Tuscarora State Forest

Tuscarora State Forest
Pennsylvania State Forest
Managed Resource Protected Area (IUCN VI)
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
Counties	Cumberland, Franklin, Juniata, Mifflin, Perry
Location
- coordinates	40°20′14″N 77°30′38″W / 40.33722°N 77.51056°W / 40.33722; -77.51056Coordinates: 40°20′14″N 77°30′38″W / 40.33722°N 77.51056°W / 40.33722; -77.51056
Area	91,165 acres (36,893 ha)
Managed by	Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Location Map of Tuscarora State Forest Holdings
Location of Tuscarora State Forest's headquarters in Pennsylvania
Website : Tuscarora 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.

Tuscarora State Forest contains 91,165 acres (36,893 ha) in several tracts and is located in Cumberland, Franklin, Huntingdon, Juniata, Mifflin, and Perry counties.

History

Tuscarora State Forest was formed as a direct result of the depletion of the forests of Pennsylvania that took place during the mid-to-late 19th century. Conservationists like Dr. Joseph Rothrock became concerned that the forests would not regrow if they were not managed properly. Lumber and iron companies had harvested the old-growth forests for various reasons. They clear cut the forests and left behind nothing but dried tree tops and rotting stumps. The sparks of passing steam locomotives ignited wildfires that prevented the formation of second growth forests. The conservationists feared that the forest would never regrow if there was not a change in the philosophy of forest management. They called for the state to purchase land from the lumber and iron companies and the lumber and iron companies were more than willing to sell their land since that had depleted the natural resources of the forests.^[1] The changes began to take place in 1895 when Dr. Rothrock was appointed the first commissioner of the Pennsylvania Department of Forests and Waters, the forerunner of today's Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The Pennsylvania General Assembly passed a piece of legislation in 1897 that authorized the purchase of "unseated lands for forest reservations." This was the beginning of the State Forest system.^[1]

The forest is named for Tuscarora Mountain, which is within the state forest boundaries. The mountain was named for the Tuscarora, a tribe that joined the Iroquois Nation around 1714 following the Tuscarora War in North Carolina.

Tuscarora State Forest was originally part of the Rothrock Forest Reserve. It was merged with the Pennypacker and McClure reserves to form what is now Tuscarora State Forest. Much of the land was acquired from lumber and iron companies who had used the old-growth forest of hemlock, chestnut and oak to produce lumber and charcoal to fire the many iron furnaces that dotted the Pennsylvania landscape. Dr. Joseph Rothrock was an early pioneer in Pennsylvania forestry. In his position as commissioner of the Pennsylvania Department of Forests and Waters, he led the statewide effort to acquire lands that had been clear cut and left barren. Land was purchased from the lumber companies at minimal cost to the state, just a few dollars per acre.^[2]

The newly purchased land was largely barren. This was due to the widespread wildfires that swept over the hills and through the valleys when the sparks cast off by passing steam trains would ignite fires in the dried tree tops that were left behind by the lumbermen. The founding of the Civilian Conservation Corps by President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression was vital in creating the thriving second growth forests that make up Tuscarora State Forest today. The young men of the CCC cleared the forests and streams of dried brush. They lived in one of six camps spread throughout Tuscarora State Forest. In addition to clearing brush they also built roads, bridges and trails in the forests and constructed many of the recreational facilities still in use today at several state parks in the Tuscarora State Forest area.^[2]

Natural areas

Hemlocks Natural Area: 120 acres (49 ha) of old-growth Eastern Hemlock forest in a narrow ravine.
Hoverter and Sholl Box Huckleberry Natural Area: 10 acres (4.0 ha); contains a Box Huckleberry over 1,300 years old.
Frank E. Masland, Jr. Natural Area: 1,270 acres (510 ha) of old secondary forest.
Tuscarora Wild Area: 5,382 acres (2,178 ha) of old secondary forest.

Nearby state parks

Four Pennsylvania State Parks are contained within Tuscarora State Forest:

Neighboring state forest districts

References

1 2 "History of the William Penn State Forest". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Retrieved 2007-08-29.
1 2 "History of the Tuscarora State Forest". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Retrieved 2007-06-17.

"Tuscarora State Forest". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Retrieved 2006-07-14. Note: As of July 2006, this web page has not been updated to reflect the Pennsylvania State Forest Districts realignment.
"State Forest Districts". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Archived from the original on 2006-05-15. Retrieved 2006-07-14. Note: Map showing districts after the July 1, 2005 realignment
"Natural and Wild Area of the Tuscarora State Forest". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Retrieved 2009-01-21.

Protected areas of Pennsylvania

Federal

NPS National Historical Parks & National Historic Sites	Allegheny Portage Railroad NHS Edgar Allan Poe NHS Eisenhower NHS Friendship Hill NHS Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Church NHS Hopewell Furnace NHS Independence NHP Steamtown NHS Valley Forge NHP

National Memorials	Benjamin Franklin Flight 93 Johnstown Flood Thaddeus Kosciuszko

National Battlefields and National Military Parks	Fort Necessity NB Gettysburg NMP

National Trails	Appalachian Trail

Other protected areas	Allegheny National Recreation Area Blue Marsh National Recreation Area Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area Lackawanna Heritage Valley National and State Heritage Area Middle Delaware National Scenic River Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River

National Forests	Allegheny

USFS National Historic Sites	Grey Towers

National Wildlife Refuges	Cherry Valley Erie John Heinz Ohio River Islands

State

State Parks	Allegheny Islands Archbald Pothole Bald Eagle Beltzville Bendigo Benjamin Rush Big Pocono Big Spring Black Moshannon Blue Knob Boyd Big Tree Buchanan's Birthplace Bucktail Caledonia Canoe Creek Chapman Cherry Springs Clear Creek Codorus Colonel Denning Colton Point Cook Forest Cowans Gap Delaware Canal Denton Hill Elk Erie Bluffs Evansburg Fort Washington Fowlers Hollow Frances Slocum French Creek Gifford Pinchot Gouldsboro Greenwood Furnace Hickory Run Hillman Hills Creek Hyner Run Hyner View Jacobsburg Jennings Joseph E. Ibberson Kettle Creek Keystone Kings Gap Kinzua Bridge Kooser Lackawanna Laurel Hill Laurel Mountain Laurel Ridge Laurel Summit Lehigh Gorge Leonard Harrison Linn Run Little Buffalo Little Pine Locust Lake Lyman Run Marsh Creek Maurice K. Goddard McCalls Dam McConnells Mill Memorial Lake Milton Mont Alto Moraine Mt. Pisgah Nescopeck Neshaminy Nockamixon Nolde Forest Norristown Farm Ohiopyle Oil Creek Ole Bull Parker Dam Patterson Penn-Roosevelt Pine Grove Furnace Poe Paddy Poe Valley Point Presque Isle Prince Gallitzin Promised Land Prompton Prouty Place Pymatuning R. B. Winter Raccoon Creek Ralph Stover Ravensburg Reeds Gap Ricketts Glen Ridley Creek Ryerson Station S. B. Elliott Salt Springs Samuel S. Lewis Sand Bridge Shawnee Shikellamy Sinnemahoning Sizerville Susquehanna Susquehannock Swatara Tobyhanna Trough Creek Tuscarora Tyler Upper Pine Bottom Varden Warriors Path Washington Crossing Whipple Dam White Clay Creek Worlds End Yellow Creek

State Forests	Bald Eagle Buchanan Clear Creek Cornplanter Delaware Elk Forbes Gallitzin Loyalsock Michaux Moshannon Pinchot Rothrock Sproul Susquehannock Tiadaghton Tioga Tuscarora Weiser William Penn (Wild areas)

Scenic Rivers	Bear Run French Creek Lehigh River LeTort Spring Run Lick Run Lower Brandywine Octoraro Creek Pine Creek Schuylkill River Stony Creek Tucquan Creek Tulpehocken Creek Yellow Breeches Creek

Other

Other	Anders Run Natural Area Forrest H. Duttlinger Natural Area Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Hoverter and Sholl Box Huckleberry Natural Area Johnson Run Natural Area Stone Valley Recreation Area Trexler Nature Preserve Wykoff Run Natural Area

Hiking trails	Appalachian Baker Black Forest Central Mountains Shared Use Darlington Eastern Continental Five Star Glacier Ridge Great Eastern Greene River Horse-Shoe Indian Creek Valley Loyalsock Mid State Standing Stone Mason-Dixon North Country Ohio River Old Loggers Path Pinchot Potomac Heritage Quehanna Rachel Carson Sheepskin Susquehannock Thunder Swamp Tuscarora Valley Forge Historical West Rim Wissahickon Youghiogheny River

Rail trails	Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike Beaver River East Coast Greenway Five Star Ghost Town Great Allegheny Passage Great Shamokin Path Greene River Indian Creek Valley Lebanon Valley Lehigh Gorge Liberty Bell Lower Montour Ohio River Palmer Bikeway Panhandle Perkiomen Pine Creek Plainfield Township Schuylkill River Sheepskin Struble Susquehanna Warrior Switchback Three Rivers Heritage York Country Heritage Youghiogheny River

Nature centers	List of nature centers in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

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