National Forest plan walks middle ground

A management plan that guides decisions in the Allegheny National Forest (ANF) for the next decade was released last week.

Timber interests were disappointed that the plan didn't call for more tree harvesting.

Preservationists were displeased that additional land wasn't set aside for wilderness designation, even though 12,000 more acres are being protected.

Finally, oil and gas producers took offense to tighter regulations of their activities.

The crackdown on oil and gas interests comes in response to an explosion of drilling activity in the 513,000-acre forest in McKean, Elk, Forest and Warren counties. About 985 new wells were drilled in 2006 and permits issued this year suggest another 1,200 are coming.

Mineral or subsurface rights under 93% of the forest are privately owned. The Forest Service has already filed an objection to four oil and gas wells proposed for an area near the North Country Trail in McKean County. Earlier, the Forest Service opposed five wells proposed for a section of Pa. Rt. 59, the Longhouse National Scenic Bypass, in Warren County.

The plan was the result of four years of work involving more than 8,000 public comments. ANF Supervisor Kathleen Morse said she believes the plan balances competing interests and is in the forest's best long-term interest.

ANF officials cited drought, disease and reduced seedling development as reasons for the cutback in timber harvesting. The Pa. Forest Products Assn. said the cutback will hurt the region's timber economy and reduce the amount of revenue sent to local governments for their cut of the ANF timber harvest.

McKean County's Chestnut Ridge and Minister Valley, in Forest and Warren counties, are proposed as wilderness areas, adding 12,000 acres to the current 9,000 acres of designated wilderness.

That designation does not go into effect unless approved by the U.S. Congress, which could be delayed for months or even years.

Wilderness areas are open to non-motorized recreation and protected from creation of new roads and timber harvesting.

Friends of Allegheny Wilderness Executive Director Kirk Johnson expressed concern over the fact that more wilderness was not proposed in the plan. He added that the plans leaves open the door for recreational development on the Allegheny Reservoir, which the area borders.

The ANF plan also retains the current areas for recreational use by all-terrain vehicles and off-highway motorcycles.

It calls for using timber harvesting to evolve the current forest, which is mostly between 80-110 years old, to one with greater amounts of older and younger forest.

Copies of the plan can be viewed at public libraries in Smethport, Johnsonburg, Ridgway, Port Allegany and St. Marys.