Moshannon State Forest

Moshannon State Forest
Pennsylvania State Forest
Managed Resource Protected Area (IUCN VI)
Sign for the Moshannon State Forest on Pennsylvania Route 504 in Centre County
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
Counties	Centre, Clearfield, Elk
Location
- coordinates	41°12′30″N 78°34′32″W / 41.20833°N 78.57556°W / 41.20833; -78.57556Coordinates: 41°12′30″N 78°34′32″W / 41.20833°N 78.57556°W / 41.20833; -78.57556
Managed by	Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Location Map of Moshannon State Forest Holdings
Location of Moshannon State Forest's headquarters in Pennsylvania
Website : Moshannon State Forest

Moshannon State Forest is a Pennsylvania State Forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #9. The main offices are located in the unincorporated village of Penfield in Huston Township, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania in the United States.

The forest is located chiefly in Centre, Clearfield, and Elk Counties, with small parts of the forest also in Cameron and Clinton Counties.

History

Moshannon 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. The 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]

A winter scene in Moshannon State Forest

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania began purchasing tracts of land for what is now Moshannon State Forest on September 28, 1898.^[2] The first purchase was 352 acres (142 ha) on the banks of Montgomery Run to the north of Clearfield. It was purchased for just $65.45 to settle a delinquent tax payment. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources' web page, the state is still acquiring land that meets the "current guidelines" to become state forest land.

Much of the land that is now Moshannon State Forest has been purchased from lumber and land holding companies. At the time of purchase the land was largely devoid of trees. It was mostly dried brush and burnt scrub. This was a direct result of the clearcutting of the vast stands of old growth forest during the mid-to-late 19th century and very early 20th century.^[2] The lumber companies chopped down the hemlock and white pine forests that once covered much of Pennsylvania. According to Conrad Weiser, who wrote in 1737,

“

The wood is so thick, that for a mile at a time we could not find a place the size of a hand, where the sunshine would penetrate, even on the clearest day.

”

^[2] All of the virgin forest was gone by 1921. It has since been replaced by a thriving second growth forest of beech, yellow poplar, a variety of birch, oak, hickory, cherry, chestnut and maples.

Neighboring state forest districts

Nearby state parks

The Panther Rocks formation in Moshannon State Forest

Three Pennsylvania State Parks are located within Moshannon State Forest:

Black Moshannon State Park (Centre County)
Parker Dam State Park (Clearfield County)
S. B. Elliott State Park (Clearfield County)

References

1 2 "History of the William Penn State Forest". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Archived from the original on August 23, 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-29.
1 2 3 "History of the Moshannon State Forest". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Retrieved 2007-06-16.

"Moshannon State Forest". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Retrieved 2006-07-18. 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 2006-07-18. Note: Map showing districts after the July 1, 2005 realignment

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 Lackawanna Loyalsock Michaux Moshannon 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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