Tioga State Forest

Tioga State Forest
Pennsylvania State Forest
Managed Resource Protected Area (IUCN VI)
Babb Creek Canyon, Tioga County, as seen from the Mid State Trail at Gillespie Point.
Named for: Tioga River
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
Counties	Bradford, Lycoming, Tioga
Location
- coordinates	41°46′37″N 77°30′50″W / 41.77694°N 77.51389°W / 41.77694; -77.51389Coordinates: 41°46′37″N 77°30′50″W / 41.77694°N 77.51389°W / 41.77694; -77.51389
- elevation	2,119 ft (645.9 m)
Area	160,000 acres (64,750 ha)
Founded	1900
Managed by	Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Location of Tioga State Forest in Pennsylvania
Website : Tioga State Forest

Tioga State Forest is a Pennsylvania State Forest in District #16. The main offices are located in Wellsboro in Tioga County, Pennsylvania in the United States.

The forest is located in Tioga County and was named for a tribe of the Seneca, a Native American people, who once lived in the area. The word "Tioga" means 'the meeting of two rivers'.

Prior to the July 1, 2005 realignment of Pennsylvania State Forest Districts, Tioga State Forest included almost all state forest lands in Tioga and Bradford counties and encompassed 160,000 acres (64,750 ha). After realignment, the state forest tracts in Bradford County became part of the new Loyalsock State Forest.

History

Tioga 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 harvested the old-growth forests, clearcutting the forests and leaving 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]

Most of the land acquired by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was purchased from land holding and lumber companies. The lumber companies had stripped the land of vast stands of old growth Eastern hemlock and white pine during the lumber era that swept throughout the mountains of Pennsylvania during the mid-to-late 19th century. The harvested timber was floated down Pine Creek and its tributaries to the Susquehanna Boom on the West Branch Susquehanna River near Williamsport. The lumber companies left behind a land that was stripped of most of its trees and was scattered with tree stumps and the dried tops of trees that easily igniting causing wildfires that slowed the growth of the now thriving second growth forest of hardwoods.

The establishment of the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression by President Franklin D. Roosevelt was vital to the recovery of the forests of Tioga State Forest.^[2] Several CCC camps were scattered throughout Tioga State Forest. The young men of the CCC worked to clear the forest and streams of dried underbrush. They cleared roads and trails throughout the forest and built the recreation facilities found at Leonard Harrison and Colton Point State Parks along the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon.

Birch trees in Tioga State Forest were used during the mid-20th century in the birch oil industry. Birch stills were built throughout the forest to produce the oil, which was used as an industrial lubricant. The last birch still in Tioga State Forest was shut down in 1972.^[2]

Neighboring state forest districts

The U.S. state of New York is to the north

Loyalsock State Forest (east and southeast)
Tiadaghton State Forest (south)
Susquehannock State Forest (west)

Nearby state parks

Leonard Harrison State Park (Tioga County)
Colton Point State Park (Tioga County)
Hills Creek State Park (Tioga County)

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tioga State Forest.

1 2 "History of the William Penn State Forest". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Archived from the original on 2007-08-23. Retrieved 2007-08-29.
1 2 "Tioga State Forest: History". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Retrieved 2007-11-25.

"Tioga 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.
"DCNR REALIGNING FOREST DISTRICTS". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. June 2005. Archived from the original on March 4, 2014. Retrieved 2006-07-14.
"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

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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