Envisioning A Bioreserve Strategy for Pennsylvania

• Author: Wayne Myers
• Pages: 147-157

Chapter 12

Envisioning A Bioreserve Strategy for

Pennsylvania

by Wayne Myers1

I. Introduction

Pennsylvania has been at the forefront of planning for sustainable manage-

ment of state-owned forest lands. Accordingly, the Pennsylvania Depart-

ment of Conservation and Natural Resources (PDCNR), through the Bureau

of Forestry (BOF), has sought and received “green” certification for its 2.1

million acres in the state forest system. A condition of the certification was

the establishment of a formal bioreserve system in the state forests. This is

one of many aspects of planning on which the BOF has solicited input from a

panel of experts and interests convened by the PDCNR as an Ecosystem

Management Advisory Committee (EMAC). EMAC, in turn, has formed a

Bioreserves Subcommittee that opened its deliberations to a broader set of

recognized experts and interests. The components of consensus from con-

siderations by that subcommittee are the primary focus here. During the

course of work by the Bioreserves Subcommittee, the BOF has proceeded

separately with an internal strategy toward basic bioreserves in order to doc-

ument progress with respect to the conditions for certification. Throughout

this discourse, this chapter attempts to separate the broader scope of consid-

erations by the subcommittee from the initial activities of the BOF. Never-

theless, the BOF has been well represented on the subcommittee.

The perspective of the subcommittee has been that a larger conservation

strategy transcending the state forest system is necessary. This strategy

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1. The description of the bioreserve strategy contained in this chapter is taken

from documents drafted by the Pennsylvania Ecosystem Management Advi-

sory Committee Bioreserves Subcommittee. Active members of the subcom-

mittee are: Wayne Myers (Chair); Robert Brooks; David Coleman; Lois

DeMarco; Daniel Devlin; Jean Fike; Amy Griffith; Nels Johnson; Michael

Lester; Marc McDill; Robert McKinstry; James Ruff; Susan Stout; and James

Thorne. Wayne Myers is the primary author of this chapter, although all of the

members participated in the process.