Penn State outing club

Exploring Our Outdoors: Bald Eagle State Forest

Covering almost 60 percent of its land, forests are a vital resource to Pennsylvania. They provide recreation and are also an important part of the economy.

In fact, the state is the number one producer of hardwoods in the country, with $5.5 billion worth of products produced annually. The lumber industry has also been important historically, but in the late 1800s, its clear-cutting practices lead to decimated forests across the state.

Early pioneers like Joseph T. Rothrock contributed greatly to forest conservation, eventually leading to the formation of the state forest system. Today, the Commonwealth manages 20 state forests comprising of 2.2 million acres in 48 of the state’s 67 counties.

Some of Centre County’s 535,100 forested acres are within the Bald Eagle State forest, which contains over 193,000 acres of land for public enjoyment. This sizable tract sits in the Appalachian Mountain section of the state, which is characterized by long northeast-southwest...