Cornplanter State Forest is a Pennsylvania State Forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #14. The main office is located in North Warren in Warren County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It is named for Chief Cornplanter of the

Seneca Nation The Seneca ( ; ) are a group of Indigenous Iroquoian-speaking people who historically lived south of Lake Ontario, one of the five Great Lakes in North America. Their nation was the farthest to the west within the Six Nations or Iroquois Leag ...

, one of the

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

s of the

Iroquois Confederacy The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

. The forest is found on in Crawford,

Forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

, and Warren Counties. The district also covers

Erie Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...

and the northern part of Venango Counties.

History

Cornplanter 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. Lumber and Iron companies had harvested the

old-growth forest An old-growth forest or primary forest is a forest that has developed over a long period of time without disturbance. Due to this, old-growth forests exhibit unique ecological features. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Natio ...

s for various reasons. The clear cut the forests and left behind nothing but dried tree tops and rotting stumps. The sparks of passing

steam locomotives A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

ignited

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...

s that prevented the formation of

second growth forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has regenerated through largely natural processes after human-caused disturbances, such as timber harvest or agriculture clearing, or equivalently disruptive natura ...

s. 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. 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's

Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), established in 1995, is the agency in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania responsible for maintaining and preserving the state's 124 state parks and 20 state forests; providin ...

. The

Pennsylvania General Assembly The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times (1682–1776), the legislature was known as the Pennsylvani ...

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.

Neighboring state forest districts

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...

is to the north and the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

is to the west * Susquehannock State Forest (east) *

Elk State Forest Elk State Forest is a Pennsylvania State Forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #13. The main offices are located in Emporium in Cameron County, Pennsylvania. The forest is located on , chiefly in Cameron and Elk counties, with ...

(southeast) *

Clear Creek State Forest Clear Creek State Forest (formerly Kittanning State Forest) is a Pennsylvania State Forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #8. The main offices are located in Clarion in Clarion County, Pennsylvania in the United States. Until A ...

(south)

Nearby state parks

No state parks are found within the state forest, but five are found within District #14: *

Chapman State Park Chapman State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Pleasant Township, Warren County, Pennsylvania near Clarendon, in the United States. The man-made Chapman Lake covers of the park. Chapman State Park is named in honor of Dr. Leroy E. C ...

(Warren County) *

Erie Bluffs State Park Erie Bluffs State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Girard and Springfield Townships, Erie County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park is the largest undeveloped stretch of land overlooking Lake Erie in Pennsylvania. Erie Bluffs S ...

(Erie County) *

Oil Creek State Park Oil Creek State Park is a List of Pennsylvania state parks, Pennsylvania state park on in Cherrytree Township, Pennsylvania, Cherrytree, Cornplanter Township, Venango County, Pennsylvania, Cornplanter and Oil Creek Township, Venango County, Pen ...

(Venango County) *

Presque Isle State Park Presque Isle State Park ( ) is a List of Pennsylvania state parks, Pennsylvania State Park on an arching, sandy peninsula jutting into Lake Erie, west of the city of Erie, Pennsylvania, Erie, in Millcreek Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania ...

(Erie County) * Pymatuning State Park (Crawford County)

Natural areas

* Anders Run Natural Area: a natural area protecting of

References

External links

* ''Note: As of July 2006, this web page has not been updated to reflect the Pennsylvania State Forest Districts realignment.'' * ''Note: Map showing districts after the July 1, 2005 realignment'' {{Authority control Pennsylvania state forests Protected areas of Forest County, Pennsylvania Protected areas of Crawford County, Pennsylvania Protected areas of Warren County, Pennsylvania Protected areas of Erie County, Pennsylvania Protected areas of Venango County, Pennsylvania