Susquehannock State Forest

Susquehannock State Forest
Pennsylvania State Forest
Susquehannock State Forest, Potter County, as seen from Little Lyman Vista
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
Counties	Clinton, McKean, Potter
Coordinates	41°46′26″N 78°01′07″W / 41.77389°N 78.01861°W / 41.77389; -78.01861Coordinates: 41°46′26″N 78°01′07″W / 41.77389°N 78.01861°W / 41.77389; -78.01861
IUCN category	Managed Resource Protected Area (IUCN VI)
Location Map of Susquehannock State Forest Holdings
Location of Susquehannock State Forest's headquarters in Pennsylvania
Website: Susquehannock State Forest

Susquehannock State Forest is a Pennsylvania state forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #15. The main office is located in Coudersport in Potter County, Pennsylvania in the United States.

Susquehannock State Forest is located chiefly in Potter County, with small tracts in McKean and Clinton Counties. The forest is named for the Susquehannocks, a Native American tribe who once lived in the Susquehanna River basin.

Susquehannock 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. American conservationists like Dr. Joseph Rothrock 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 situation was exacerbated as often 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—such as those measures which had been for some years making news in Europe and India. Knowledge of Forest management practices among the well informed, then being long in place in France and Germany added impetus to pay attention to the changes signaled by Great Britain's legislative actions. The American leaders across many states began calling for their state to purchase land from the lumber and iron companies. In the day in Pennsylvania, the lumber and iron companies were more than willing to sell their land since they had depleted the natural resources of the forests, more commercially valuable iron mines were providing ores, and selling the lands eliminated the annual need to pay property taxes. These demands of this movement were later recognized by sociologists and historians as one earmark of the Progressive Era in United States politics and social reorganization.