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Tioga State Forest

Tioga State Forests

The Tioga Unit Management Plan (UMP) includes four State Forests in Tioga County encompassing 3,692 acres of land. The state forests in the unit include: Oakley Corners State Forest, Ketchumville State Forest, Fairfield State Forest and Jenksville State Forest. These forests are located in the towns of Berkshire, Candor, Newark Valley and Owego in Tioga County.

Unit Management Plans guide ecosystem management activities on state forests for twenty years, with a review and update after ten years. The Plan's vision is to maintain and enhance ecosystem health, biodiversity, and sustainability while providing environmental, social, and economic benefits to the people of New York State. Besides serving as a management tool, the UMP is also an educational resource, informing citizens about the many uses that state forests serve.

The forests in the Tioga UMP range in size from 503 acres (Ketchumville) to 1,349 acres (Jenksville). The state purchased most of land for these four forests in the 1930's and 1940's, with one additional parcel added to the Fairfield State Forest in 1962.

The main issues addressed in the UMP are the sustainable management of timber, wildlife, recreation and mineral resources. The Tioga unit's forests offer numerous recreational opportunities including: hiking, camping, mountain biking, horseback riding, fishing, hunting, trapping, snowmobiling and cross-county skiing. Maintenance of the Unit's physical infrastructure is also addressed in the plan. Scheduled activities include maintenance of recreational trails, parking lots, State Forest roads, boundary lines, signs, witness posts, pond impoundment(s), and regularly scheduled clean-up.

One highlight of the plan is the continuing maintenance of 28 miles of multiple use trails in partnership with the Triple Cities Ski Club, Candor Valley Riders Snowmobile Club, and the Tioga Ridge Runners Snowmobile Club. These organizations are volunteer DEC Adopt-A-Natural Resource (AANR) Partners. Volunteer stewardship is a critical asset. The DEC's AANR program leverages the Department's capabilities, while building and sustaining important relationships between recreational stakeholders and the Department.

Public participation is an important part of DEC's UMP planning process. It adds significant value to the planning process by enhancing communication, and helps sustain and build new partnerships between the DEC and State Forest stakeholders. As a result of the many comments and suggestions received by the public for the Tioga UMP, the eastern portion of the Jenksville State Forest and all of Oakley Corners State Forest will be included in the proposed oil and gas lease sale as a non-surface occupancy lease. Any oil and natural gas reserves from these locations will be extracted from surrounding lands. This decision will minimize aesthetic impacts on the those State Forests, particularly near designated recreational trails.

The Tioga UMP contains maps produced by the Department's computer-based geographic information system (GIS). The GIS system efficiently organizes and processes a wide array of natural resource information, and helps Department staff make informed land management decisions. Additionally, the system produces digital maps that can be easily reproduced and shared with stakeholders. Including these maps in the plan, and in particular on the web, provides more usable information for the public. Maps included in the UMP include: wetlands and water resources, multiple use trail maps, unfragmented forest areas, natural areas, motorized access trails for people with disabilities, oil and gas exploration hierarchy maps, comprehensive oil and gas exploration maps, existing management directions, proposed management directions, long term conifer objectives, and shale pit locations.

Proposed management actions in the UMP include:

  • Construction of three universally accessible campsites that meet American with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards at Oakley Corners State Forest
  • Construction of a 10 car ADA compliant parking area at Oakley Corners State Forest
  • Construction of a 4,200 foot ATV trail loop for people with mobility limitations at Oakley Corners State Forest
  • Upgrade 1.1 miles of multiple use trail surface on the Jenksville State Forest
  • Installation of two triple-panel kiosks at Oakley Corners State Forest
  • Installation of a single-panel kiosk at Fairfield State Forest
  • Installation of a single-panel kiosk at Ketchumville State Forest
  • Installation of a two-panel kiosk at Jenksville State Forest
  • Periodic harvesting of forest products such as sawtimber and firewood

A public hearing on the Tioga UMP was held on July 27, 2005, in Candor, New York. Comments received at the hearing were incorporated into the final Unit Management Plan.