Pine Hall Forest in Ferguson Township has been razed. Here’s what to know

The Pine Hall Development Corporation cut down dozens of acres of oak, maple, black cherry and white pine trees on land it has owned since 2007. Though a major development was previously proposed at the site, no new plans have been submitted to Ferguson Township.

The recent clearing stunned residents and environmentalists who spent years fighting the previous proposal to develop the forest.

FULL STORY: ‘Heartbroken.’ Forest in Ferguson Township cleared years after controversial plans

Here are five key takeaways:

• The Pine Hall Forest, located between Blue Course Drive and Old Gatesburg Road, was cleared in its entirety. Ferguson Township interim manager Tom King said there are no active development plans or permit requests for the land.
• Pennsylvania law allowed the clearing without township approval. Acts 131 and 68 of the state Municipalities Planning Code permit forestry activities in all zoning districts and bar municipalities from unreasonably restricting them, according to King.
• The township’s tree preservation ordinance only applies to sites with active development plans or requests, not to timbering and forestry practices as defined by state law.
• A previous proposal called the Pine Hall Traditional Town Development, first submitted in February 2018, had sought to cut roughly 85% of the 65-acre forest for retail, hotel, residential and other construction. That plan was rescinded in 2023 after community pressure.
• The Nittany Valley Environmental Coalition, which fought the earlier plan and filed a land use appeal in September 2019, said members are “heartbroken.” NVEC Treasurer David Stone said the group will closely watch what happens next and push for replacement trees and workforce housing if new development is proposed.

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The full story in the link at top was reported, written and edited entirely by journalists.