| Michaux State Forest | |
|---|---|
IUCN category VI (protected area with sustainable use of natural resources) | |
 Long Pine Run Reservoir in Michaux State Forest | |
  Location of Michaux State Forest in Pennsylvania | |
| Location | Pennsylvania, United States |
| Coordinates | 39°54′43″N77°33′49″W / 39.91194°N 77.56361°W /39.91194; -77.56361 |
| Area | 85,000 acres (340 km2) |
| Named for | André Michaux |
| Governing body | Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources |
| Website | Michaux State Forest |
Michaux State Forest is aPennsylvania State Forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #1. The main offices are located inFayetteville inFranklin County,Pennsylvania, USA.
The Michaux State Forest is in several tracts covering more than 85,000 acres (34,400 ha) located inAdams County, southernCumberland County, easternFranklin County, and northwesternYork County. TheAppalachian Trail also runs through Michaux State Forest.
Michaux State Forest is named forAndré Michaux, aFrenchbotanist. He was dispatched in 1785 by KingLouis XVI of France and his QueenMarie Antoinette to gather plants for theRoyal Gardens.
Michaux 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 such asJoseph Rothrock became concerned that the forests would not regrow if they were not managed properly. 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. The sparks of passingsteam locomotives 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 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]
The land that is now Michaux State Forest was once owned by several large iron companies. The iron companies used the old growth forests of South Central Pennsylvania to fire theiriron furnaces such asPine Grove Furnace,Caledonia, andMont Alto.Colliers gathered the wood and createdcharcoal by slowly burning the logs in massive charcoal kilns that dotted the landscape of what is now Michaux State Forest.
Michaux State Forest is the location of several "firsts" in Pennsylvania Forestry. The first state nursery was established at Mont Alto in 1902. Rothrock opened the first forestry school in Pennsylvania and the second in theUnited States at what is nowPenn State Mont Alto.Ralph E. Brock, the first academically trained African American forester in the United States, supervised the seed nursery at the state forest from 1906 to 1911. Michaux State Forest saw the first woodenfire tower in 1905 as well as the first steel fire tower in 1914.
Michaux State Forest is now a thrivingsecond growth forest. It is open to recreational hunting, fishing, hiking and mountain biking. It is crossed by theAppalachian Trail. Remnants of the charcoal days can still be seen in the state forest as the land where the kilns burned for so many years has yet to fully recover. Visitors to the park will notice these areas as large grassy meadows that are surrounded by the woods of Michaux State Forest.[2]
TheU.S. state ofMaryland is to the south
