Buckaloons Recreation Area is a popular picnicking, camping, and fishing site, with boat access to the Allegheny River. A trail along the perimeter of the tract allows access to the river shoreline and to wetlands with tributary streams.
Natural History Interest
Buckaloons provides an outstanding and accessible example of Northern Riverine (river bottomland or floodplain) Forest. Tall, stately Eastern Sycamore trees are abundant and are joined by other very large specimens of trees near where Brokenstraw Creek adds its flow to the Allegheny River. They include Northern Red Oak, Black Cherry, Shagbark Hickory, American Basswood, and White Ash. Virginia Creeper and Poison Ivy grow in lush vines among the trees. Hawthorn and Blue Beech are present in the understory. The forest floor has many wildflowers and ferns of interest, such as Ostrich Fern, Virginia Waterleaf, Jack-in-the-Pulpit, and Great Solomon’s Seal.
Buckaloons is an access point for canoeing the Allegheny River Island Wilderness, which lies in the stretch of the River between Buckaloons and Tionesta. The Wilderness consists of seven islands that were formed from river-carried sand, mud and clay that were originally deposited by the glacier, and still inhabited by some intact Northern Riverine forest including Eastern Sycamore, Silver Maple, and willow. Some of the river bottomland forests on these islands are old-growth, with many trees 3–4 feet in diameter.
Who To Contact
For information on Buckaloons and the Allegheny River Island Wilderness contact the Sheffield Ranger District Office of the U.S. Forest Service, US 6, Sheffield, PA 16347; Tel: 814–968–3232.
How To Get There
Buckaloons Recreation Area is located near the intersection of US 6 and US 62 between Warren and Youngsville, PA.
From US 6 take the Buckaloons exit, then take the first right onto SR 3022. This turn is marked for the Buckaloons Recreation Area. After turning onto SR 3022, take the first left into the Buckaloons Recreation Area.
What To See
Baseline data is still being collected for all forms of life in the Buckaloons Recreation Area. Historic and initial observations show that many typical forest, river, stream and wetlands species are present. Beaver activity is in evidence along the shoreline where gnawed stumps and large trees are in the process of being toppled. Black-capped Chickadees and White-breasted Nuthatches are common foragers in winter at Buckaloons, and they have become so used to human presence that they will commonly come to the hand to feed. A walk during breeding season may produce Cedar Waxwings, Northern Cardinal, American Redstart, Eastern Phoebe, Common Grackle, Red-winged Blackbird, Indigo Bunting, American Goldfinch, Baltimore Oriole, Red-eyed Vireo, and Belted Kingfisher. Red and Gray Squirrels are commonly sighted.
Why It’s Important To Conservation
Buckaloons is a part of the Allegheny National Forest with over half a million acres of conservation lands. The site itself sits at the confluence of the Allegheny River, Brokenstraw Creek and Irvine Run, and the Allegheny watershed as a whole is a vitally important natural resource for plants, wildlife and humans. We will describe its particular importance to imperiled, rare or otherwise significant species as data is collected and analyzed.
