Caring for Pennsylvania's Private Forests

Maureen Harmon penned a great article about caring for Pennsylvania's private forests in the Spring/Summer 2015 issue of the Penn State Ag Science Magazine. From a spotlight on Pennsylvania private landowners caring for their land to the unique role that the Center for Private Forests at Penn State plays in the Commonwealth, this article highlights efforts to "conserve Pennsylvania's signature landscape for generations to come." Check it out!

Caring for Pennsylvania’s Private Forests 

By Maureen Harmon

Staff and volunteers of the Center for Private Forests help Pennsylvania’s landowners conserve forests for generations to come.

On April 27, 1811, Abraham Bussard purchased a tract of land on the side of a Pennsylvania mountain. At the upper part of the wooded property sat a sandstone boulder, which must have beckoned to Abraham and his wife Elizabeth, because it was there that they built their home and spent their lives surrounded by forest.

Over the years, the land welcomed generations of the Bussard family, who raised sheep, pigs, beef, and dairy cows, and raised crops to feed the animals. The property expanded when family members purchased surrounding tracts. It was on this farm that Laura Jackson grew up, living the life of a farm kid—milking cows, baling hay, driving the family tractor. She learned the lay of the land, and what it could offer her as a place to play and explore the forest.

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