Nowhere in the Allegheny National Forest is the conflict between
competing interests so evident as on those places proposed as
wilderness.

On a recent walking tour of the Morrison Run Trail, one of the
proponents of wilderness designation for parts of the Forest points
to a logging road that cuts right through the trail.

Kirk Johnson, executive director of the Friends of Allegheny
Wilderness (FAW), is disappointed to see such a road as he and his
organization have proposed the Morrison Run area along with seven
other areas as wilderness to the forest service during revision of
the current forest plan.

“We have nothing against the companies that do this,” said
Johnson of the newly created road. “But we still want to protect
them (areas) from roaded development. There are other areas that
can handle that (drilling and roads) activity.

“It’s not a good trade-off changing the landscape to what they
may actually extract. There are other areas of forest that already
have similar impacts in place,” he added.

Designated wilderness areas are those that are untrammeled,
where people can go and take part in non-motorized recreation on
the land. These areas are also meant to be protected from creation
of new roads and harvesting of trees.

The problem that arises today is that even if the forest service
and Congress has dedicated land as wilderness, the mineral rights
in the subsurface may not be owned by them. This means the owner of
those rights can hire a contractor to drill for oil and gas,
creating new roads and clearing space for the activity.

Although Johnson and FAW proposed eight wilderness areas, only
two of them were named in the preferred alternative C by the forest
service released in May. The plan is set to be revealed in early
2007.

Johnson was able to show not only the newly constructed road
through the Morrison Run trail, but to point out a new well head at
the proposed Chestnut Ridge site and trees marked for possible
harvest on the Tracy Ridge site. The two sit across from each other
and are the same two that the ANF put in their preferred
alternative.

Tracy Ridge is a 9,705 acre area located off of State Route 321,
which sits in both McKean and Warren Counties; and Chestnut Ridge,
also in McKean County, across the road from Tracy Ridge, is a 5,191
acre area.

In 1964, two areas were designated wilderness, they are the
Hickory Creek and Allegheny Islands Wilderness Areas. These areas
total about 9,000 acres.

One possible resolution to prevent or stop drilling in
wilderness areas is to work to buy the mineral rights.

Recently, Jacque Bonomo, vice president of conservation programs
for the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, said that their
organization has helped the ANF in the past with land
acquisitions.

“Right now, the Conservancy views the ANF as a treasure among
the finest on the plateau,” said Bonomo. “We work with the
Allegheny National Forest to identify priority areas and look for
opportunities to acquire oil and gas and mineral rights. We center
on areas of high ecological value – such as watersheds, for
example.

“We look for areas where there might be a consensus among
multiple stakeholders that this type of activity (drilling for oil
and gas) might not be appropriate,” added Bonomo.

The roads leading to the drilling areas, which are cleared to a
specified size, are built under special parameters the contractor
must follow while achieving the right to drill a site.

The developer needs to contact ANF officials and provide proof
of ownership, designate a field representative, provide a map
showing the location and dimensions of all facilities, provide a
plan of operation, including drilling and construction schedules;
develop an erosion and sedimentation control plan, and obtain a
state drilling permit – these permits come from the Department of
Environmental Protection (DEP).

The DEP is the regulatory authority when it comes to soil
erosion, sedimentation, and water quality issues.

ANF officials have the timber appraised and will then sell it to
the operator.

As forest steward, the forest service will also protect the
rights of the federal government and make sure that private mineral
owners and operators take reasonable measures to prevent
unnecessary disturbance to the surface, reads information in the
current plan titled Federal Minerals.