[2] The North Central Appalachians ecoregion has a severe mid-latitude humid continental climate, marked by warm summers and snowy, cold winters.

[4] The Northern Appalachian Plateau and Highlands ecoregion, also a severe mid-latitude humid continental climate, has a mean annual temperature of 7 °C, seeing an average of 969 mm of precipitation.

[6] Allegheny hardwood forests consist of black cherry (Prunus serotina), white ash (Fraxinus americana), and tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera).

These forests include balsam fir (Abies balsamea), paper birch (Betula papyrifera), mountain ash (Sorbus americana), and red cherry (Prunus pensylvanica).

Wild raisin (Viburnum cassinoides) and mountain holly (Ilex mucronata) are shrubs that grow in high elevation swamps, bogs, and ledge tops.

Gray foxes also prefer a landscape mosaic, but will thrive in dense northern hardwood and mixed forests where they often inhabit thickets and swamps.

[19] The big brown bat is found in virtually every American habitat ranging from timberline meadows to lowland deserts, though it is most abundant in deciduous forest areas.

[21] The snapping turtle is found in a wide variety of aquatic habitats, preferably with slow-moving water and a soft muddy or sandy bottom.

They inhabit almost any permanent or semi-permanent body of water, including marshes, creeks, swamps, bogs, pools, lakes, streams, rivers, and impoundment sand.

[2] As well as logging and clearance for farmland another factor that affects the make-up of the forest is grazing, especially by deer, while suburban and tourist development is resulting in more habitat loss in the Catskills and the Finger Lakes especially.