{{short description|State-owned protected area in Pennsylvania, US}} {{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox protected area | name = Quehanna Wild Area | iucn_category = Ia | iucn_ref = <!-- images --> | image = Benezette Township Flaky.jpg | image_caption = [[Betula papyrifera|White birches]] in [[Marion Brooks Natural Area]] within Quehanna Wild Area <!-- map --> | map = | image_map = Quehanna Wild Area map.png | map_size = 300 | map_caption = Map of Quehanna Wild area (ivory), natural areas (lime green), state forests (green), state game lands (yellow), restricted area (red), and private land (brown) <!-- location --> | location = Pennsylvania, United States | nearest_city = | nearest_town = | coordinates = {{coord|41|16|27|N|78|15|24|W|display=inline,title}} | coords_ref = <!-- stats --> | length = | length_mi = | length_km = | width = | width_mi = | width_km = | area_acre = 50000 | area_ref = <ref name="elk sf"/> | elevation = {{convert|1896|ft|m|abbr=on}}<ref name=gnis/> | elevation_avg = | elevation_min = | elevation_max = | dimensions = | designation = <!-- dates & info --> | authorized = | created = | designated = | established = 1965 | named_for = [[West Branch Susquehanna River]] | visitation_num = | visitation_year = | visitation_ref = | governing_body = Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources | administrator = | operator = | owner = <!-- website, embedded --> | website = [https://web.archive.org/web/20130408044251/http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/oldgrowthforests/northcentralarea/index.htm Quehanna Wild Area] | module = {{Location map | Pennsylvania | AlternativeMap = USA Pennsylvania relief location map.svg | caption = Location of Quehanna Wild Area in Pennsylvania | coordinates = {{coord|41|16|27|N|78|15|24|W}} | border = none | width = 300 }} }}
'''Quehanna Wild Area''' ({{IPAc-en|k|w|ə|ˈ|h|æ|n|ə}}) is a [[protected area]] within parts of [[Cameron County, Pennsylvania|Cameron]], [[Clearfield County, Pennsylvania|Clearfield]] and [[Elk County, Pennsylvania|Elk]] counties in the [[U.S. state]] of [[Pennsylvania]]; with a total area of {{convert|50000|acre|sqmi km2|0}}, it covers parts of [[Elk State Forest|Elk]] and [[Moshannon State Forest]]s. Founded in the 1950s as a [[nuclear physics|nuclear research]] center, Quehanna has a legacy of [[radioactive waste|radioactive]] and [[toxic waste]] contamination, while also being the largest [[List of Pennsylvania state forest wild areas|state forest wild area]] in Pennsylvania, with herds of [[elk]]. The wild area is bisected by the Quehanna Highway and is home to [[second growth forest]] with mixed [[hardwood forest|hardwoods]] and [[evergreen]]s. Quehanna has two state forest natural areas: the {{convert|1215|acre|adj=on}} [[M.K. Goddard/Wykoff Run Natural Area]], and the {{convert|917|acre|adj=on}} [[Marion Brooks Natural Area]]. The latter has the largest stand of [[Betula papyrifera|white birch]] in Pennsylvania and the eastern United States.
The land that became Quehanna Wild Area was home to [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]], including the [[Susquehannock]] and [[Iroquois]], before it was purchased by the United States in 1784. Settlers soon [[History of Pennsylvania#Westward expansion|moved into the region]] and, in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the [[logging]] industry cut the [[virgin forest]]s; [[clearcutting]] and forest fires transformed the once verdant land into the "Pennsylvania Desert"{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}. Pennsylvania bought this land for its [[List of Pennsylvania state forests|state forests]], and in the 1930s the [[Civilian Conservation Corps]] worked to improve them. In 1955 the [[Curtiss-Wright]] Corporation bought {{convert|80|sqmi}} of state forest to focus on developing nuclear-powered [[jet engine]]s. They named their facility Quehanna for the nearby [[West Branch Susquehanna River]], itself named for the Susquehannocks.
Curtiss-Wright left in 1960, after which a succession of tenants further contaminated the nuclear reactor facility and its [[hot cell]]s with [[radionuclide|radioactive isotopes]], including [[strontium-90]] and [[cobalt-60]]. The manufacture of radiation-treated hardwood flooring continued until 2002. Pennsylvania reacquired the land in 1963 and 1967, and in 1965 established Quehanna as a wild area, albeit one with a nuclear facility and industrial complex. The [[Radioactive contamination#Decontamination|cleanup]] of the reactor and hot cells took over eight years and cost $30 million; the facility was demolished and its nuclear license terminated in 2009. Since 1992 the industrial complex has been home to Quehanna Motivational [[Boot camp (correctional)|Boot Camp]], a minimum-security prison, which will close in 2026. Quehanna Wild Area has many sites where radioactive and toxic waste was buried, some of which have been cleaned up while others were dug up by [[American black bear|black bear]]s and [[white-tailed deer]].
In 1970 the name was officially changed to Quehanna Wild Area, and later that decade a portion of the {{convert|73.2|mi|adj=on}} [[Quehanna Trail]] was routed through the wild area. Primitive [[camping]] by hikers is allowed, but the area has no permanent residents. Several other trails are open to [[cross-country skiing]] in the winter, but closed to vehicles. Quehanna is on the [[Allegheny Plateau]] and was struck by a tornado in 1985. [[Folivore|Defoliating insects]] have further damaged the forests. Quehanna Wild Area was named an [[Important Bird Area]] by the Pennsylvania [[Audubon Society]], and is home to many species of birds and animals. [[Eco-tourism|Eco-tourists]] come to see the birds and elk, and hunters come for the elk, [[coyote]], and other game.
== History ==
=== Native Americans === The [[Iroquoian languages|Iroquoian]]-speaking [[Susquehannock]]s were the earliest recorded inhabitants of the [[West Branch Susquehanna River]] basin, which includes Quehanna Wild Area. They were a [[matriarchy|matriarchal]] society that lived in [[stockade]]d villages of large [[long house]]s.<ref name=indians>Wallace, "Indians in Pennsylvania", pp. 4–12, 84–89, 99–105, 145–148, 157–164.</ref> The Susquehannocks' [[Population history of indigenous peoples of the Americas|numbers were greatly reduced]] by disease and warfare with the [[Iroquois|Five Nations of the Iroquois]], and by 1675 they had died out, moved away, or been [[cultural assimilation|assimilated]] into other tribes.<ref name=indians/><ref name=donehoo/> After this, the Iroquois exercised nominal control of the lands of the West Branch Susquehanna River valley. They also lived in long houses, primarily in what is now [[New York (state)|New York]], and had a strong [[Confederation#Iroquois League|confederacy]] which gave them power beyond their numbers. To fill the void left by the demise of the Susquehannocks, the Iroquois encouraged such displaced eastern tribes as the [[Shawnee]] and [[Lenape]] (or Delaware) to settle in the West Branch watershed.<ref name=indians/><ref name=donehoo>Donehoo, pp. 215–220.</ref>
The [[Seneca nation|Seneca]] tribe of the Iroquois hunted in much of Pennsylvania and the Quehanna area.<ref>Donehoo, pp. 177–183.</ref> The Iroquois and other tribes used the [[Great Shamokin Path]], the major native east–west path connecting the Susquehanna and [[Allegheny River]] basins, which passed south of what is now the wild area. The native village of Chinklacamoose (or Chingleclamouche) was on this path at the West Branch Susquehanna River, at what is now [[Clearfield, Pennsylvania|Clearfield]] to the southwest of Quehanna. The [[Sinnemahoning Path]] along [[Sinnemahoning Creek]] ran north of Quehanna; as the path with the gentlest grade, it may have been the route the first [[Paleo-Indians]] took entering this part of Pennsylvania from the west.<ref name=path>Wallace, "Indian Paths in Pennsylvania", pp. 27–30, 66–72, 155–156.</ref>
The [[French and Indian War]] (1754–1763) and the subsequent colonial expansion encouraged the migration of many Native Americans westward to the [[Ohio River#Drainage basin|Ohio River basin]]. In October 1784, the United States acquired a large tract of land, including what is now Quehanna Wild Area, from the Iroquois in the [[Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1784)|Second Treaty of Fort Stanwix]]; this acquisition is known as the Last Purchase, as it completed the series of purchases from the resident Native American tribes of lands within the boundaries of Pennsylvania, initiated by [[William Penn]] and continued by his heirs.<ref name=indians/>
Although most of the Native Americans left this area of Pennsylvania, the state's Native American heritage can be found in many of its place names. The Susquehannocks were also known as the Susquehanna, from which the [[Susquehanna River]] and its West Branch obtained their names.<ref name=donehoo/> In the 1950s the [[Curtiss-Wright]] Corporation coined the name "Quehanna" for its nuclear reservation, which it derived from the last three syllables of "Susquehanna",<ref name=fergus>Fergus, pp. 117–120, 181–183.</ref> "in honor of the river that drained the entire region".<ref name=dreams/> Part of Quehanna Wild Area lies in the Moshannon State Forest, named for [[Moshannon Creek]], which means "moose stream" or "elk stream" in the [[Lenape language]].<ref>Donehoo, pp. 120–121.</ref> Sinnemahoning Creek's name means "stony [[salt lick]]" in Lenape.<ref>Donehoo, pp. 206–207.</ref>
=== Lumber era === Prior to the arrival of [[William Penn]] and his [[Religious Society of Friends|Quaker]] colonists in 1682, forests covered up to 90 percent of what is now Pennsylvania: more than {{convert|31000|sqmi}} of [[eastern white pine]], [[Tsuga canadensis|eastern hemlock]], and a mix of [[hardwood]]s.<ref name="timber">{{cite web|url=http://www.lumbermuseum.org/history.html|title=The Pennsylvania Lumber Museum – History|access-date=March 3, 2010|publisher=Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission}}</ref> Scull's 1770 map of the [[Province of Pennsylvania]] showed the colonists' ignorance of the land north of the West Branch Susquehanna River; Sinnemahoning Creek was missing, and the region that includes Quehanna was labeled "Buffaloe Swamp".<ref name="seeley 3">Seeley, p. 3.</ref><ref>For a copy of Scull's 1770 map, please see [http://www.mapsofpa.com/18thcentury/1777fadenatlaspa.jpg here].</ref> This began to change when the land was purchased from the Iroquois in 1784, and became part of [[Northumberland County, Pennsylvania|Northumberland County]]. In 1795 it became part of [[Lycoming County, Pennsylvania|Lycoming County]];<ref>Meginness, Chapter XIII.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/dam/counties/pdfs/Lycoming.pdf|title=Lycoming County 5th class|access-date=June 8, 2009|publisher=[[Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission]]}}</ref> as the new county was divided into more townships, Quehanna became part of Chingleclamouche Township (named for the native village). Chingleclamouche Township was included in [[Clearfield County, Pennsylvania|Clearfield County]] when it was established in 1804. Later it was divided between at least three counties and many townships, and no longer exists under that name.<ref name="seeley 3"/>
[[File:Splash Dam 2.JPG|thumb|300px|left|alt=Black and white image of a wide dam made of logs with a rectangular opening in the center, through which logs and water are flowing. The background is mountainous.|A [[splash dam]] discharging water and logs in the West Branch Susquehanna River basin]] The southern part of Quehanna Wild Area is now in parts of [[Covington Township, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania|Covington]], [[Girard Township, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania|Girard]], and [[Karthaus Township, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania|Karthaus]] townships in Clearfield County; they were incorporated in 1817, 1832, and 1841.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/dam/counties/pdfs/Clearfield.pdf|title=Clearfield County 6th class|access-date=March 2, 2010|publisher=Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission}}</ref> The northwest part of Quehanna is in [[Benezette Township, Elk County, Pennsylvania|Benezette Township]] in [[Elk County, Pennsylvania|Elk County]], established in 1843.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/dam/counties/pdfs/Elk.pdf|title=Elk County 7th class|access-date=March 2, 2010|publisher=Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission}}</ref> The northeast part of Quehanna is in [[Cameron County, Pennsylvania|Cameron County]] (incorporated in 1860) in [[Gibson Township, Cameron County, Pennsylvania|Gibson Township]], which was formed in 1804 while part of Clearfield County.<ref name="cameron">{{cite web|url=http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/dam/counties/pdfs/Cameron.pdf|title=Cameron County 8th class|access-date=March 2, 2010|publisher=Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission}}</ref>
The first [[European colonization of the Americas|European American]] settlers arrived in Chingleclamouche Township in about 1793, and the first sawmill in Clearfield County began operating in 1805. Settlers initially occupied land along the river and creeks, as these provided a means of transportation. Some settlers would harvest timber and float it downstream once a year to make money for items they could not produce themselves, but by 1820 the first full-time lumbering operations began in the region. The white pine was the most sought after tree, yielding [[spar (sailing)|spar]]s for ships and timber for buildings. Hardwoods were also harvested, and eventually hemlocks were cut for their wood and their bark, which contained [[tannin]]s used in [[tanning (leather)|tanning]] leather.<ref name=s4>Seeley, pp. 4–6.</ref>
[[File:CPL Train Moshannon SF.jpg|thumb|alt=Black and white image of a steam locomotive pulling a crane and several cars of logs. In the foreground are large tree stumps.|A logging train of the Central Pennsylvania Lumber Co., which clearcut the Quehanna plateau from 1907 to 1911<ref name="moshannon map 98"/>]] As lumber became an industry in Pennsylvania, the rivers and creeks were declared public highways by the [[Pennsylvania General Assembly]]. This permitted their use to float logs to sawmills and markets. [[Log boom]]s were placed on the West Branch Susquehanna River to catch the floating timber; [[Lock Haven, Pennsylvania|Lock Haven]] built a boom in 1849, and [[Williamsport, Pennsylvania|Williamsport]]'s [[Susquehanna Boom]] opened in 1851.<ref name=s4/><ref>Taber, Chapter 2.</ref> Businesses purchased vast tracts of land and built [[splash dam]]s on the creeks; these dams controlled water in small streams that would otherwise be unable to carry logs and rafts. For example, in 1871 a single splash dam on the [[Sinnemahoning Creek#Bennett Branch Sinnemahoning Creek and tributaries|Bennett Branch of Sinnemahoning Creek]] could release enough water to produce a wave {{convert|2|ft|1}} high on the [[main stem]] for two hours. [[Mosquito Creek (Pennsylvania)|Mosquito Creek]], which drains much of the southern part of Quehanna Wild Area, had at least nine splash dams in its watershed.<ref>Seeley, p. 16.</ref> This was the predominant lumber transport system in the Quehanna region from 1865 to 1885 and after 1850, five different kinds of lumber rafts could be found on its streams and river.<ref name=s4/>
Much of the timber was too remote to be transported via the streams, and [[forest railway|logging railroads]] were the next development in the Quehanna lumber era. In or around 1880, these railroads allowed the [[clearcutting]] of the remaining forests. The Quehanna plateau was unusual in using [[standard gauge]] track for its logging railroads: most such railways were [[narrow gauge]]. The logging railroads used special [[geared steam locomotive]]s, such as the [[Shay locomotive|Shay]], [[Climax locomotive|Climax]] and [[Heisler locomotive|Heisler]].<ref name=s6>Seeley, pp. 6–7.</ref> Nine companies operated logging railroads in what became Moshannon State Forest; the Goodyear Lumber Company was the largest and cut much of what became Quehanna Wild Area between 1902 and 1912. The Central Pennsylvania Lumber Company logged land in the northern part of the wild area between 1907 and 1911.<ref name="moshannon map 98">{{cite news|title=History of Moshannon State Forest / Moshannon State Forest Public Use Map|publisher=Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Forestry|year=1998|author=Frank, O. Lynn}} Note: this is a map on one side and an informational brochure on the other side.</ref>
[[File:Pennsylvania Desert 3.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Black and white image of a man standing in a wasteland of massive tree stumps that stretch to the horizon. A few small tree trunks are standing.|Clearcutting led to the "Pennsylvania Desert".]] There were only two major roads on the Quehanna plateau in the 19th and early 20th centuries, both originally [[toll road|turnpikes]]. The Caledonia Pike ran east–west from [[Bellefonte, Pennsylvania|Bellefonte]] to [[Smethport, Pennsylvania|Smethport]], and passed south of what became the wild area, while the Driftwood Pike ran from near Karthaus north to [[Driftwood, Pennsylvania|Driftwood]] on the Sinnemahoning, and passed through the wild area.<ref>Seeley, pp. 9, 12.</ref> [[Wagon train]]s and railroads brought supplies to the lumber camps in the woods; some [[lumberjack|wood hicks]] set up small farms on cleared land that also provided food.<ref name=s6/> There were at least eight farms in Quehanna, though they were not very productive because of "poorly drained acid soil and a short growing season".<ref name=s6/>
The lumber era in Quehanna did not last; the [[old-growth forest|old-growth]] and [[secondary forest|second-growth forests]] were clearcut by the early 20th century. Fire had always been a hazard; the sparks from logging steam engines started many [[wildfire]]s, and more wood may have been lost to fires than to logging in some areas. On the clearcut land nothing remained except the discarded, dried-out tree tops, which were very flammable; much of the land burned and was left barren. The soil was depleted of nutrients, fires baked the ground hard, and jungles of blueberries, blackberries, and mountain laurel covered the clearcut land, which became known as the "Pennsylvania Desert".<ref name="timber"/><ref name=s6/><ref name=doaf>Owlett, pp. 53–62.</ref> {{Clear}}
=== State forests === [[File:Quehanna Hoover Road Trail.jpg|thumb|alt=View along a cleared path through a forest of leafless trees and a few pines|Old Hoover Road, a hiking trail in M.K. Goddard/Wykoff Run Natural Area, was originally the Driftwood Pike, then a state forest road.]] As the timber was exhausted and the land burned, many companies abandoned their holdings.<ref name=doaf/> Conservationists such as [[Joseph Rothrock]] became concerned that the forests would not regrow without proper management. They called for a change in the philosophy of forest management and for the state to purchase land from the lumber companies. In 1895, Rothrock was appointed the first forestry commissioner in what became the Pennsylvania Department of Forests and Waters, the forerunner of today's [[Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources|Department of Conservation and Natural Resources]] (DCNR). In 1897, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed legislation that authorized the purchase of "unseated lands for forest reservations", and the first of the [[List of Pennsylvania state forests|Pennsylvania state forest lands]] were acquired the following year.<ref name="vfsfhistory">{{cite web|url=http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/stateforests/williampennhistory.aspx|title=History of the William Penn State Forest|access-date=March 24, 2011|publisher=Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517171204/http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/stateforests/williampennhistory.aspx|archive-date=May 17, 2008}}</ref><ref>Thorpe, pp. 2–4, 7–10.</ref>
The state first bought land that became the Moshannon State Forest in 1898; the second purchase, and first in the Quehanna region, was {{convert|3263|acre}} in the Three Runs area, acquired for $1 an acre ($2.47 a hectare) in 1900. Three smaller state forests (Karthaus, Sinnemahoning, and Moshannon) were merged to form the present Moshannon State Forest; in 1997, the forest covered {{convert|131622|acre}}. The first purchase for the Elk State Forest was made in 1900, and by 1997 it encompassed {{convert|197729|acre}}. Forty-six percent, or {{convert|22179|acre}}, of the total {{convert|48186|acre}} of Quehanna Wild Area lies in the Elk State Forest. The remainder lies in the Moshannon State Forest.<ref name="elk sf">{{cite web|url=http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/stateforests/elkwild.aspx|title=Natural & Wild Areas near the Elk State Forest|publisher=Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources|access-date=March 24, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528190450/http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/stateforests/elkwild.aspx|archive-date=May 28, 2008}}</ref><ref name=thorpe/>
The state established a tree nursery in the Moshannon State Forest in 1911, which became the largest in Pennsylvania before it closed in 1980.<ref name=thorpe/> In addition to planting millions of trees, in 1913 the state encouraged use of state forest lands by allowing permanent leases for camp sites; when the state stopped issuing new permits in 1970, 4,500 campsites had been leased.<ref name=thorpe/> The [[Pennsylvania Game Commission]] began purchasing land for state [[game preserve]]s in 1920,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=512&objID=9109&PageID=683448&mode=2&contentid=http://pubcontent.state.pa.us/publishedcontent/publish/marketingsites/game_commission/content/wildlife/research/wildlife_conservation_history/Conservation_History_1920_to_1929_CI.html|title=Wildlife Conservation History – 1920 to 1929|publisher=Pennsylvania Game Commission|access-date=March 25, 2010|archive-date=April 1, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401174829/http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=512&objID=9109&PageID=683448&mode=2&contentid=http://pubcontent.state.pa.us/publishedcontent/publish/marketingsites/game_commission/content/wildlife/research/wildlife_conservation_history/Conservation_History_1920_to_1929_CI.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> and by 1941, State Game Lands 34, which is partly in Quehanna Wild Area, had been established.<ref>{{cite map|url=https://gis.penndot.gov/BPR_PDF_FILES/MAPS/Type_10_GHS_Historical_Scans/Clearfield_1941_Sheet_1.pdf|title=General Highway Map, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania|year=1941|publisher=Pennsylvania Department of Highways|access-date=March 6, 2010}}</ref> Despite these conservation efforts, major forest fires swept the Moshannon and Elk state forests in 1912, 1913, 1926, and 1930, and minor fires occurred in other years.<ref name=thorpe>Thorpe, pp. 16–18, 32, 59–61, 71–73.</ref>
[[File:S118 CCC Men on Truck.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Black and white image of a stakebed truck from the 1930s with two men standing in front and about a dozen men in the back. The truck is labeled ECW (Emergency Conservation Work, original name of the CCC) above the windshield, and "S-118 F-101" on the door.|Men of Civilian Conservation Corps Camp S118, who worked in the Quehanna area]] During the [[Great Depression]], the [[Civilian Conservation Corps]] (CCC) established ten camps in Moshannon State Forest, and ten in Elk State Forest. The young men of the CCC planted trees, blazed new trails, built roads and bridges, and fought fires, which continued to be a problem. In 1938 a fast-moving fire in the Elk State Forest, north of Quehanna, killed eight firefighters. The CCC also built structures and established or improved many of the [[List of Pennsylvania state parks|state parks]], including [[Parker Dam State Park|Parker Dam]] and [[S. B. Elliott State Park]]s on the western Quehanna plateau. The United States' entry into World War II ended the CCC, and all its camps were closed by the summer of 1942. The [[Quehanna Trail]] passes near or through the sites of several former CCC camps.<ref name=thorpe/><ref>Speakman, Appendix.</ref><ref>Paige, Chapter One.</ref>
Other Depression-era public works projects shaped the area. The [[Works Progress Administration]] (WPA) had at least two camps for World War I veterans in the Quehanna area, and built the Karthaus emergency landing field for [[Airmails of the United States|airmail planes]], similar to those that became [[Mid-State Regional Airport]] and [[Cherry Springs Airport]]. The {{nowrap|3,700-by-1,800-foot (1,100 by 550 m)}} airfield was built in 1935 and 1936 along Hoover Road (the old Driftwood Pike), just north of what is now M.K. Goddard/Wykoff Run Natural Area. During World War II, the landing strip was blocked to prevent enemy planes from secretly landing there.<ref>Seeley, pp. 14, 28.</ref><ref>Sayers, p. 77.</ref>
In 1946 the Mosquito Creek Sportsmen's Association was founded to promote conservation in the region. One of the association's initial concerns was the acidification of streams, which they originally attributed to [[tannic acid]] from the trees used by the beavers to construct their [[beaver dam|dams]]. With the assistance of Pennsylvania's Department of Forests and Waters, Game Commission, and [[Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission|Fish and Boat Commission]], they dynamited 79 dams. Afterward, they discovered the water was acidic upstream of the dams too, and eventually realized that the problem was caused by [[acid rain]], not the beavers. The association has operated several stations to reduce the acidity of Mosquito Creek and its tributaries, with technical assistance from the [[Pennsylvania State University]] (Penn State).<ref>Seeley, pp. 10, 23.</ref><ref>Sayers, pp. 37–41, 105–113.</ref>
=== Atoms for Peace === [[File:7-Reactor Pool Full.jpg|thumb|alt=Black and white image of a pool of water with walls partially dividing it. A metal bridge is at the rear of the pool with a long metal assembly hanging from it into the pool. On the bridge at left two men in white lab coats look at a console.|The pool reactor in Curtiss-Wright's research facility. The nuclear core is in the water, and the control panel is on the bridge.]] In a December 8, 1953 speech to the [[United Nations]], President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] announced a new [[Atoms for Peace]] policy, and [[83rd United States Congress|Congress]] enacted his program into law the following year.<ref name=dreams/> Atoms for Peace "made funding accessible to anyone who had the imagination, if not the ability, to harness the atom's power for peaceful purposes".<ref name="glazer">{{cite news|title=Quehanna Served as Atomic Energy Testing Area|author=Glazer, Mike|work=[[Williamsport Sun-Gazette]]|location=Williamsport, Pennsylvania|page=B5|date=September 13, 1998}}</ref> Under the new program, the airplane manufacturer [[Curtiss-Wright|Curtiss-Wright Corporation]] sought a large isolated area in central Pennsylvania "for the development of nuclear-powered [[jet engine]]s and to conduct research in [[nucleonics]], [[metallurgy]], [[ultrasonics]], [[electronics]], chemicals and plastics".<ref name="brp">{{cite web|url=http://www.dep.state.pa.us/brp/Decom_and_Env_Sur/PA_Decommissioning_Site_Summaries.htm#PGQue|title=Pennsylvania Decommissioning Site Summaries: PermaGrain Products, Inc, Quehanna Wild Area, Karthaus, PA NRC License 37-17860-02, NRC Docket 030-29288|publisher=Decommissioning & Environmental Surveillance Division, Bureau of Radiation Protection, [[Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection]]|year=2010|access-date=March 9, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528181548/http://www.dep.state.pa.us/brp/Decom_and_Env_Sur/PA_Decommissioning_Site_Summaries.htm#PGQue|archive-date=May 28, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>Stranahan, p. 188.</ref> Curtiss-Wright worked closely with the state, and in June 1955, [[List of Governors of Pennsylvania|Governor]] [[George M. Leader]] signed legislation that authorized the construction of a research facility at Quehanna. The [[Commonwealth (U.S. state)|Commonwealth]] of Pennsylvania sold Curtiss-Wright {{convert|8597|acre}} for $181,250 ($22.50 an acre, $55.60 a hectare), and gave the company a 99-year lease on the remaining {{convert|42596|acre}} at $30,000 a year. Curtiss-Wright controlled {{convert|51193|acre|sqmi km2|1}} in a regular 16-sided polygon, which was easier to fence than a circular area.<ref name=dreams/><ref name="glazer"/><ref name="future">{{cite news|title=Future of Quehanna a Much-Discussed Topic|work=[[Williamsport Sun-Gazette]]|location=Williamsport, Pennsylvania|page=8|date=June 15, 1960}}</ref><ref name="lizard">{{cite news|title=Quehanna area offers wild array of autumn colors|author=Hermann, Michael|work=Lizard Tracks, [[Centre Daily Times]]|date=October 23, 1998|url=http://knightmares.com/design/web/purplelizard/docs/1998/102298.htm|access-date=March 8, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305002344/http://knightmares.com/design/web/purplelizard/docs/1998/102298.htm|archive-date=2016-03-05|url-status=dead}}</ref>
The state constructed $1.6 million of roads to the area; the Quehanna Highway was built on parts of an old CCC road, which followed an earlier logging railroad grade. Pennsylvania also canceled 212 camp site leases to help ensure security for the installation. Curtiss-Wright built three facilities on its land. The first was a nuclear research center with a [[nuclear reactor]] and six [[radiation shield|shielded]] [[nuclear radiation|radiation]] [[containment building|containment]] chambers for handling radioactive isotopes, referred to as [[hot cell]]s, at the end of Reactor Road. The second was for jet engine trials, and had two test cells with bunkers just north of Quehanna Highway, about {{convert|0.5|mi|1}} apart. The northern test cell was at the center of the 16-sided polygon; even if a jet engine broke its moorings, it could not leave the polygonal area. Both of these were on the land which Curtiss-Wright had purchased, which was a regular [[octagon]] surrounded with a {{convert|24|mi|adj=on}} fence built by forest rangers, supervised from three guard houses on Quehanna Highway and Wykoff Run Road. The third installation was an industrial complex at the southeast edge of the polygon, in Karthaus Township, on the Quehanna Highway. At this site, a Curtiss-Wright division manufactured Curon foam for furniture and household products and used [[beryllium oxide]] to make high-temperature [[ceramic]]s for application in the nuclear industry.<ref name=dreams/><ref name="glazer"/><ref name="future"/><ref name="lizard"/><ref name=s12>Seeley, pp. 12–13.</ref>
[[File:Quehanna Reactor and Jet Bunkers 1958 labels.png|thumb|left|300px|alt=Black and white aerial view of several roads through a forest with a few buildings. The image is labeled "Jet engine test cells" in the upper right corner with buildings in two cleared circles at end of small roads labeled "North" and "South". In the lower left corner is a larger building in a cleared area labeled "Reactor & hot cells". The road to this is labeled "Reactor Road" and it leads to the labeled "Quehanna Highway". A clearcut strip is labeled "Electricity transmission line".|1958 aerial view of the reactor and jet engine test cells]] In 1956 Curtiss-Wright began isotope work at the facility,<ref name=brp/> and ''[[The New York Times]]'' published two stories on the new nuclear research laboratory that year, followed by a November 1957 report that the one-megawatt nuclear reactor was completed.<ref>{{cite news|title=New Nuclear Laboratory|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=May 29, 1956|page=34}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Curtiss Plans Atomic Center|work=The New York Times|date=May 30, 1956|page=27}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=One-Megawatt 'Swimming Pool' Reactor Completed|work=The New York Times|page=24|date=November 2, 1957}}</ref> In 1958, the corporation received a twenty-year license from the [[United States Atomic Energy Commission|Atomic Energy Commission]] (AEC) to operate a four-megawatt [[open pool reactor|open pool nuclear research reactor]], and received permission from the Pennsylvania Sanitary Water Board to dispose of some [[radioactive waste]] in Meeker Run, a [[tributary]] of Mosquito Creek.<ref name=dreams>Stranahan, pp. 188–193, 211–212.</ref> The project was billed as "the greatest thing that ever happened in North Central Pennsylvania", and was expected to employ between 7,000 and 8,000 people.<ref name="future"/> Curtiss-Wright spent $30 million on the project, and developed a community for its scientific and technical staff at the village of [[Pine Glen, Pennsylvania|Pine Glen]], southeast of Karthaus in Centre County.<ref name=dreams/>
By 1960 the [[United States Air Force|Air Force]] had decided not to pursue nuclear-powered aircraft, and the federal government canceled $70 million in "high-altitude testing contracts" with Curtiss-Wright.<ref name=dreams/><ref name="future"/> By June 1960, the reactor was on standby and only 750 employees remained, 400 of whom were in the Curon foam division; many engineers and scientists had already left.<ref name="future"/> On August 20, 1960, Curtiss-Wright announced that it was donating the reactor facility to Penn State and selling its Curon foam division; the remaining 235 employees lost their jobs.<ref>{{cite news|title=Research Plan Set by Curtiss-Wright|work=The New York Times|date=August 22, 1960|page=35}}</ref> Penn State, located about an hour south of Quehanna, had its [[Pennsylvania State University Radiation Science & Engineering Center|own nuclear reactor]], but intended to use the Quehanna facility for research and training.<ref name=brp/>
The Curtis-Wright reactor was dismantled and its fuel returned to the AEC. Martin Company, which soon became [[Martin Marietta]], leased the hot cells, intending to use them in the manufacture of small [[radioisotope thermoelectric generator]]s. Curtiss-Wright warned Penn State "that the radiation involved in Martin's operations would be 'extremely high' and of a type that posed a particular risk to human health",<ref name=dreams/> but Curtiss-Wright itself had left both solid and liquid radioactive waste in the facility. Some of the Curtiss-Wright waste was contaminated with toxic beryllium oxide. Penn State had acquired the reactor license, and with it came legal responsibility for the nuclear waste on the site; its plan with the AEC called for the release of 90 percent of the liquid radioactive waste into the environment and the burial of most radioactive solids on site. Items coated with beryllium oxide dust "were covered in plastic and buried out in the woods", where some were unearthed by black bears and [[white-tailed deer]].<ref name=dreams/><ref name=brp/><ref name=say72>Sayers, p. 72.</ref> Once jet engine testing stopped, the bunkers at the test cells were used "to store hazardous and explosive material".<ref name="young"/>
[[File:10-Cell Face Wide View.jpg|thumb|alt=Black and white view of a white wall with six rectangular windows and three men in white coats in front of them, lit by overhead lighting. Long cylindrical rods with handles hang from the ceiling in front of each window.|The hot cells in the facility were used to remotely handle materials too radioactive to deal with directly.]] In 1962 Martin Marietta began to manufacture [[Systems Nuclear Auxiliary Power Program|Systems for Nuclear Auxiliary Power]] (SNAP) thermoelectric generators under a contract with the AEC; their AEC license allowed them to have up to 6 million [[Curie (unit)|curie]]s of radioactive [[strontium-90]] in the form of [[strontium titanate]], which powered the SNAP generators. A SNAP-7 reactor made at Quehanna was used in the world's first nuclear-powered lighthouse, the [[Baltimore Harbor Light]], from May 1964 to April 1966.<ref name=dreams/><ref name=brp/> In early 1963, Curtiss-Wright still owned or leased all of Quehanna and sublet land along Quehanna Highway to a firm that recovered [[copper]] from wire by burning off its insulation, a procedure that contaminated the soil. On July 12, 1963, Governor [[William Scranton]] announced the termination of Curtiss-Wright's lease on {{convert|42596|acre}}; the state paid the company for the roads it had built, and Curtiss-Wright donated six of the eight buildings in the industrial complex to the state.<ref name=sa59>Sayers, pp. 53–59.</ref> In 1965 the state legislature passed an act declaring the former leased area a [[wilderness area]],<ref name=thorpe/><ref name=sa59/> and [[Maurice K. Goddard]], secretary of the Department of Forests and Waters, named it the Quehanna Wilderness Area.<ref>Sayers, p. 61.</ref>
Although Martin Marietta completed its AEC contract and its lease expired on December 21, 1966, it had to stay at the reactor site "until radiation contamination was brought to acceptable levels".<ref name=sa59/> Martin Marietta partially decontaminated the site, and in April 1967 undertook a joint radiological survey with Penn State and the AEC. The survey found "licensable {{sic}} quantities of strontium-90 stayed behind as structural contamination and residual radioactivity in piping and tanks, estimated at about 0.2 curies".<ref name=brp/> This met the standards for that day, although Penn State did raise questions about the contamination remaining.<ref name=brp/> [[Strontium]] is chemically very similar to [[calcium]] (both are [[alkaline earth metal]]s) and can be absorbed by the body, where it is chiefly incorporated into bones. Strontium-90 decays by [[beta decay]] and has a [[half-life]] of 29 years; when it is in the body, its radioactivity can lead to [[bone cancer]] and [[leukemia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.remm.nlm.gov/ANL_ContaminantFactSheets_All_070418.pdf|title=Human Health Fact Sheet: Strontium|publisher=[[Argonne National Laboratory]], EVS|date=November 2006|access-date=March 18, 2014}}</ref>
Many in the conservation movement urged the state to buy back the land, especially after the Curtiss-Wright lease was canceled. In April 1967 Penn State vacated the site and gave the reactor complex to the state. Martin Marietta departed in June 1967, and early in that same year, Pennsylvania bought the remaining land back from Curtiss-Wright for $992,500, about $811,000 more than they had sold it for in 1955. Various usage plans for the area were proposed, including: a vacation resort with a large artificial lake, motels, [[golf course]]s, and [[honeymoon]] resort; a Penn State game preserve stocked with exotic animals like [[bison]] and [[boar]]; a large youth camp for several hundred children; and a radioactive waste disposal site. By November 1967, all of the land was back in the state forests and state game lands.<ref name=brp/><ref name=s12/><ref name=sa59/>
=== Protected area and reclamation ===
==== Reactor facility ==== In 1967, Pennsylvania leased the reactor complex to the [[The Apollo Affair|Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corporation]] (NUMEC), which already had a federal license to work with nuclear materials. NUMEC, which soon became a subsidiary of [[ARCO|Atlantic-Richfield Corporation]] (ARCO), set up a large irradiator in what had been the reactor pool. The irradiator contained over 1 million curies of [[cobalt-60]] to produce intense [[gamma ray]]s, which were used to sterilize medical equipment and irradiate food and wood. In the spring of 1967 the state had concluded that radiation contamination at the Quehanna site "could never be completely cleaned up", and so was glad to find a tenant with nuclear experience.<ref name=dreams/><ref name=brp/>
[[File:2-Grinder Use Test Cut.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A robot with a metal arm is using its grinding wheel to cut into a wall, sending a shower of sparks upward.|The robot which disassembled the most contaminated parts of the facility in action]] A group of NUMEC employees discovered that irradiating hardwood treated with plastics produced very durable flooring. In 1978 they formed PermaGrain Products, Inc. as a separate company from ARCO, and purchased the rights to the process as well as "the main irradiator, a smaller shielded irradiator and related equipment".<ref name=brp/> PermaGrain sold the flooring for use in [[basketball court]]s and gymnasiums, and was the longest occupant of the Quehanna facility, operating there from 1978 to December 2002. PermaGrain also let Neutron Products, Inc., a Maryland company, do cobalt-60 work in its hot cells, which required an amendment of their license from the [[Nuclear Regulatory Commission]] (NRC, the successor to the AEC).<ref name=dreams/><ref name=brp/><ref>Sayers, p. 64.</ref>
In 1993, strontium-90 contamination in the reactor facility led the NRC to require PermaGrain to begin decontamination work, and the Pennsylvania DEP commissioned a "site characterization study".<ref name=brp/> In 1998, a firm named NES began the cleanup work; they changed their name to Scientech in 1999 and to [[EnergySolutions]] in 2006. The cleanup was originally estimated to take six months; by 2006 it had taken 8 years and cost $30 million. According to the [[Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection]]'s (DEP) Bureau of Radiation Protection: "Inadequate characterization of the site and the presence of ongoing industrial operations resulted in many project delays and increased costs."<ref name=brp/> The hot cells proved to have more radioactive sources than originally thought. In October 1998 a Scientech worker doing decontamination cut a tube in hot cell number 4, which accidentally released strontium-90 into PermaGrain's work area. As a result, a robot had to be constructed to remove 3,000 curies of cobalt-60 in two of the hot cells, dismantle cell 4, and decontaminate the rest remotely.<ref name=brp/>
[[File:Reactor Road Gate.jpg|thumb|alt=A gate made out of metal pipe with a STOP sign blocks a narrow blacktop road, which stretches off in a straight line into the distance between trees.|Reactor Road in 2010; even though the reactor has been demolished, access to the site by vehicles is still restricted.]] After the accidental release, another radiological survey was performed, and the state government concluded that PermaGrain needed to be relocated. The DCNR made the policy decision that Quehanna Wild Area would be closed to industrial uses. After looking at multiple sites with Clearfield County development authorities, a new site for PermaGrain Products was purchased, and the company submitted its plans for a new building and license to the NRC in October 2001. In order to approve the move to the new site, the NRC required PermaGrain to provide an inventory of all their cobalt-60 sources, dispose of a damaged source, and dispose of any other sources not mechanically certified. However in late December 2002, PermaGrain filed for bankruptcy under [[Chapter 7, Title 11, United States Code|Chapter Seven]].<ref name=brp/> PermaGrain had employed 135 people in 1988 and 80 in 1995.<ref name=s12/>
When PermaGrain went bankrupt, about 100,000 curies of cobalt-60 were abandoned at the reactor facility, which was now under the control of Pennsylvania's government. The DEP assumed responsibility for the NRC license and legacy contamination. The [[United States Environmental Protection Agency]] (EPA), working with the NRC and state, removed the cobalt-60 from the site for disposal at the [[Low level waste|low-level radioactive waste]] facility in [[Barnwell, South Carolina]] in September 2003. Scientech continued decontamination work and demolished the hot cells; much of this work was done robotically, with financial aid from the [[United States Department of Energy|Department of Energy]].<ref name=brp/><ref name="nrc"/>
The cleanup was thought finished, so a final survey was done in December 2004, and a Final Status Survey Report was filed in February 2005. However, when the NRC and scientists from the [[Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education]] surveyed the facility in May 2005, they found many areas of contamination above the legal limits. According to the NRC's Quehanna Site Status Summary, strontium-90 had contaminated the "buildings as well as ... surface and subsurface soil" but was not in groundwater.<ref name="nrc"/> More cleanup work was done in the summer of 2005, but the site still did not meet NRC regulations. DEP concluded that "some type of migration of radioactive material [was] taking place in the concrete at the facility",<ref name="nrc"/> and changed its disposal plan. The new plan called for demolition of the building without completing decontamination, and disposal of the above ground material in a regular [[landfill]]. This plan was approved by the NRC in October 2006, and a December 2006 survey showed "that the above grade structure met the release limits" of the disposal plan.<ref name=brp/><ref name="nrc">{{cite web|url=https://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/decommissioning/complex/quehanna-formerly-permagrain-products-inc-.html|title=Quehanna (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania)|publisher=United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission|date=March 31, 2008|access-date=March 16, 2010}}</ref><ref name="orise">{{cite report|url=http://www.osti.gov/energycitations/servlets/purl/937050-SdIC73/937050.pdf|title=Confirmatory Survey Report for the Quehanna Decommissioning Project, Karthaus, Pennsylvania|author=Adams, W. C.|location=Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Tennessee|date=August 2007|publisher=United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission|doi=10.2172/937050|access-date=March 16, 2010|id=ORISE 1726-SR-01-0, TRN: US0806214|osti=937050}}</ref> The former reactor structure was demolished, and on May 13, 2009 the NRC released the state from its license for the site. As of 2011, a small octagonal "restricted area" around the reactor site is still shown on official DCNR maps.<ref name="forest maps">{{cite web|url=http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/ucmprd2/groups/public/documents/document/dcnr_001907.pdf|title=Moshannon State Forest}} and {{cite web|url=http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/ucmprd2/groups/public/documents/document/D_000878.pdf|title=Elk State Forest|publisher=Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Forestry}} Maps, 1 inch = approximately 2 miles. Retrieved March 24, 2011.</ref>
==== Contamination and cleanup ==== [[File:Quehanna Bunker.jpg|thumb|alt=Wall with a metal grate rising out of the ground. The wall is covered with graffiti.|Part of the former southern jet engine test cell bunker, which has been almost completely covered with earth]] On September 20, 1967, two Bureau of Forestry employees attempted to remove a metal ladder from a {{convert|20000|usgal|adj=on}} metal [[storage tank]] for [[jet fuel]] at the northern jet engine test cell. Both were killed in an explosion when the [[acetylene torch]] cut through the tank wall and ignited fumes inside it. A tract within the Elk State Forest at the northern edge of the wild area is known as Noble-Chambers Memorial Forest in their memory.<ref name=thorpe/><ref>Sayers, p. 49.</ref><ref>Seeley, p. 29.</ref> Although Fergus reports entering a bunker in his 2002 book,<ref name=fergus/> and Young describes a bunker's slit windows in his 2008 book,<ref name="young">Young, p. 127.</ref> as of 2010 the southern bunker was covered with earth, and the northern bunker is still completely intact and can be entered.
In 1986, former Curtiss-Wright and Martin Marietta employees testified about hazards and waste disposal practices before a hearing of the [[Pennsylvania House of Representatives]]. A former employee told how a night watchman walked through a spill in the reactor complex without knowing it; the man's car and the carpets in his house had to be destroyed as a result of the contamination. Others told about burying hundreds of drums of unknown waste from the reactor facility and digging a trench {{convert|125|by|25|ft}} and {{convert|12|ft}} deep for waste drums north of Wykoff Run Road. The locations of some sites, which included radioactive waste, beryllium oxide, and other toxic compounds, were not recorded. A forest ranger testified that he had dismantled a CCC-built drinking water fountain fed by a [[spring (hydrosphere)|spring]] because it was downhill from the reactor and he feared people might drink contaminated water from it.<ref name=dreams/><ref name=s12/><ref>Sayers, p. 75.</ref>
In 1964, drilling revealed that the Quehanna Wild Area's geology and [[hydrology]] made it unsuitable for burying waste. However, according to Seeley's ''Great Buffaloe Swamp'', a history of the Quehanna region, there are 180 contamination sites in the wild area.<ref name=s12/> Waste has been found at the former air field, within the M.K. Goddard/Wykoff Run Natural Area, near the industrial complex, at the former Lincoln Farm, and at the copper wire-burning site on the highway. These last three waste sites were cleaned in 1991 at a cost of $187,698. At the wire-burning site {{convert|150|short ton}} of contaminated soil were removed from {{convert|3|acre}}, with clean earth and grass seed placed on top of the area. The waste was also removed from the farm site, but at the industrial complex the waste was covered with {{convert|2500|cuyd}} of soil on {{convert|4|acre}} and fenced off.<ref name=s12/><ref>Sayers, pp. 85–86.</ref>
==== Piper complex and boot camp ==== [[File:Piper and Quehanna Wild Area Aerial 1958 crop.jpg|thumb|alt=Black and white aerial view of a forested area with a vertical curving highway running through a group of large buildings near the center. A smaller road runs diagonally to the top right corner.|Aerial view of the industrial complex during the Curtiss-Wright era; the Quehanna Highway runs north-south.]] The industrial complex covers about {{convert|100|acre}} on both sides of Quehanna Highway at the southeast edge of the Quehanna Wild Area. Although the industrial complex lies within the historic 16-sided polygon, it is no longer part of the wild area.<ref name="forest maps"/> After Curtiss-Wright's lease ended and it donated six of the eight buildings in the complex to the state in 1963, Pennsylvania formed the Commonwealth Industrial Research Corporation to administer and lease the Quehanna facilities, which it did until 1967.<ref name=sa59/> Over the years a series of tenants have occupied parts of the industrial complex. One company manufactured logging [[trailer (vehicle)|trailers]] there from 1967 to 1971, and another processed frozen meat from 1968 to 1970. In 1968 [[Piper Aircraft]] established a plant to make metal and plastic parts for airplanes. The complex was renamed from Quehanna to Piper, a name it retains. Piper employed up to 1,000 people, but moved its operations from Pennsylvania to Florida in 1984.<ref name=thorpe/><ref name=s12/><ref name=sa64>Sayers, pp. 64–65.</ref>
The Young Adult Conservation Corps was also based at Piper from 1977 to 1982. This federally funded program employed up to 45 young people for local conservation projects in the state parks and forests and on state game lands. In addition, [[Sylvania Electric Products]] used two buildings in the industrial complex as warehouses for light bulbs until 1993. In 1992, the [[Pennsylvania Department of Transportation]] began a [[heavy equipment (construction)|heavy equipment]] training school at Piper, which is still in operation.<ref name=thorpe/><ref name=sa64/>
In 1992 the [[Pennsylvania Department of Corrections]] opened the Quehanna Motivational [[boot camp (correctional)|Boot Camp]] at Piper as the state's "first military-style motivational boot camp".<ref name="boot">{{cite web|url=http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/hide_quehanna/11404|title=Quehanna Boot Camp|publisher=Pennsylvania Department of Corrections|access-date=March 14, 2010}}</ref> The [[Prison#Security levels|minimum security]] program for non-violent, first-time offenders has accepted both male and female inmates from the start. Originally designed to house 200, the Department of Corrections expanded the facility in the late 1990s to a capacity of 500 on about {{convert|50|acre}}. The inmates spend six months in a military-style program that offers opportunities for education and builds positive life skills; they also are offered drug and alcohol therapy. Those who successfully complete the boot camp program, which is considered an alternative to prison, are released on [[parole]].<ref name=thorpe/><ref name=sa59/><ref name="boot"/> The boot camp began to receive men and women from the "general population of state prison inmates" in 2005 and 2006, respectively.<ref name=audit/> At the end of June 2009, the facility had 494 inmates, 61 percent of whom were in the boot camp program, and cost just over $17 million a year to operate.<ref name=audit>{{cite web|url=http://www.auditorgen.state.pa.us/Reports/Performance/SO/stoQuehannaBootCamp090310.pdf|title=Performance Audit: Quehanna Motivational Boot Camp: July 1, 2006 to December 7, 2009|publisher=Pennsylvania Department of Corrections|access-date=March 24, 2011|date=September 3, 2010|archive-date=July 18, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718111009/http://www.auditorgen.state.pa.us/Reports/Performance/SO/stoQuehannaBootCamp090310.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> In January 2026 it was announced the facility will close by March 1, 2026. Future plans for the property are indeterminate.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pallotto |first=Bret |date=January 24, 2026 |title=Anticipated closing date announced for Rockview state prison, Quehanna Boot Camp |url=https://www.centredaily.com/news/local/community/article314430855.html |access-date=January 24, 2026}}</ref>
==== Wild area ==== {{See also|Marion Brooks Natural Area|M.K. Goddard/Wykoff Run Natural Area}} [[File:Quehanna Hoover Farm Blind.jpg|thumb|left|alt=An open wooden structure with a ramp leading up to it, on the edge of a large open field with large leafless trees around|Wildlife viewing blind at Hoover Farm Wildlife Viewing Area]] In December 1970 the state forest commission officially changed the designation from Quehanna Wilderness Area to Quehanna Wild Area, making it the first [[List of Pennsylvania state forest wild areas|state forest wild area]] in Pennsylvania.<ref name="eco">{{cite web|url=http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/Forestry/sfrmp/eco.htm#natural|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030623190232/http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/sfrmp/eco.htm#natural|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 23, 2003|title=State Forest Resource Management Plan: Ecological Considerations: Natural Areas and Wild Areas|publisher=Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Forestry|year=2003|access-date=March 16, 2010}}</ref><ref>Sayers, p. 62.</ref> Elk and Moshannon state forests jointly administer Quehanna's {{convert|48186|acre|sqmi km2|1}}; for comparison, this is over three times larger than the {{convert|23|sqmi|adj=on}} area of [[Manhattan]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/36/3651003.html|title=Manhattan (borough), New York|publisher=United States Census Bureau|date=February 23, 2010|access-date=March 20, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100216161056/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/36/3651003.html|archive-date=February 16, 2010}}</ref> making Quehanna the largest of the 16 wild areas in the state. According to the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry, "a wild area is an extensive area, which the general public will be permitted to see, use and enjoy for such activities as hiking, hunting, and fishing. No development of a permanent nature will be permitted in order to retain the undeveloped character of the area. These areas will be administered according to the principals of forest protection...".<ref name="eco"/>
Consequently, within a wild area, no new permanent camp leases, mines, wells, roads, or [[right-of-way (transportation)|rights-of-way]] for utility lines are allowed, although existing camps, roads, and rights-of-way may remain. Vehicles are allowed only on public roads; trails are limited to hikers, bicyclists, equestrians, and wheelchairs, and only primitive camping by backpackers is allowed.<ref name="eco"/> Quehanna has two paved roads open to vehicles, and is crossed by rights-of-way for three [[electric power transmission|electrical power lines]] and two [[pipeline transport|natural gas pipelines]].<ref name="forest maps"/> It is one of the largest areas in Pennsylvania without permanent inhabitants.<ref name="glazer"/>
[[File:Quehanna Trail 2.jpg|thumb|alt=Rear view of four hikers with large backpacks on a narrow trail through green bushes with bright white flowers. There is dappled sunlight, and small tree trunks rise in the background.|Hikers passing through [[Kalmia latifolia|mountain laurel]] on the [[Quehanna Trail]], built in 1976–1977]] The state forest system also has natural areas, with more restricted usage. According to the Bureau of Forestry, "A natural area is an area of unique scenic, historic, geologic or ecological value that will be maintained in a natural condition by allowing physical and biological processes to operate, usually without direct human intervention."<ref name="eco"/> Quehanna Wild Area contains two state forest natural areas: the {{convert|1215|acre|adj=on}} [[M.K. Goddard/Wykoff Run Natural Area]] in the center,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/FORESTRY/oldgrowth/quehanna/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150213212023/http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/FORESTRY/oldgrowth/quehanna/|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 13, 2015|title=Quehanna Wild Area, Wykoff Run Natural Area|publisher=Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources|access-date=March 16, 2010}}</ref> and the {{convert|917|acre|adj=on}} [[Marion Brooks Natural Area]] on the northwest edge.<ref name="elk drive">{{cite book|title=Elk Scenic Drive: An Adventure in 23 Chapters|publisher=Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources|year=2006|oclc=144635159}} Note: this includes four chapters on sites within the Quehanna Wild Area, Marion Brooks Natural Area (3), Beaver Run Dam Wildlife Viewing Area (4), Hoover Farm Wildlife Viewing Area (5), and M.K. Goddard/Wykoff Run Natural Area (6).</ref> Marion Brooks Natural Area, known for its {{convert|22|acre|adj=on}} stand of [[Betula papyrifera|white birch]], was formerly known as Paige Run Natural Area; in 1975 it was renamed for Marion E. Brooks, a pioneering environmentalist from Elk County.<ref name=fergus/><ref name=thorpe/><ref>McGeehan, p. 113.</ref> Quehanna Wild Area also has two wildlife viewing areas with [[hunting blind|blinds]] for observing elk and other animals: Beaver Run Dam's pond and wetlands and Hoover Farm's fields and feeding plots.<ref name="elk drive"/>
The Quehanna plateau is home to the [[Quehanna Trail]], a {{convert|73.2|mi|adj=on}} loop [[hiking trail]], about {{convert|34|mi}} of which are in Quehanna Wild Area. The trail was built in 1976 and 1977 with help from a federally funded jobs program, the Young Adult Conservation Corps, and the Pennsylvania Conservation Corps. Parts of the trail have been moved, away from damage caused by the 1985 tornado, to avoid pipelines, to circumvent the Piper Boot Camp, and to pass closer to streams.<ref>Seeley, pp. 3, 8, 12.</ref><ref>Thwaites, pp. 209–216.</ref> The wild area also has six shallow ponds for [[waterfowl]] and other wildlife, the result of dams built on marshy areas in the 1970s.<ref>Seeley, pp. 60–61.</ref> In 1997 the whole Quehanna Wild Area was declared Pennsylvania [[Important Bird Area]] #31 by the Pennsylvania [[Audubon Society]].<ref name="IBA">{{cite web|url=http://pa.audubon.org/Sites/Site31.pdf|title=Pennsylvania Important Bird Areas: Site Name Quehanna Wild Area|publisher=Pennsylvania Audubon Society|access-date=March 16, 2010|author=Martin, Robert|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718231433/http://pa.audubon.org/Sites/Site31.pdf|archive-date=July 18, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/news/resource/res1997/97-0107-res.aspx#Aud|title=Audubon names 73 important bird areas in state|publisher=Resource: [[Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources]]|date=1997-01-07|volume=1|issue=3|access-date=2012-01-05|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114044717/http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/news/resource/res1997/97-0107-res.aspx|archive-date=2012-11-14}}</ref> In 2003, the Bureau of Forestry proposed expanding the Quehanna Wild Area by incorporating more of the surrounding Elk and Moshannon State Forests.<ref>{{cite map|url=http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/Forestry/sfrmp/images/eco_quehanna.jpg|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060328004237/http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/sfrmp/images/eco_quehanna.jpg|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 28, 2006|title=Proposed Quehanna Wild Area Expansion|publisher=Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources|year=2003|access-date=March 17, 2010}}</ref>
Despite efforts to restrict use, some environmentalists criticize Quehanna's administration. Christopher Klyza, author of ''Wilderness Comes Home: Rewilding the Northeast'', notes that the Pennsylvania wild areas are not true [[wilderness]] areas. He is especially critical of the continued use of roads through the wild areas and limited logging allowed "for forest health and wildlife habitat improvements".<ref>Klyza, p. 86.</ref>
== Geology and climate == {{See also|Climate of Pennsylvania}} [[File:Wykoff Run Swift.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A stream flowing over rocks and between evergreen trees|From its source in M.K. Goddard/Wykoff Run Natural Area, Wykoff Run drops {{convert|1352|ft}} through four rock formations.<ref name="driftwood"/><ref>Shaw, p. 151.</ref>]] Quehanna Wild Area lies at an elevation of {{convert|1896|ft}} on the [[Allegheny Plateau]].<ref name="gnis">{{cite web|url={{Gnis3|1209276}}|title=Quehanna Wild Area|date=October 1, 1992|work=[[Geographic Names Information System]]|publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]|access-date=March 1, 2010}}</ref> The area falls into portions of two distinct geological [[physiographic province]]s, with all but the northernmost part in the [[Geology of Pennsylvania#Pittsburgh Low Plateau|Pittsburgh Low Plateau]], known for its coal and mineral deposits, and characterized by steep-cut stream beds. The northernmost part of the wild area, including Marion Brooks Natural Area, is in the [[Geology of Pennsylvania#Deep Valleys|Deep Valleys]] section, home to some of the most remote and wild areas of the state; streams here have cut deep valleys with steep-sided slopes.<ref>{{cite map|url=http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/topogeo/maps/map13f.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060328015016/http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/topogeo/maps/map13f.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 28, 2006|title=Map 13 Physiographic Provinces of Pennsylvania|publisher=Bureau of Topographic and Geologic Survey, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources|cartography=W. D. Sevon|date=2000|edition=Fourth|access-date=March 12, 2010|format=PDF}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Pittsburgh Low Plateau Section, Appalachian Plateaus Province|url=http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/topogeo/map13/13plps.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040308080130/http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/topogeo/map13/13plps.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 8, 2004|publisher=Pennsylvania Geologic Survey, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources|access-date=March 12, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Deep Valleys Section, Appalachian Plateaus|url=http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/topogeo/map13/13dvs.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040308080200/http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/topogeo/map13/13dvs.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 8, 2004|publisher=Pennsylvania Geologic Survey, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources|access-date=March 12, 2010}}</ref> In the southern part of Quehanna Wild Area, the Mosquito Creek gorge is up to {{convert|500|ft}} deep, and the Red Run gorge in the north is almost {{convert|900|ft}} deep.<ref>Mitchell, pp. 169–171.</ref>
The Allegheny Plateau formed in the [[Alleghenian orogeny]] some 300 million years ago, when the part of [[Gondwana]] that became Africa collided with the landmass that became North America, forming [[Pangaea]]. In the [[dissected plateau]], years of [[erosion]] have cut away the soft rocks, forming the valleys, and leaving the hardest rocks relatively untouched. The land on which Quehanna Wild Area sits was part of the coastline of a shallow sea that covered a great portion of what is now North America in the [[Pennsylvanian (geology)|Pennsylvanian]] subperiod. The high mountains to the east of the sea gradually eroded, causing a buildup of [[sediment]] made up primarily of [[clay]], [[sand]] and [[gravel]]. Tremendous pressure on the sediment caused the formation of the rocks that are found today.<ref name="roadside">Van Diver, pp. 31–35, 113–115</ref><ref name="geology book">Shultz, pp. 372–374, 391, 399, 818</ref>
At least five major rock formations from the [[Devonian]] and [[Carboniferous]] periods are present in Quehanna Wild Area. The youngest of these, which forms the highest points on the plateau, is the Pennsylvanian [[Allegheny Formation]], which has clay, coal, limestone, sandstone, and shale. Below this is the Pennsylvanian [[Pottsville Formation]], a gray conglomerate that may contain sandstone, [[siltstone]], and shale, as well as [[anthracite]] coal, and which forms much of the Quehanna plateau. The next formations are found in the valleys and gorges which the creeks have eroded over time. The first of these is the [[Mississippian age|Mississippian]] [[Pocono Formation]], which is buff-colored with shale, coal, and conglomerate inclusions; parts of this formation are also known as the Burgoon Sandstone. Below this is the late [[Devonian]] and early Mississippian [[Huntley Mountain Formation]], which is made of relatively soft grayish-red shale and olive-gray sandstone. The lowest and oldest layer is the red shale and siltstone of the [[Catskill Formation]].<ref name="driftwood">{{cite web|url=http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/topogeo/map61/driftwood15sw.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030824081830/http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/topogeo/map61/driftwood15sw.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 24, 2003|title=Atlas of Preliminary Geologic Quadrangle Maps of Pennsylvania: Driftwood|access-date=March 13, 2010|author=Berg, T. M.|publisher=Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Topographic and Geologic Survey|year=1981}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/topogeo/map61/benezette15se.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030824080944/http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/topogeo/map61/benezette15se.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 24, 2003|title=Atlas of Preliminary Geologic Quadrangle Maps of Pennsylvania: Dents Run|access-date=March 13, 2010|author=Berg, T. M.|publisher=Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Topographic and Geologic Survey|year=1981}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/topogeo/map61/theknobs.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040420092538/http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/topogeo/map61/theknobs.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 20, 2004|title=Atlas of Preliminary Geologic Quadrangle Maps of Pennsylvania: The Knobs|access-date=March 13, 2010|author=Berg, T. M.|publisher=Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Topographic and Geologic Survey|year=1981}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/topogeo/map61/devilselbow.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030824023235/http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/topogeo/map61/devilselbow.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 24, 2003|title=Atlas of Preliminary Geologic Quadrangle Maps of Pennsylvania: Devils Elbow|access-date=March 13, 2010|author=Berg, T. M.|publisher=Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Topographic and Geologic Survey|year=1981}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://mrdata.usgs.gov/geology/state/fips-unit.php?code=f42023|title=Geologic units in Cameron County, Pennsylvania|publisher=United States Geological Survey|date=February 11, 2010|access-date=March 13, 2010}}</ref>
The Allegheny Plateau has a [[continental climate]], with occasional severe low temperatures in winter and average daily [[Diurnal temperature variation|temperature ranges]] (the difference between the daily high and low) of 20 °F (11 °C) in winter and 26 °F (14 °C) <!-- Note these are delta temperature values, so can't use convert. Example - the difference between 50 F (10 C) and 70 F (21 C) is 20 F (11 C).-->in summer.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://climate.met.psu.edu/data/ncdc_pa.pdf|title=Climate of Pennsylvania|publisher=Pennsylvania State University, Pennsylvania State Climatologist|access-date=March 12, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090225124128/http://climate.met.psu.edu/data/ncdc_pa.pdf|archive-date=February 25, 2009}}</ref> Quehanna Wild Area is part of the Mosquito Creek and Wykoff Run watersheds, where the mean annual [[precipitation (meteorology)|precipitation]] is {{convert|40|to|42|in|mm|0}}.<ref name="Streams II">Shaw, pp. 143, 151</ref> Weather records are not available for Quehanna Wild Area, but they are known for the nearby village of Karthaus. The highest recorded temperature at Karthaus was {{convert|106|F}} in 2011, and the record low was {{convert|-22|F}} in 1994. On average, January is the coldest month, July is the hottest month, and June is the wettest month.<ref name="WeatherChannel">{{cite web|title=Monthly Averages for Karthaus, Pennsylvania|url=http://www.weather.com/outlook/recreation/outdoors/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USPA0806:1?role=|access-date=March 18, 2014|publisher=The Weather Channel Interactive, Inc}}</ref> {{Weather box |location = Karthaus, Pennsylvania (nearest village to Quehanna Wild Area) |single line = Yes |Jan high F = 34 |Feb high F = 38 |Mar high F = 47 |Apr high F = 61 |May high F = 71 |Jun high F = 79 |Jul high F = 83 |Aug high F = 82 |Sep high F = 74 |Oct high F = 63 |Nov high F = 51 |Dec high F = 38 |Jan low F = 17 |Feb low F = 18 |Mar low F = 24 |Apr low F = 34 |May low F = 44 |Jun low F = 54 |Jul low F = 59 |Aug low F = 58 |Sep low F = 51 |Oct low F = 39 |Nov low F = 31 |Dec low F = 23 |Jan precipitation inch = 2.55 |Feb precipitation inch = 2.39 |Mar precipitation inch = 3.34 |Apr precipitation inch = 3.46 |May precipitation inch = 3.74 |Jun precipitation inch = 4.32 |Jul precipitation inch = 4.19 |Aug precipitation inch = 3.95 |Sep precipitation inch = 4.00 |Oct precipitation inch = 3.33 |Nov precipitation inch = 3.69 |Dec precipitation inch = 2.98 |source 1 = The Weather Channel<ref name="WeatherChannel"/> |date=March 2014 }}
=== 1985 tornado === {{Main|1985 United States – Canadian tornado outbreak}} [[File:Quehanna Highway.jpg|thumb|right|alt=A straight two-lane road between evergreen trees. A signpost at right has signs reading "Cameron County" and "Gibson Township" and "Building-Sewage Permits Required Flood Plain Regulations Enforced" and "10". In the distance is a yellow sign showing a T-intersection at right.|Looking west on the Quehanna Highway at the Clearfield–Cameron county line, where the 1985 tornado crossed the road]] On May 31, 1985, an outbreak of 43 tornadoes struck northeastern [[Ohio]], western and central Pennsylvania, [[New York (state)|New York]], and southern [[Ontario]], killing 88 people. The Storm Data Center of the [[National Weather Service]] rated the outbreak "the 12th most 'significant' tornado event of all time".<ref name="carpenter"/> Pennsylvania was struck by 17 tornadoes that [[Memorial Day]], including the only [[Fujita scale#Parameters|F5]] tornado on the [[Fujita scale]] in the state's history. The tornadoes caused 65 deaths in Pennsylvania and were not dissipated by the state's mountainous landscape, "forever putting to rest the myth that such terrain can deter them".<ref name="carpenter">{{cite news|first=Mackenzie|last=Carpenter|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05149/511826.stm|title=The day the twisters came|work=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]]|location=Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania|date=May 29, 2005|access-date=February 26, 2010}}</ref>
An F4 tornado passed through Quehanna Wild Area; its path of destruction crossed the Quehanna Highway at the Clearfield–Cameron county line.<ref name="lizard"/><ref name="Grazulis">Grazulis, p. 203.</ref> It traveled over {{convert|69|mi}} of mainly dense forest and wilderness in central Pennsylvania, and damaged or destroyed buildings early in its life, including a CCC-built lodge at Parker Dam State Park. The damage path from this storm was estimated to be at least {{convert|2.2|mi}} wide.<ref name="Grazulis"/><ref name=sa89/> Its winds—{{convert|200|to|260|mph}}—ripped up small and medium-sized trees and shrubs, tore leaves and limbs from some of the big trees, and snapped others like matchsticks. As it headed west through Moshannon State Forest in Clearfield and Centre counties, [[Gregory S. Forbes]], then a meteorology professor at Penn State, said the debris from the tornado was visible on his [[WSR-57]] radar scanners.<ref name="carpenter"/><ref name="Grazulis"/> The reactor building was just north of the tornado's path and suffered $200,000 in damage, but no radiation leaks occurred.<ref name=sa89>Sayers, pp. 89–90.</ref>
The tornado outbreak injured more than 1,000 people and caused $450 million in total damages and destruction. Moshannon State Forest lost an estimated $8 million in lumber to the tornado that hit Quehanna; after the storm, $2 million in timber was salvaged in the state forest.<ref>Seeley, p. 14.</ref> In the ensuing years, the affected forest at Quehanna, though younger and smaller than the surrounding woods, has partly recovered. The official map for the Quehanna Trail is labeled "tornado zone" where the twister passed through the wild area.<ref name="lizard"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/hiking/images/Quehanna_East.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609093640/http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/hiking/images/Quehanna_East.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 9, 2011|title=Quehanna Trail, Eastern Section|year=2003|work=Map|publisher=Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources|access-date=March 23, 2010}}</ref> {{Clear}}
[[File:Quehanna Stumps 2.jpg|thumb|alt=Four large, ragged, weathered stumps, pale with exposure to the elements, in a field of low, reddish vegetation, with evergreens in the background|Stumps from logging in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, in a wetland area north of Reactor Road]]
== Ecology ==
=== Flora === The [[virgin forest]]s of what became Quehanna Wild Area were different in composition and quality than those of today. Eastern white pine and eastern hemlock were more common, often found on shady slopes and damp areas on plateaus. [[Quercus prinus|Chestnut oak]] and [[pitch pine]] favored slopes that were sandy or rocky, and the forest had a mixture of hardwoods, including [[Fraxinus|ash]], [[beech]], [[birch]], [[chestnut]], [[maple]], and [[yellow poplar]]. Each {{nowrap|acre (0.4 ha)}} of these virgin forests could produce up to {{convert|100000|board feet|lk=in|sigfig=3}} of white pine and {{convert|200000|board feet|sigfig=3}} of hemlock and hardwoods. For comparison, the same area of forest today produces a total of {{convert|5000|board feet|sigfig=3}} on average.<ref name=doaf/><ref name=thorpe/> The virgin forests cooled the land and streams. Centuries of accumulated organic matter in the forest soil caused slow percolation of rainfall into the streams, so they flowed more evenly year-round.<ref>Dillon, pp. 23–24, 46.</ref>
[[File:Quehanna Wild Area Warmth.jpg|thumb|upright|left|alt=A fallen tree lies in green ferns with sunlit dappled trees behind.|Second-growth trees in Moshannon State Forest]] The clearcutting and repeated fires changed all of this. New growth was often composed of different plants and trees than had originally been there. Near Beaver Run in Quehanna there are wetlands that were originally hemlock forest. Hemlocks [[transpiration|transpire]] large amounts of water and once they were gone the soil was too wet to support most trees; the [[bracken]] and [[fern]]s that replaced the hemlocks altered the soil qualities to discourage trees as well.<ref>Seeley, pp. 21–22.</ref> Within the Quehanna Wild Area {{convert|650|acre}} are [[wetland]]s.<ref name="iba xl">{{cite web|url=http://pa.audubon.org/IBA_Statistics/site31.xls|title=Site #31-Quehanna Wild Area|work=Spreadsheet|publisher=Pennsylvania Audubon Society|access-date=March 20, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718231550/http://pa.audubon.org/IBA_Statistics/site31.xls|archive-date=July 18, 2011}}</ref> Fires and erosion removed nutrients from the soil, and in some areas the soil was so poor in nutrients that only white birch, a [[pioneer species]], would grow there. Marion Brooks Natural Area has the largest stand of white birch in Pennsylvania and the eastern United States. These trees are now 80 to 90 years old and reaching the end of their lifespans.<ref name="elk drive"/>
Besides forest fires and tornado damage, there have been other threats to Quehanna's forests in the 20th century. Many trees were lost when [[chestnut blight]] wiped out the [[American chestnut]] trees by 1925; in the Quehanna area, this species constituted between one-quarter and one-half of the hardwoods. In the 1960s, [[White oak|white]] and chestnut oak trees had high mortality from pit scale insects and associated fungi. [[Larva]]e of [[Archips semiferanus|oak leaf roller]] moths, which [[folivore|defoliate]] oaks, first appeared on {{convert|8200|acre}} of Quehanna Wild Area in the late 1960s; at their peak in the late 1960s and early 1970s they had defoliated {{convert|234700|acre}} of Moshannon State Forest and {{convert|110000|acre}} in Elk State Forest, with moderate to heavy tree mortality. A similar pest, [[Croesia semipurpurana|oak leaf tier]], stripped {{convert|375000|acre}} of oaks in Elk State Forest by 1970. The [[gypsy moth]] defoliated over {{convert|156000|acre}} of deciduous trees in the 1970s and 1980s.<ref name=thorpe/> The forests within the Quehanna Important Bird Area are 84 percent hardwoods, 4 percent mixed hardwood and evergreens, less than 1 percent evergreens, 7 percent transitional between forests and fields, and 3 percent perennial herbaceous plants.<ref name="iba xl"/> As well as trees, the forests have [[blueberry]] and [[huckleberry]] bushes and thickets of [[Kalmia latifolia|mountain laurel]] and [[rhododendron]].<ref name=fergus/> {{Clear}}
=== Fauna === {{multiple image | align = right | image1 = Cow Elk.jpg | width1 = 200 | alt1 = An antlered elk in a sunlit field, with heads of smaller animals in the background | caption1 = Pennsylvania's elk herd, pictured here in Elk County near Quehanna WIld Area, is sought by both hunters and tourists. }} Some animals, previously present in abundance, have disappeared, or the populations declined, through habitat loss. By 1912, after the forests had been clearcut, Quehanna was covered by "vast expanses of brush, created when the root systems of cut-off trees sprouted up through the discarded tops and limbs of the logged forest".<ref name=fergus/> Once the forest fires were controlled, this [[shrubland|brush]] offered habitat for many game species. By the early 1940s, the CCC had thinned brush in many areas, and the forest had matured. Shade from the [[canopy (biology)|canopy]] decreased brush in the [[understory]]. By the early 21st century, many of the trees in Quehanna were 80 to 100 years old, and the maturation of the forests led to the disappearance of species like [[bobwhite quail]], [[Common pheasant|ring-necked pheasant]], and [[snowshoe hare]]; white-tailed deer, [[ruffed grouse]], [[black squirrel]], and [[cottontail rabbit]] all became less common. Efforts by the Mosquito Creek Sportsmen's Association to reintroduce bobwhite quail, ring-necked pheasant, and snowshoe hare have been unsuccessful.<ref>Sayers, pp. 100–101.</ref><ref name=aud>Audubon Pennsylvania, pp. 19–20.</ref>
Other animals became [[local extinction|locally extinct]] through overhunting. The last elk in Pennsylvania was killed in Elk County in 1867. The Pennsylvania Game Commission brought 177 animals from the [[Rocky Mountains]] to the state from 1913 to 1926; today the elk herd of over 600 animals can often be seen in Quehanna Wild Area.<ref name="elk drive"/> Between 1906 and 1925, Pennsylvania became so concerned about declining numbers of white-tailed deer that it imported nearly 1,200 animals from [[Michigan]] to re-establish the species, and made it the official state animal in 1959.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=514&objID=587767&mode=2|title=Abbreviated History of Pennsylvania's White-Tailed Deer Management|publisher=[[Pennsylvania Game Commission]]|access-date=March 19, 2010}}</ref> In the early 21st century, over-grazing by deer threatens plant diversity.<ref name="IBA"/> By the early 20th century, the [[fisher (animal)|fisher]], a small mammal similar to the [[European polecat]] or [[American marten]], was hunted to extinction in Pennsylvania. Between 1994 and 1998, 190 animals were released in five sites in the northern part of the state, including 23 animals along Quehanna's Wykoff Run in 1995. Breeding populations of fisher appear to have been reestablished.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pde.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/document/738951/68001f-00z_pdf|title=Pennsylvania Fisher Reintroduction Project|editor=Hardisky, Thomas S.|publisher=Pennsylvania Game Commission, Bureau of Wildlife Management|access-date=March 19, 2010|format=PDF|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120225045547/http://www.pde.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/document/738951/68001f-00z_pdf|archive-date=February 25, 2012}}</ref>
[[File:Quehanna Wild Area Still.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Shore of a small body of water with brown grass, small shrubs, bare trees, and evergreens surrounding it|Pond and wetlands at Beaver Run Wildlife Viewing Area]] Still other animals seem to thrive regardless of the maturity of the forest or the presence of the understory. Common animals found in Quehanna include [[chipmunk]]s, [[North American porcupine|porcupine]], and [[North American beaver|beaver]], omnivores such as the [[American black bear|black bear]] and [[raccoon]], and predators like [[bobcat]], [[red fox]], and [[coyote]] (which has been in Pennsylvania since the 1930s). Many of the streams in Quehanna Wild Area are known for [[trout]] (brook, brown and rainbow); some populations are wild and others are [[fish stocking|stocked]] by the [[Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission]] and Mosquito Creek Sportsmen's Association. The wild area is also home to [[timber rattlesnake]], [[Common garter snake|eastern garter snake]], and [[spring peeper]] (a type of frog), as well as butterflies like [[great spangled fritillary]], [[Monarch butterfly|monarch]], [[Limenitis arthemis|red-spotted purple]], and [[Black swallowtail|black]], [[Eastern tiger swallowtail|eastern tiger]], and [[Spicebush swallowtail|spicebush]] swallowtails. Any of these mammals, especially the white-tailed deer, can carry [[tick]]s, and such tick-borne diseases as [[Lyme disease]] are a health concern for hikers.<ref name="elk drive"/><ref name=aud/><ref>Seeley, p. 8.</ref><ref>Sayers, pp. 34–39, 113–115.</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Shedding Light on the Eastern Coyote|url=http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=514&objID=598430&mode=2|publisher=Pennsylvania Game Commission|access-date=March 19, 2010}}</ref>
As an International Bird Area, Quehanna's forests are recognized as a "large, unfragmented tract with exceptional diversity of woodland species" and are home to 102 species of birds.<ref name="IBA"/><ref name="iba xl"/> Common birds include [[American crow]], [[black-capped chickadee]], [[blue jay]], [[broad-winged hawk]], [[common raven]], [[hermit thrush]], [[house sparrow]], [[northern waterthrush]], [[European starling|starling]], [[whip-poor-will]], and [[wild turkey]]. Quehanna Wild Area includes a variety of forest, [[riparian]], and wetland habitats that support a diversity of animals. The shrub and scrubland areas left by the 1985 tornado and cleared for elk to feed in are home to [[indigo bunting]] and [[prairie warbler]], while ponds and wetlands attract waterfowl such as [[hooded merganser]] and [[wood duck]], and wading birds like [[great blue heron]]. The birch forest of Marion Brooks Natural Area is home to [[Downy woodpecker|downy]], [[Hairy woodpecker|hairy]], and [[Pileated woodpecker|pileated]] woodpeckers, the oak forest of M.K. Goddard/Wykoff Run Natural Area has [[black-throated green warbler]], [[red-eyed vireo]], and [[white-breasted nuthatch]], and its [[aspen]] groves have [[American woodcock|woodcock]]. In addition to the commonly seen [[red-tailed hawk]], other raptors include the [[northern goshawk]] and the [[Golden eagle|golden]] and [[Bald eagle|bald]] eagles.<ref name="elk drive"/><ref name="iba xl"/><ref name=aud/> {{Clear}}
== Recreation ==
=== Hiking and skiing === [[File:Quehanna Wild Area Diffused.jpg|thumb|upright|Mosquito Creek gorge is used for hiking, fishing, and hunting.|alt=A deep, winding valley stretches to the level horizon under a blue sky. The lands is covered by red-tinged trees, and a few bare trees are in the foreground.]] According to the DCNR, Quehanna Wild Area is for the public "to see, use and enjoy for such activities as hiking, hunting, and fishing".<ref name="eco"/> The main hiking trail on the Quehanna plateau is the [[Quehanna Trail]], a {{convert|73.2|mi|adj=on}} loop trail that passes through the wild area and Moshannon and Elk State Forests. The main [[trailhead]] for most hikers is at [[Parker Dam State Park]] to the west of the wild area. From there the trail, which is [[Trail blazing|blazed]] in orange, heads east to the southern part of Quehanna Wild Area, skirts Piper and the Boot Camp there, then turns north, crosses Wykoff Run and turns west again. After passing through Marion Brooks Natural Area, the trail leaves the wild area and completes the loop back at Parker Dam. The Quehanna Trail is considered a strenuous hike not just because of its length, but for its {{convert|9,700|ft|0|sp=us}} of changes in elevation. Two yellow-blazed connector trails add {{convert|30|mi|0}} to the system, and there are many side trails and small trails off the Quehanna Highway. Most trails are open to [[cross-country skiing]] in the winter. According to the DCNR, the Quehanna Trail "passes through some of the most wild and beautiful country Pennsylvania has to offer".<ref>McDonald, p. 158.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/recreation/hiking/stateforesttrails/quehannatrail/index.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807005511/http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/recreation/hiking/stateforesttrails/quehannatrail/index.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 7, 2011|title=Quehanna Trail|publisher=Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources|access-date=March 24, 2011}}</ref><ref>Seeley's book is a very detailed guide to the Quehanna Trail, two connectors, and side trails.</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Cross Country Skiing in the Quehanna Wild Area|date=February 2002|author=Thornbloom, Gary|url=http://pennsylvania.sierraclub.org/moshannon/OTT/OTT02-02QuehannaWASki.htm|publisher=Pennsylvania Chapter of the Sierra Club|access-date=March 19, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720204236/http://pennsylvania.sierraclub.org/moshannon/OTT/OTT02-02QuehannaWASki.htm|archive-date=July 20, 2011}}</ref>
=== Hunting === Susan Stranahan's ''Susquehanna: River of Dreams'' reports that before Curtiss-Wright took over the area in 1955, Quehanna was considered "some of the best hunting land in the state".<ref name=dreams/> No hunting or fishing were initially allowed on the leased land, but by July 1959 fishing on Mosquito Creek was allowed again, as was limited hunting to help control the deer. In October 1963 hunting resumed throughout the wild area, four years before the state purchased the land back from Curtiss-Wright.<ref>Sayers, pp. 50–51, 55.</ref> As of 2010, the Pennsylvania Game Commission allowed hunting of the following species found in Quehanna Wild Area: American crow, beaver, black bear, black squirrel, bobcat, bobwhite quail, cottontail rabbit, [[coyote]], elk, house sparrow, [[raccoon]], red fox, ring-necked pheasant, ruffed grouse, white-tailed deer, wild turkey, and woodcock.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=514&objID=576240&mode=2|title=Adopted 2009–10 Hunting Seasons and Bag Limits|publisher=Pennsylvania Game Commission|access-date=March 19, 2010}}</ref> The Mosquito Creek Sportsmen's Association has sponsored an annual coyote hunt each winter hunt since 1992. The club has also provided food plots for deer and elk, fed game animals in winter, planted and pruned fruit trees, stocked fish, and treated streams for acid rain. Fishing is primarily for trout.<ref>Sayers, pp. 101–116, 137–145.</ref>
=== Bird watching === The Quehanna Wild Area is also seen, used, and enjoyed by [[birdwatching|bird watcher]]s attracted by its status as an Important Bird Area. Audubon Pennsylvania and the DCNR have prepared the ''Susquehanna River Birding and Wildlife Trail'' guide which lists three sites in Quehanna: Wykoff Run, Beaver Run Wildlife Viewing Area, and the whole wild area.<ref name=aud/> The DCNR has published a guide to ''Elk Scenic Drive'' which lists 23 attractions, four in Quehanna: Marion Brooks and M.K. Goddard/Wykoff Run Natural Areas, and Beaver Run and Hoover Farm Wildlife Viewing Areas.<ref name="elk drive"/>
=== Horseback riding === Quehanna Wild Area has approximately 50 miles of shared-use trails open to horseback riding, with numerous trail heads. Some trails are quite easy, while more remote trails can be challenging. Yellowsnake Equestrian Campground near the village of Piper offers six sites geared towards horse users, albeit with very minimal facilities.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Horseback Riding in Moshannon State Forest |url=https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dcnr/recreation/where-to-go/state-forests/find-a-forest/moshannon/horseback-riding.html |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=www.pa.gov |language=en}}</ref>
{{wide image|Kunes Camp panorama.jpg|1200px|alt=Panoramic view from above of two large boulders with walls sealing off the space between them. The walls have holes for doors and windows in them, but there is no roof or doors or glass. The ruins are at left and the far boulder runs the width of the image.|Panoramic view of the ruins of Kunes Camp, a hunting cabin built in the early 20th century between two boulders, which is on a trail {{convert|1|mi}} south of Quehanna Highway<ref>{{cite web|title=Twelve Mile Run and Kunes Camp Trail — Splendid Solitude!|author=Thornbloom, Gary|url=http://pennsylvania.sierraclub.org/moshannon/OTT/OTT08-08KunesCamp.htm|publisher=Pennsylvania Chapter of the Sierra Club|date=August 2008|access-date=March 19, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720204230/http://pennsylvania.sierraclub.org/moshannon/OTT/OTT08-08KunesCamp.htm|archive-date=July 20, 2011}}</ref>}}
== References == {{Reflist|26em}}
== Sources == * {{cite book |last=Audubon Pennsylvania |author-link=National Audubon Society |author2=Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources |title=Susquehanna River Birding and Wildlife Trail |year=2004 |url=http://web1.audubon.org/trailMaps/trail-guide/site.asp?id=79 |location=Harrisburg, Pennsylvania |publisher=Audubon Pennsylvania and Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |oclc=56944102 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090418210409/http://web1.audubon.org/trailMaps/trail-guide/site.asp?id=79 |archive-date=2009-04-18 }} * {{cite book |title=Pennsylvania's Grand Canyon: A Natural & Human History |last=Dillon |first=Chuck |edition=2nd |publisher=Pine Creek Press |location=Wellsboro, Pennsylvania |year=2006 |chapter=Human Issues Affecting the Stream |oclc=25236134}} * {{cite book |last=Donehoo |first=Dr. George P. |title=A History of the Indian Villages and Place Names in Pennsylvania |orig-year=1928 |url=http://www.srbc.net/pubinfo/docs/IndianNamesDataChart.PDF |edition=Second Reprint |year=1999 |publisher=Wennawoods Publishing |location=[[Lewisburg, Pennsylvania]] |isbn=1-889037-11-7 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090304191017/http://www.srbc.net/pubinfo/docs/IndianNamesDataChart.PDF |archive-date=2009-03-04 }} ''Note'': ISBN refers to a 1999 reprint edition, URL is for the [[Susquehanna River Basin Commission]]'s web page of Native American Place names, quoting and citing the book. * {{cite book |title=Natural Pennsylvania: Exploring the State Forest Natural Areas |first=Charles |last=Fergus |chapter=Chapter 32. Marion Brooks Natural Area, Chapter 56. Wycoff Run (''sic'') |year=2002 |publisher=[[Stackpole Books]] |location=Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania |edition=1st |isbn=0-8117-2038-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E9PJxejJsigC}} * {{cite book |title=The tornado : nature's ultimate windstorm |url=https://archive.org/details/tornadonaturesul0000graz |url-access=registration |first=Thomas P. |last=Grazulis |year=2001 |publisher=[[University of Oklahoma Press]] |location=Norman, Oklahoma |isbn=0-8061-3258-2}} * {{cite book |title=Wilderness Comes Home: Rewilding the Northeast |first=Christopher McGrory |last=Klyza |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LMfTQCQkSH4C&q=quehanna+wild+area&pg=PA86 |publisher=Middlebury College Press / [[University Press of New England]] |location=Hanover, New Hampshire |year=2001 |isbn=1-58465-101-6}} * {{cite book |first=Sam A. |last=MacDonald |title=The agony of an American wilderness: loggers, environmentalists, and the struggle for control of a forgotten forest |location=Lanham [u.a.] |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |year=2005 |isbn=0-7425-4157-6}} * {{cite book |title=Elk County |first=Dennis |last=McGeehan |series=Images of America |publisher=[[Arcadia Publishing]] |location=Charleston, South Carolina |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7385-5479-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ctwbAkK_KfkC&q=Quehanna+white+birch&pg=PA113}} * {{cite book |last=Meginness |first=John Franklin |title=History of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania: including its aboriginal history; the colonial and revolutionary periods; early settlement and subsequent growth; organization and civil administration; the legal and medical professions; internal improvement; past and present history of Williamsport; manufacturing and lumber interests; religious, educational, and social development; geology and agriculture; military record; sketches of boroughs, townships, and villages; portraits and biographies of pioneers and representative citizens, etc. etc. |year=1892 |url=http://www.usgennet.org/usa/pa/county/lycoming/history/lyco-history-01.html |access-date=March 3, 2010 |edition=1st |publisher=Brown, Runk & Co. |location=Chicago, Illinois |isbn=0-7884-0428-8 |chapter=Chapter XIII. Lycoming County Organized. |chapter-url=http://www.usgennet.org/usa/pa/county/lycoming/history/Chapter-13.html}} ''Note:'' ISBN refers to the Heritage Books July 1996 reprint. URL is to a scan of the 1892 version with some [[Optical Character Recognition|OCR]] typos. * {{cite book |last=Mitchell |first=Jeff |title=Backpacking Pennsylvania: 37 Great Hikes |publisher=Stackpole Books |location=Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania |year=2005 |isbn=0-8117-3180-4}} * {{cite book |last=Owlett |first=Steven E. |title=Seasons Along the Tiadaghton: An Environmental History of the Pine Creek Gorge |year=1993 |chapter=The Death of a Forest |pages=53–62 |edition=1st |publisher=Interprint |location=Petaluma, California |isbn=0-9635905-0-2}} * {{cite book |last=Paige |first=John C. |title=The Civilian Conservation Corps and the National Park Service, 1933–1942: An Administrative History |chapter-url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/ccc/ccc1.htm |access-date=February 11, 2009 |year=1985 |publisher=U.S. National Park Service, Department of the Interior |location=Washington, D.C. |chapter=Chapter One: A Brief History of the Civilian Conservation Corps |oclc=12072830}} * {{cite book |last=Sayers |first=John A. |title=Mosquito Creek Sportsmen's Association and Quehanna Wild Area (Complements in History) |publisher=Mosquito Creek Sportsmen's Association |location=Frenchville, Pennsylvania |year=1996 |oclc=38264268}} * {{cite book |title=The Geology of Pennsylvania |editor-last=Shultz |editor-first=Charles H. |year=1999 |publisher=Pennsylvania Geological Society and Pittsburgh Geological Society |location=Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |isbn=0-8182-0227-0}} * {{cite book |author=Seeley, Ralph |title=Great Buffaloe Swamp: A Trail Guide and Historical Record for the Quehanna Plateau and the Moshannon State Forest |publisher=Quehanna Area Trails Club |location=Karthaus, Pennsylvania |year=1997 |edition=Second |oclc=60335051}} Note: OCLC refers to the third edition. * {{cite book |last=Shaw |first=Lewis C. |others=Prepared in Cooperation with the United States Department of the Interior Geological Survey |title=Pennsylvania Gazetteer of Streams Part II (Water Resources Bulletin No. 16) |date=June 1984 |edition=1st |publisher=Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Environmental Resources |location=Harrisburg, Pennsylvania |oclc=17150333}} * {{cite book |author=Speakman, Joseph M. |title=At Work in Penn's Woods: The Civilian Conservation Corps in Pennsylvania |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-271-02876-7 |publisher=[[Penn State University Press|Pennsylvania State University Press]] |location=University Park, Pennsylvania}} * {{cite book |first=Susan Q. |last=Stranahan |title=Susquehanna, River of Dreams |location=Baltimore |publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University Press]] |year=1993 |isbn=0-8018-4602-1}} * {{cite book |last=Taber III |first=Thomas T |title=Williamsport Lumber Capital |year=1995 |edition=1st |publisher=Paulhamus Litho, Inc |location=[[Montoursville, Pennsylvania]] |chapter=Chapter Two: The Boom — Making It All Possible |oclc=35920715}} * {{cite book |title=The Crown Jewel of Pennsylvania: The State Forest System |first=R.R. |last=Thorpe |publisher=Pennsylvania Forestry Association, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the U.S. Forest Service |year=1997 |oclc=37033507}} * {{cite book |last=Thwaites |first=Tom |title=Fifty Hikes in Central Pennsylvania |year=1992 |edition=Fourth updated printing |publisher=Backcountry Publications |location=[[Woodstock, Vermont]] |isbn=0-942440-24-2 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/fiftyhikesincent0000thwa }} * {{cite book |title=Roadside Geology of Pennsylvania |last=Van Diver |first=Bradford B. |year=1990 |publisher=[[Mountain Press Publishing Company]] |location=Missoula, Montana |isbn=0-87842-227-7}} * {{cite book |last=Wallace |first=Paul A. W. |title=Indians in Pennsylvania |orig-year=1961 |year=2000 |publisher=Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission |location=Harrisburg, Pennsylvania |isbn=978-0-89271-017-1}} * {{cite book |last=Wallace |first=Paul A. W. |title=Indian Paths of Pennsylvania |edition=Fourth Printing |year=1987 |publisher=Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission |location=[[Harrisburg, Pennsylvania]] |isbn=0-89271-090-X}} ''Note:'' ISBN refers to 1998 impression. * {{cite book |title=Hiking Pennsylvania: 55 of the State's Greatest Hiking Adventures |first=John L. |last=Young |publisher=Morris Book Publishing / Globe Pequot Books |year=2008 |location=Guilford, Connecticut |series=Falcon Guide: Where to Hike |isbn=978-0-7627-4450-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nLG5CAAAQBAJ }}
== External links == {{Commons category|Quehanna Wild Area}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20110609093640/http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/hiking/images/Quehanna_East.pdf Official Quehanna Trail Map, Eastern Section (shows all of Quehanna Wild Area)] Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
{{Protected areas of Pennsylvania}}
{{Featured article}}
[[Category:Nature reserves in Pennsylvania]] [[Category:Protected areas of Clearfield County, Pennsylvania]] [[Category:Protected areas of Cameron County, Pennsylvania]] [[Category:Protected areas of Elk County, Pennsylvania]] [[Category:Allegheny Plateau]] [[Category:Protected areas established in 1965]] [[Category:Civilian Conservation Corps in Pennsylvania]] [[Category:Works Progress Administration in Pennsylvania]]