Michaux State Forest in Pennsylvania’s distinctive South Mountain region faces challenges and opportunities as nearby population growth spurs demand for outdoor recreation.

Michaux is the most heavily used of Pennsylvania’s 20 state forests.

A large chunk of its 85,000 acres is in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania’s fastest growing county.

“We know there is extreme pressure in this area,” said Judy Chain, program director for the South Mountain Partnership (SMP), a nonprofit formed to protect and promote the region.

People are drawn by the beautiful scenery, historic small towns and recreation, said Chain. Travelers from Maryland and Virginia seek a mountain respite there.

As these demographic trends continue, Michaux is at the center of a confluence of events.

The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) is building a first-rate visitor and interpretive center, expanding the forest with a key acquisition and upgrading the trail network.

Michaux is the birthplace of the public forestry movement starting around 1900 that restored productive forests to large swaths of Pennsylvania.

Uncertainty for Mont Alto campus

And now the future of an academic institution, closely associated with the history of Michaux State Forest, is up in the air.

Pennsylvania State University plans to close its Mont Alto Commonwealth Campus and six other branch campuses in two years to cut costs amid a decline in the pool of college age students.

Mont Alto offers 600 students four-year degree programs in forestry and health care and two year programs as well.

Mont Alto started in 1903 as the state Mont Alto Forest Academy to train professional foresters in the newly created Michaux State Forest.

The academy merged with a Penn State forestry program in 1927 becoming the branch campus that exists today.

Penn State hosted a private meeting with community representatives last August as part of a process to find a new use for the historic campus.

“The University has continued advancing transition planning, including work related to the future use of campus properties and facilities,” said PSU spokesman Andrew Krebs. “Transition teams are focusing on other key areas such as student and academic experiences, employee transitions, curriculum planning, and financial stewardship.”

With the Mont Alto campus scheduled to close in June 2027, Rep. Chad Reichard, R-Franklin, thinks the pace of transition planning needs to pick up.

“The concern I have is we are moving way too slow,” he said.

He said there’s some talk of establishing a nursing school there.

But the Mont Alto campus is so large it will probably take multiple entities to fill the space, added Reichard.

He thinks lawmakers should have a say since state legislative acts established the forestry academy and authorized the merger.

“Penn State and Mont Alto have a legislative history,” said Reichard.

New visitor center

DCNR’s plan for a new visitor center is proceeding with both positive and negative public input.

The agency is designing the new visitor center and Resource Management Center on a 70-acre site with the goal of improving the visitor experience at Michaux.

The center will feature exhibits on Michaux’s importance to the forestry conservation movement, iron furnace industry, Underground Railroad and outdoor recreation.

Once the visitor center location was unveiled, DCNR heard opposition about plans to cancel the lease for the private South Mountain Golf Course in the vicinity.

The golf course lease expires at the end of 2025.

The South Mountain Partnership recently conducted a survey about the visitor center which drew 300 responses.

The responses are favorable to the visitor center, said Chain at the partnership.Respondents are interested in having more signs for hiking trails, especially loop trails, and more amenities such as restrooms, she added.

The Michaux center will be similar to the Resource Management Center at Tiadaghton State Forest in north central Pennsylvania.

The center features exhibits on Pine Creek Valley forest’s logging history, forest conservation and wildlife. It sponsors lectures and guided hikes.

Amidst this, Michaux acquired the 900-acre Tuckahoe Tract near Dillsburg and the Appalachian Trail. Plans call for hiking, biking and hunting on the tract.

Michaux faces the same challenges as the other state forests — climate change, insects and fire — while keeping the acreage open for multiple uses ranging from hiking to ATV and bike trails.

A large forest fire last spring drew attention to the challenges of climate change. Clouds of smoke from the fire were visible from heavily traveled Interstate 81.

The fire emphasized the importance of keeping communities alert to more extreme weather events, said Chain.

The partnership, which gets some funding from DCNR, is involved with planning for the region’s future.

The South Mountain Partnership participates in DCNR’s umbrella South Mountain Conservation Landscape, Cumberland County’s planning process and distributing mini-grants to community groups for conservation projects, she said.