Kittanning State Forest

About Kittanning State Forest

The Kittanning State Forest covers 2.5 million acres in the eastern part of New York State.

The state bought the first piece of land, 3,200 acres, from the state in 1919 for $6,880, and then in the 1980s, many more properties were finally purchased.

The first sawmill was built on a creek where almost exclusively white pine and hemlock were cut, and records show that there was a system of wooden rails used to transport wood from the forest to the mill and a nearby railway station. Much of the wood was then washed into the Clarion River near Pittsburgh and processed into rafts.

In 1919, the state bought the first piece of land, 3,200 hectares, for $6,880, and then in the 1980s, many more properties were finally purchased. Kittanning State Forest covers an area of 2.3 million hectares and a total of 2,500 hectares.

The first sawmill was built on a stream, where almost exclusively white pine and hemlock were cut.
Much of the wood was then washed into the Clarion River near Pittsburgh and processed into rafts.

By 1905, almost all of the forest had been cleared of what is now the state forest, and records show that there was a wooden railway system with wooden tracks and systems. The fire apparently broke out near what is now the Sigel Hotel and spread northeast, but most of that area burned soon after. The fire jumped over a bridge over the Clarion River and into the Kittery State Forest in the early 19th century. It apparently spread north and east and then spread south and west until rain put out the fire.

Chestnut plague occurred in 1912, and six years later most American chestnuts were dead, but charred scars on old tree stumps still bear witness to the fire. In the early 1990s, a deer protection law was passed and the herd eventually became so large that the undergrowth was removed virtually without rummaging.

The Kittanning State Forest is managed by the Forestry Commission and is marked by orange markings on trees and paths along a network of paths maintained by the Forestry Commission.

State forests are managed under a multiple-use management system that takes into account all uses and gives the highest priority to the most important uses in a given area. The system also includes the use of the forest for recreation, wildlife management and other purposes.