From the Pinchot Desk
Seth Cassell, State Forester
This issue of Forest Focus highlights the landscape level forest management that occurs across Pennsylvania’s 2.2 million acre state forest system. We couldn’t do this work without the dedicated and highly trained resource management staff in the Bureau of Forestry, who are working to adapt to new challenges to get important habitat work done on the ground while providing renewable wood products to society.
This issue also shows the value of partnerships, whether in doing habitat work on state forest land or solving vexing forest health problems. We are also dependent on a healthy wood products industry to manage forests and to keep them healthy and resilient. Just a few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to spend a day in Elk County with representatives from the Allegheny Hardwoods Utilization Group and other members of the Bureau of Forestry’s leadership team in looking at active timber sales and visiting wood products facilities and sawmills. It was a productive day to learn about issues on the Allegheny Plateau and how the Bureau of Forestry can continue to support a vibrant wood products industry while promoting active forest management.
