摘要：Pennsylvania has a legacy of rich forest resources. During the late 1800s, Pennsylvania supported the Nation’s largest lumber industry, which led to overharvesting, uncontrolled wildfires, and heavy soil erosion. The Pennsylvania Legislature authorized a Forestry Commission and Forest Reserve System in 1897 to rehabilitate the State’s decimated forest and water resources. In 1902, the agency’s first forest nursery at Mont Alto produced more than 10,000 eastern white pine seedlings. This organization evolved into today’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources with a Bureau of Forestry (BOF) and Bureau of State Parks managing 2.2 million ac (890,000 ha) of State forest lands and 120 State parks. Annual seedling production peaked in 1950 with three BOF nurseries distributing more than 29 million seedlings. Additional public and private nurseries produced millions more. Today, the State has 16.6 million ac (6.7 million ha) of predominantly Appalachian oak and northern hardwood forests, making this combination the dominant land cover across the entire 28.7 million ac (11.6 million ha) of the State. Of the original four State nurseries, Penn Nursery is the only BOF nursery still operating; it provides in excess of 1 million seedlings of more than 40 different Pennsylvania native species to State forest and park lands for reforestation, diversity, water quality protection, and wildlife habitat. Penn Nursery also manages 22 tree-improvement seed orchards, which include a variety of hardwood and conifer species
