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Pennsylvania Forests Certified As Well-Managed

Scott Detrow / StateImpact Pennsylvania

A drilling rig in the Tioga State Forest


Environmental advocates have worried natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania’s state forests could harm their status as “well-managed,” but as the Post-Gazette reports, the forest have been certified for the fourteenth-straight year.

An independent audit report by the Rainforest Alliance, released last week by the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, confers the coveted certification, while also noting special challenges posed by development of Marcellus Shale gas wells in the forests.
…”This continued certification of our state forests is a reaffirmation of the pride we take in managing our state forest system for many values and uses, while maintaining its long-term health and viability,” said DCNR secretary Richard Allen. “Today, there are many threats and challenges in forest management, including fragmentation and disturbance, invasive plants, destructive exotic insects and insufficient regeneration.”

This certification has a financial impact: it allows the state to market timber and other products harvested from the forests as environmentally-friendly. This green certification opens the door to millions of dollars in potential revenue.

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