A Clearcut Section of Forest within the Watershed

Background: Most of the forestland in the Juniata watershed exists on or near the mountain ridges. These forests include oak, hickory, maple, beech, birch, elm, ash, red maple, white pine, aspen, and Virginia pine. A very large portion of the Juniata watershed has been logged. Heavy logging occurred in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Most of the wood was used for charcoal, log homes, and furniture. From 1890 to the mid 1920s, most forests were completely clear-cut. Therefore, although most of the area is forested, it represents secondary successional growth. Lumbering still remains a major industry in the watershed.

Conservation: The state of Pennsylvania as a whole has been very active in properly managing its many state forests. Forest certification is a process in which an independent third party scientifically evaluates a forest to determine if it is managed in an environmentally responsible manner. In 1998 all of the 2.1 million acres of state forest in Pennsylvania were certified by the Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) using the guidelines established by the international Forest Stewardship Council (SFC), making it the largest "green certified" forest in North America. Since then the American Forest and Paper Association has been promoting and implementing their Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and Pennsylvania is adopting these new standards. Major state forests within the Juniata River watershed include Rothrock, Bald Eagle, Tuscarora, and Buchanan State Forests.

To view the list of SFI objectives click here

In addition to the management of Pennsylvania's state forests, private landowners, loggers, foresters, and other natural resource professionals are also encouraged to use Best Management Practices (BMPs) which are voluntary forest management guidelines. The use of BMPs will help assure a sustainable future for landowner forests both environmentally and economically. There are many programs available to forest owners to help them learn more about harvesting their forests in accordance with BMPs.

To view a list of landowner programs click here

For a list of information on how to get involved and other forestry related links click here

To learn some interesting PA forest facts click here

Much information for the forestry section of the land webpage was provided by the webpages of the PA Forestry association, the PA DCNR Bureau of Forestry, and the Sustaining Penn's Woods homepage, all provided in the forestry related links section