ARBOR DAY: Old photographs of Bradford are proof positive that
our ancestors participated in a ravaging of Pennsylvania’s forests
beyond all reason. Every tree, in some cases, was stripped off the
hillsides to make way for oil derricks and jacks.

With help, the forests have recovered to the enormous abundance
we see around us.

And, yet, we must pause for Arbor Day and some insightful
comments made by Daniel Devlin, Pennsylvania State Forester and
director of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources,
Bureau of Forestry.

He writes, “Pennsylvania is blessed with some of the most
valuable forests in the world. That’s the reason William Penn, in
1682, called the commonwealth ‘Penn’s Woods.’ During the week that
celebrates Arbor Day – a day set aside to recognize the value of
trees – it’s a good to think about the importance of our forests
and the services they provide to all Pennsylvanians.”

“Forests produce clean, coldwater streams and the water from
your tap. We can thank them for preventing our rivers from
flooding, the clean air you breathe, and the materials they provide
for our homes – the floors you walk on, the cabinets in your
kitchen, and the pellets that heat your home. They are places to
hike, camp and hunt, and they are reservoirs of diverse plant and
animal life.

“Despite their undeniable value, we haven’t always treated our
forests well. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, our forests were
devastated from exploitive timber harvesting that left little
regard for the future. We harvested trees to fuel our iron
furnaces; build our homes, barns and ships; and prop up our coal
mines. We cleared our forest to plant our crops and we stripped the
bark from our state tree – the hemlock – to tan leather.

“We are fortunate that after this short-sighted neglect, our
forests returned with remarkable vigor, but it wasn’t all luck.
Visionary citizens, such as Dr. Joseph Rothrock and Myra Lloyd
Dock, recognized the importance and value of our forests and called
for their conservation and protection.

“As a result, millions of acres, many that at the time were
still barren tracts of slash and brush piles, were set aside for
future generations.”

Devlin suggests that every Pennsylvanian, regardless of where
they live, plant a tree today to mark this special occasion.