network to be protected from logging for generations to come. Beartown Woods in Franklin County and Tionesta Scenic and Research Natural Areas in McKean County made for forests #163 and #165, respectively, and pushed Pennsylvania further in the lead with 24 forests in total.

Beartown Woods was dedicated on July 14, 2022, during a joyful ceremony attended by community members, employees of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and Harrisburg Chapter of the Pennsylvania Outdoor Corps. The Beartown Woods Natural Area contains a total of 27 acres within the larger 85,500-acre Michaux State Forest. The Wildness Area is a vestige northern hardwood forest, more commonly seen in other areas, such as northern Pennsylvania and parts of New England. Beartown Woods contains a wide variety of hardwood species, including sugar maple, yellow birch, American beech, and eastern hemlock.

The surrounding Michaux State Forest is named for international French botanist André Michaux, who studied the flora of North America from 1785-1796 and published his findings. As an official wilderness area, Beartown Woods is managed with limited human intervention in order to preserve the wild character that provides the backdrop for so many backcountry recreational opportunities. The Appalachian Trail, an almost 2,200-mile thru-hike trail, runs through Beartown Woods and sees thousands of hikers each season. Spanning from Springer Mountain in northern Georgia to Mount Katahdin in central Maine, the Appalachian Trail helps unite special places like Beartown Woods and many more throughout the Eastern United States.

Up next, OGFN dedicated Tionesta Scenic and Research Natural Areas in McKean County of July 25, 2022. Located 30 minutes from Kane, PA in the northwestern corner of the state, Tionesta is a true old-growth forest with many ancient and impressively large hemlock trees. At four thousand acres, Tionesta contains the largest tract of old-growth forest in Pennsylvania, and the largest between the Adirondacks and Great Smoky Mountains. Dominant tree species in the areas are eastern hemlock, some more than 400 years old, as well as beech, birch, oak, maple, ash, and black cherry. Sadly, the large beech trees have mostly succumbed to beech bark disease.

Visitors have the unique chance to witness secondary growth in the midst of the old-growth due to a catastrophic F4 tornado that ripped through the area in 1985. A part of the famous Allegheny National Forest, the Tionesta Scenic and Research Natural Areas are a hidden gem of northern Pennsylvania. Be sure to check them out if you’re ever in the area!

Additional Resources

https://www.dcnr.pa.gov/StateForests/FindAForest/Michaux/Pages/Wild_NaturalAreas.aspx

https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/allegheny/recarea/?recid=6098