Mineral Spring Falls, also known as Black Bear Falls, is a 20-foot fan waterfall located within the Loyalsock State Forest in Pennsylvania.
Loyalsock State Forest was formed in 2005 by combining the Wyoming State forest with a part of the Tiadaghton State Forest and Tioga State Forest and named after Loyalsock Creek which runs through the center of the protected lands.
The predecessor state forests were formed in response to the depletion of forests and the degradation of land in the state. Conservationists feared that without proper management, the woods would not regrow. Lumber and iron companies had harvested the old-growth forests on a massive scale, leaving behind rotting stumps and sash that was ready fuel that needed just a spark from a passing steam locomotive to become an inferno. Additionally, tanneries took advantage of the availability of oak and other bark in tanning animal hides into leather, which led to tannic acid pollution, while other companies extracted coal that led to acid mine drainage that fouled streams.
Improvements to the area did not begin in earnest until the establishment of several Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camps in 1933. The CCC constructed trails, roadways, and bridges throughout the protected lands, many of which are still in use today.