I have made trips to Hearts Content and Tionesta recently. It looks
like a bomb went off at these places. At Tionesta it has mostly lone
hemlock sentinels and dead beech standing. It was tough understory
just to walk through. Why such a difference at these places and say
Cooks forest? The government is not keeping up the trails at all either.

Pete Allen

[Dale Luthringer, June 06, 2009]

Pete,

Hearts Content and Tionesta have been in a transitional stage for over 20
years now.  Both are experiencing the effects of beech bark disease.  The
main wave has passed and killed at least 90% of the beech overstory, if not
greater.  This has left most of the conifers as stark reminders of what a
full canopy of trees used to look like.  The regenerating beech understory
has been absolutely miserable to walk through for the last ten years or so.
Those of us who have walked many a mile in this terrain affectionately call
it "beech whip".  If you don't know what it is, you will after walking a
short distance off trail.

Tionesta also experienced a series of windstorms since 1985.  The largest
was the 1985 derecho with one of the storms going right through the heart of
the old growth stand.  There are still many 100's of acres of ancient
hemlock still standing, it's just that the majority of the stand is now
devoid of ancient beech.

Cook Forest has beech bark disease, but hasn't been as greatly ravaged yet
as Hearts Content or Tionesta.  The great news at Hearts Content is that
they have a lush understory of a number of other species coming in besides
beech.  I believe low deer densities have been the key.

Here at Cook, we have a volunteer "army" that helps us keep up the trails,
as well as a Pennsylvania Conservation Corps crew that has trail maintenance
as one of its main responsibilities.  As you can tell, the federal lands are
hard pressed in terms of trail upkeep.

Best Regards,

Dale J. Luthringer
Environmental Education Specialist
Cook Forest State Park