Rothrock State Forest
| Rothrock State Forest | |
| Pennsylvania State Forest | |
 View of Bear Meadows Natural Area from the Mid State Trail.
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| Named for: Joseph Rothrock | |
| Country | United States |
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| State | Pennsylvania |
| Counties | Centre, Huntingdon, Mifflin |
| Elevation | 1,936 ft (590.1 m) |
| Coordinates | 40°42′36″N 77°49′06″W / 40.71000°N 77.81833°WCoordinates: 40°42′36″N 77°49′06″W / 40.71000°N 77.81833°W |
| Area | 215,500 acres (87,210 ha) |
| IUCN category | Managed Resource Protected Area (IUCN VI) |
 Rothrock State Forest
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 Location of Rothrock State Forest's headquarters in Pennsylvania
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| Website: Rothrock State Forest | |
Rothrock State Forest is a Pennsylvania state forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #5. The main offices are located in Huntingdon in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania in the United States.
Rothrock State Forest is located in Centre, Huntingdon, and Mifflin Counties.
State College, home of Penn State University is only a few miles from many of the entrances of Rothrock, leading to high utilization of the forest by students and staff of the university. Rothrock shares a common border on its eastern portion with Bald Eagle State Forest and is just north of areas of Tuscarora State Forest.
Rothrock 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, for whom the forest is named, became concerned that the forests would not regrow if they were not managed properly. Lumber and iron companies had harvested the old-growth forests for various reasons. They clear cut the forests and left behind nothing but dried tree tops and rotting stumps. The sparks of passing steam locomotives ignited wildfires that prevented the formation of second growth forests. 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 they 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 General Assembly 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.
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