Delaware Forest District Office project begins
Rep. Tarah Probst January 11, 2023
The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Bureau of Forestry has been in the planning and design phase for a new Delaware Forest District Office site for several years. A long-term goal of the Bureau of Forestry is to locate its headquarter offices on state forest land rather than alternate locations farther from the resources they manage and protect.
The Delaware Forest District’s Resource Management Center (RMC) and Storage Building project has officially started. At the end of December, the initial job conference was held in Porter Township to review contract parameters and have the core project team all meet to start this construction project. This is a Department of General Services (DGS) capital project, so DGS is the lead agency overseeing the operation.
The location of the RMC is near the Pike/Monroe County line on SR402, just south of the Thunder Swamp Hiking Trail parking lot and on the west side of SR402. Site clearing has already started, and you will notice the activity if you are passing through the area. The project has a 365-day timeline, but the contractors and DGS anticipate it will take longer due to terrain, weather, timing, and of course supply chain delays.
Due to limited space at the project site and a goal to clear as little forest as possible, the contractors will be locating their job trailers along the western edge of the Burnt Mills trailhead parking area. The southern half of the Thunder Swamp parking lot will be used as a lay-down area for project supplies. Public access to the project site, the lay-down area, and the job trailers is restricted.