19. Uses of surrounding land: 



a. Wildland 10 % 



b. Agricultural land 



c. High-intensity forestry 90 

 % d. Developed % 



20. Preservation Status: 



Cat 



*% 



*Description of preservation status 



4 



100 



Private land, protected by owner 





> 





21. Regulatory protections in force: 

 None known . 



22. Threats: 



Timber cutting is the chief disruptive activity in the 

 short term. The selective cutting which has been practiced 

 over much of the natural area has maintained dominance by 

 valuable wildlife food trees such as oaks, hickories, and 

 other hardwoods. More intense cutting in the future could 

 cause a proportional shift to less desirable hardwoods such 

 as sweetgum and red maple , and significantly lower the site ' s 

 natural and wildlife values. 



Good conservation techniques are presently being practiced 

 to maintain the mature oak-pine stands along with some desirable 

 edge effect along the roads. It appears that the present owner 

 intends to maintain a high-quality bottomland hardwoods habitat 

 for wildlife. However, in the long-term the tract could be 

 sold or divided and the present conditions altered. The long 

 term plans of the owner are not known. 



Another more minor threat is the possible widening of the 

 existing dual-lane highway to a four-lane superhighway. This 

 would damage a significant portion of the old-growth stands , 

 most of which lie adjacent to the highway. 



23. Management and Preservation Recommendation: 



The Scranton Hardwoods natural area offers an excellent 

 opportunity for conservation of a significantly large block 

 of an undrained, palustrine (non-riverine) mesic hardwoods 

 system. It is the largest contiguous block of palustrine 



174 



