Have you ever thought much about the importance of forests to Pennsylvania’s landscape, lifestyle and heritage? After all, our commonwealth’s name reflects its forested history. Literally, Pennsylvania means Penn’s Woods.
Today, after more than 300 years of European settlement, about 60 percent of the commonwealth remains forested. This vast forest resource is largely in private ownership – about 12.5 million acres of the state’s 17 million acres of forest is held by nearly 700,000 owners who daily make decisions about the future of their forestland. Since private individuals, and not state, federal or local governments, own most of the forest, private citizens make decisions that impact the sustainability of the commonwealth’s overall forest. An interesting and challenging goal for these owners and the natural resource professionals in Pennsylvania is to keep our forests green and growing and to do so in a sustainable manner. While you may appreciate our state’s forests, it is often difficult to witness a commitment to forests; one most often sees this tremendous natural resource treated apathetically. full story
