SITE SELECTION TIMELINE: MICHAUX STATE FOREST VISITOR CENTER AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT OFFICE

The South Mountain Partnership considers the Michaux State Forest a key partner and the heart of our region. We represent a broad group of partners and have gathered this information and timeline of events to create clarity around this decision process and outcomes. To increase everyone’s access to more information about this, we worked with the Bureau of Forestry in the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to bring important steps and events together in a timeline and informational sheet . The South Mountain Partnership represents a diverse group of partners and we gathered this information to create more clarity around this process and outcomes. We are committed to fostering understanding between those involved in land use decisions.

We recognize the golf course is valuable to many in the surrounding golfing community and we are committed to working with golfers and Michaux State Forest to honor the golf and outdoor recreation legacy of the site. We also recognize that the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is directed to provide the greatest good for all outdoor recreation visitors while being wise stewards of public resources and lands.

KEY FACTS

The Michaux State Forest will not rebid the lease to anyone after it expires on December 31, 2025. This decision was made after a decade of research by Michaux State Forest District and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and will result in the closing of the Golf Course. Starting with notification in 2015, the Michaux Forest District met and exceeded all public notification requirements by policy for this lease.

The site is considered optimal in the forest for both ecological and historic reasons and therefore the current use is inconsistent with the Michaux District Forest Management Plan and the PA Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources State Forest Research Management Plan.

The Michaux State Forest experiences 500,000 visitors a year, protects critical habitat for plants and animals, and is the source of drinking water for over 60,000 residents. Therefore, Michaux, a key state resource, has identified a need for a visitor center for the public and a management office for staff operations The site was identified as the optimal place to invest taxpayer money through a seven-year process that used the following parameters. Nine other sites were considered but did not score as well and provide the same community benefits.

  • Connection to high-value recreational and historical conservation sites
  • Optimal public accessibility for the greatest number of people
  • Low environmental impact and opportunity to restore and interpret critical habitat and wildlife
  • Enhanced forest operations
  • Construction/Utility/Long-term maintenance costs – the site yields a high return on investment

The new Visitor Center and Resource Management Office design may begin in 2024 and construction could begin as soon as 2026. Design phases will be managed by the Department of General Services and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and will involve local representatives.DCNR leadership and local managers will work with county and local government stakeholders to address public engagement needs throughout the design process.

TIMELINE

1902

  • Commonwealth of Pennsylvania acquired land from the Mont Alto Iron Company that contained this site. This acquisition is the basis for the state’s early national leadership role in public land management and natural resource management, sustainable forestry, and sustainable economic development around natural resource conservation.

1921

  • Site starts to be used for three holes of golf, created by doctors at the nearby South Mountain Sanatorium to provide outdoor therapy for patients

1964

  • The site jurisdiction is transferred to PA Department of Environmental Resources (now known as the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources)

1968

  • The site was leased to a private vendor and reopened as a commissary venue

1950-1990

  • Forest use evolves as population grows and recreation demands shift – Michaux State Forest becomes critical for surrounding communities’ access to land for trails, fishing, camping, hunting, birding, mountain biking, outdoor education needs, higher education research, and more.

2012

  • The Michaux State Forest District reviewed the leased site leasing history and compatibility with current and future forest visitor demands and recreational needs on the forest, raising concerns about using the site in ways that prevent advancement of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources agency mission and Bureau of Forest legal mandate.
  • Exploration of using the site as a target range feasibility study as an alternative day-use area to relieve congestion at Long Pine Run Reservoir. Ultimately, the timing was not optimal. However, it became clear that in the future, the site would need to be used to allow greater access
    • to historic sites and views (Snowy Mountain Fire Tower, Pulpit Rock)
    • For key safety and management concerns (Meeting of the Pines Natural Area, White Rocks, and trespass and illegal motorized use issues in the surrounding area)
    • To restore hydrologic recharge functions of the local aquifer and restore natural wet meadow habitats for Short-Eared Owls and other rare species. 

2015

  • Michaux State Forest notified lessee that it would be recommending non-renewal of the lease when it ends on December 31, 2025; lease renewed from 2015 to 2025. Lessee also notified that lease could end sooner depending on Department for Conservation and Natural Resources needs for new infrastructure projects.
  • Capital investment requirements were not required at renewal based on non-renewal notification by the District.
  • Northern Trails Assessment and Visitor Use Monitoring Data Collection begun by Applies Trails Research and Penn State University.

2016

  • The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Operations Division notified Michaux District Forest managers that they should begin identifying an optimal site for a new Visitor Center and Resource Management Office.
  • Michaux Staff began a comparative site analysis of 9 potentially feasible and available sites for the project. Staff used the following objectives to rank which potentially feasible sites represented the best investment opportunities for the project based on:
    • Ease of public access
    • Visitation and public engagement opportunities
    • Avoidance of ecological conflicts (wetlands, critical hibernacula for protected species)
    • Administrative and Operational efficiency
    • Proximity to utilities
    • Cost of construction

2017-2018

  • Visitor Use Monitoring Project report based on two years of visitor use data by Penn State University quantifes volume, preferences, and visitation/use patterns of Michaux State Forest visitors. Zipcodes from southern Michaux State Forest areas, like Mont Alto, Pond Bank, South Mountain, and Fayetteville population centers, are some of the most frequent visitors in Michaux State Forest for a variety of outdoor recreation uses.
  • Local organizations representatives and stakeholders proactively met with Bureau of Forestry and Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources executives and reviewed and assessed other Commonwealth facilities at Ohiopyle State Park, the Elk Visitor Center, and Tiaghdauton and Buchanan State Forest. Findings were reported to Friends of Michaux, Michaux District Forest Managers, and Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources agency decision makers.

2020

  • COVID-19 Pandemic interrupts the Visitor Center and Resource Management Office process and introduces increased pressure on the forest for recreation.

2021

  • The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Operations Division asks Forest District Managers to finalize project site selection recommendations. District managers visit with South Mountain Restoration Center site managers to assess the potential of collocating the facility on the SMRC complex, including the Vision Quest site.
  • South Mountain Golf course site and additional adjoining acreage significantly outrank other alternatives on all project objectives and is determined as the optimal site for this significant investment in a destination Visitors Center and Resource Management Office. The site is the best because it ranked significantly better for these reasons:
    • 1) increased public access for the greatest number of people to important recreational and historical sites, trails of various difficulty and length, inclusive of those with mobility challenges
    • 2) increased the efficiency of deploying staff throughout the forest, particularly for education, law enforcement, and to ensure more equal distribution of DCNR operational assets across the forest
    • 3) repurposing the site yields a high return on investment
    • 4) opportunity to restore water cycle, wildlife, and habitat function in benefit to the 60,000 residents that rely on Michaux State Forest for their drinking water in Guilford, Mon Alto, and Chambersburg

2022

  • January
    • January 4: Michaux Forest District Managers met with Lessee and family members to inform them that the leased site was chosen as the future Visitor Center and Resource Management Office site and reaffirmed that the lease would not be renewed after it ends on December 31, 2025.
    • Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Bureau of Forestry District Managers met and vetted the Visitor Center and Resource Management Office site selection process and decision-making with representatives from local and statewide organizations and visitor groups along with representatives from the Bureau of State Parks. Then, District Managers vetted site selection process and decision-making with the Bureau of Forestry and Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources executive staff.
    • Approval was given to work with the Bureau of Facility Design and Construction to formally submit the site selection and project to the Department of General Services for further project planning, budgeting, and design work by Department of General Services project managers.
  • Facility Design and Construction at the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Department of General Services, and Michaux District Forest management team collaborated on a project study development report to inform budgeting and contracting negotiations for the project.

2023

  • August 2023 – Michaux District Office provides Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources executive staff written documentation on project site selection process in order to brief the Governor’s office and local legislative representatives.
  • September 2023 – Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources executive staff brief Governor’s office and local legislative offices. Several legislators who received this brief asked for more details and were provided more in-depth briefing.
  • October 2023  –  Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources press release announcing the decision regarding the lease and project plans for future use of the site. 
  • October 18, 2023-Public Meeting held, 180 attendees, public comments collected through survey forms, in-person discussion, and written comments submitted following the meeting.  Surveys, emails, and petitions were received representing various viewpoints on the decision.
  • December 2023 – Comments received during and after the public meeting were summarized and a response letter drafted and reviewed by the Bureau of Forestry and Department of Conservation and Natural Resources decision-makers.

2024

  • January 2024 – Response letters were sent to October 18, 2023 public meeting participants who requested a written response and the Governor’s office and Franklin County Planning Office.
  • February 2024 – Update sent to local legislative offices including: Senators Doug Mastriano, Greg Rothman, Mike Regan, Legislators Torren Ecker, Thomas Kutz, Barbara Gleim, Dan Moul, Rob Kauffman, Paul Schemel, Rick Irvin
  • February 5, 2024 – PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resource executive staff and Bureau of Forestry executive staff met with site lessee and close family members and discussed the finality of their decision to end the lease to repurpose the site. The lessee was then formally notified in writing, as per the requirements of the lease contract, that the lease would end on December 31, 2025 and would not be renewed.

2025

  • December 31, 2025 – The lease will officially expire.
  • Final building footprint and design work will be conducted by a contractor hired and managed by the PA Department of General Service.
  • Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources leadership and local managers will work with Franklin County and township governments to facilitate public engagement needs and opportunities throughout the project design phase.

2026

  • Construction of the Visitor Center and Resource Management Office could begin as early as 2026 and is run by the contractor hired and managed by the PA Department of General Services.

References

Michaux State Forest Leased Site Documents  

Michaux State Forest Resource Management Plan

State Forest Resource Management Plan