 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Forbes State Forest" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(September 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Forbes State Forest | |
|---|---|
IUCN category VI (protected area with sustainable use of natural resources) | |
 View of the surrounding forest from the Beam Rocks overlook. | |
 Location of Forbes State Forest in Pennsylvania | |
| Location | Pennsylvania, United States |
| Coordinates | 40°12′43″N79°11′52″W / 40.21194°N 79.19778°W /40.21194; -79.19778 |
| Area | 50,000 acres (200 km2) |
| Elevation | 2,717 ft (828 m) |
| Governing body | Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources |
| Website | Forbes State Forest |
Forbes State Forest is aPennsylvania state forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #4. The main offices are located inLaughlintown inWestmoreland County,Pennsylvania in theUnited States.Mount Davis, the highest peak in Pennsylvania, is located in the forest.
Theforest was named in honor ofGeneral John Forbes. It includes 20 separate tracts of land and covers over 50,000 acres (20,230 ha) that stretch acrossFayette,Somerset, andWestmoreland Counties. The designated forest tracts generally follow one of the area's dominant terrain features, Laurel Ridge, part of theLaurel Highlands.
Forbes 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.[citation needed] Lumber and iron companies had harvested theold-growth forests for various reasons. Theyclear cut the forests and left behind nothing but dried tree tops and rotting stumps.[citation needed] The sparks of passingsteam locomotives of thePittsburgh, Westmoreland and Somerset Railroad ignitedwildfires that prevented the formation ofsecond 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'sPennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. ThePennsylvania 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]
In order to accommodate visitors, the state has allowed the development of 9 areas within Forbes. This includes 6 State Parks and 3 State Forest Picnic Areas. The remainder of the area is undeveloped except for hiking trails maintained by the state. These are generally closed to vehicles but open tohiking,cross-country skiing,hunting, andfishing. Several portions of what is now designated as part of the Forbes State Forest had previously been either developed or commercially exploited throughlogging through the early-to-mid-20th century. These areas have been allowed, and sometimes encouraged, to return to their natural state.
TheU.S. states ofMaryland andWest Virginia are to the south and west, respectively
Forbes State Forest lies within theAppalachian mixed mesophytic forestsecoregion.[2] It also includes a number of important natural features and points of interest:
Roaring Run Natural Area, at 3,070 acres (1,242 ha), was acquired by the State of Pennsylvania in 1975. After previous development and logging, this portion of the west slope of Laurel Ridge is currently undergoingreforestation. It is compromised largely of second and third growth mixedmesophytic forest. Roaring Run feeds intoIndian Creek, which is atributary of theYoughiogheny River. The state forest also includesQuebec Run Wild Area.
Mount Davis is the highest point in Pennsylvania and is found within the state forest. The high point is protected withinMount Davis Natural Area. The area eventually drains into theCasselman River, a part of theMississippi Riverwatershed (via theYoughiogheny,Monongahela, andOhio Rivers). One of the natural attractions of the area is the presence of small concentric stone rings which result fromfrost heaving in small patches of earth which are softer than the ground surrounding them. Frost causing the patches to be pushed up higher than their surroundings is followed by the effects of naturalerosion which results in stones sliding to the bottom of the protrusion and forming ring-like patterns at the base.
Spruce Flats Wildlife Management Area covers 305 acres (123 ha), with a focal point on the 28 acres (11 ha) of the Spruce Flats Bog which formed in a natural depression atop Laurel Ridge. The area had previously passed through thesuccessional sequence from open water to (eventually) forest. This process was actually reversed in the early part of the 20th century by a combination ofclear-cutting the forest, and fires which burned away much of the forest floor. This resulted in a return to theswamp orbog stage of development, and the area is now slowly proceeding back into the forest stage. The bog currently hosts a large community ofcranberry,pitcher plant,sundew, andcotton grass.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
