Central & Western: Allegany Forest

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Why the Conservancy Selected This Site
The Allegany Forest is the largest intact forest in Western New York. Spanning an area along the New York-Pennsylvania border, the Allegany Forest is comprised of more than 500,000 acres of relatively contiguous forestland. In Pennsylvania, the Allegheny National Forest protects a large section of this forest. In New York, Allegany State Park—New York’s biggest state park at 67,000 acres—features more than 5,600 acres of mature old-growth forest, the largest such occurrence outside the Adirondacks and Catskills.

Threats
Threats to the Allegany include fragmentation of the forest from roads and development, unsustainable forestry practices, and exploration and extraction of subsurface mineral resources.

Habitats
Various forest types, including oak-hickory, floodplain, beech-maple, and hemlock-northern hardwood. The Allegheny River, a large river system, also flows through the site.

Plants
During the last ice age, glaciers halted their advance in the middle of the Allegany Forest region. The area south of the Allegheny River never was scoured by the massive ice sheets moving south from the arctic. The resulting variety of soil types and topographic relief combine to create a rich diversity of overstory and understory plant species.

Animals
Bald eagle, black bear, osprey, porcupine, hellbender and woodland salamanders, and a multitude of migrant neotropical songbirds. The Allegheny River also harbors a tremendous variety of fish and mussels, including the endangered clubshell mussel.

Our Conservation Strategy

Acquire land and conservation easements to protect sensitive habitats and prevent fragmentation of native forests
Partner with state and federal agencies to promote sound management of our public lands and expand public holdings
Work with the forest products industry and with non-industrial private forest owners to ensure a healthy and sustainably managed forest

Conservation Actions

In 2004, we partnered with the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation to develop an aquatic inventory of the mussels within the Allegheny River’s headwaters in New York.
In 2004, we agreed to share our comprehensive database of ecological information with the U.S. Forest Service, which intends to use the data to help guide its land-use planning and management on Allegheny National Forest.
In 2003, we hired a new community-based project director who opened a new office in Ellicottville.

Partners
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
U.S. Forest Service
New York State Natural Heritage Program
Pennsylvania Environmental Council