UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Despite Contentions By Some Environmentalists To The Contrary, The Allegheny National Forest In Northcentral Pennsylvania Is An Outstanding Example Of Sustainable Forest Management, According To A Forest Expert In Penn State's College Of Agricultural Sciences.

"the Allegheny National Forest Is A Crown Jewel Of The United States Forest Service’s National Forest System And Has An Excellent Record Of Careful S

According to Finley, some have criticized Allegheny National Forest managers for their use of even-aged forest management, for a failure to create diverse species stands, and for not perpetuating shade-tolerant tree species. "But heavy cutting in the ANF at the turn of the 20th century created a large even-aged forest," he says. "Plainly speaking, the ANF was clearcut and left as worthless. Fortunately, through a series of events, the high-value forest grew back.

"However, many of the trees are the same age and many of the most common trees are shade intolerant; that is, they grew well in the full sunlight of early clearcuts and now dominate the forest," Finley says. "Black cherry is one of those species that has done well and is a premier species that has very high market demand. No forester wants a forest of pure cherry; it is too risky. A disease or insect could wreak havoc and many intrinsic forest values could be lost. Fortunately and unfortunately, black cherry is one common species on the ANF that deer do not favor for browse."

For nearly 70 years, Finley points out, excessive deer populations have selectively browsed this forest, allowing black cherry to gain a position of dominance and make it relatively easy to regenerate. But in some places on the ANF, he says, even black cherry does not regenerate well. Many of these areas have dense fern cover on the forest floor, or higher up there are saplings of beech, striped maple or black birch. "Like black cherry, deer do not find these trees to their liking," Finley says. "Deer and past management practices have shaped the species composition on the ANF as well as across most of the state."

Research about forest growth and development is important in managing forests, Finley believes. For more than 50 years, the U.S. Forest Service's Northeast Forest Research Station on the edge of the Allegheny National Forest in Irvine has conducted important applied research about forest growth and function. "Much of what we know about managing the hardwood forest that occurs across our state’s northern tier counties derives from this station’s work," he says. "Most importantly, the station’s work has been instrumental in guiding forest-management decisions and has provided numerous examples of good forestry for others to follow. "Those who say that we should allow forests to manage themselves are not considering the extent of problems that past human decisions and activities have already imposed," continues Finley. "The forest that once was on the ANF and across most of the state can never return. We have changed it. We need many of the resources the forests create and provide, and we have to provide the best resources we can to future generations. Restoring the ANF or any forest to its previous unmolested condition is fraught with problems and constraints that we cannot address."

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EDITORS: Contact Jim Finley at 814-863-0401 or by e-mail fj4@psu.edu.

Writer-Editor: Jeff MulhollemOffice 814-863-2719