WARREN – The Allegheny National Forest has a new plan that calls
for keeping the amount of timber taken off the ANF at a lower than
anticipated level and increasing designated wilderness areas by
12,000 acres.
The plan, which will guide the forest service for the next 10 to
15 years, was announced Friday following four years of discussion
and revision and more than 8,000 public comments.
The plan goes into effect 30 days from Friday, with a 90-day
appeal period that begins Tuesday after it is published in the
Milwaukee Journal, where the eastern region director who makes the
decision on the plan is located.
The accepted version of the plan is Alternative Cm. The Draft
Environmental Impact Statement released in May 2006 listed four
alternatives lettered A through D.
The preferred alternative at that time was Alternative C.
Revision of the plan started in 2003 with meetings designed to
educate the forest service as well as public interest groups and
take into account the intentions and concerns of all who would be
affected by the final plan.
Officials at the forest service based out of Warren said Friday
they decided to take one of the alternatives and revise it rather
than start all over again after reviewing public comments through
August of last year.
Kathleen Morse, ANF Supervisor, said she could personally
appreciate the passion and personal thoughts made in the comments
the forest service received. But she said it seemed that while they
evaluated the comments, “One person’s gain equated to another
person’s loss.”
In the end, however, she said she feels the forest service came
up with a balanced plan that works for the forest as it is today
and one that will be able to sustain it over time.
There were several changes made between the draft of the plan
and the final one revealed Friday. Two of those areas of change
have already sparked comment from interest groups.
One change in the final plan compared to the draft plan includes
a reduction in proposed allowable sale quantity (ASQ) which is now
set at up to 54.1 million board feet (MMBF) per decade from the
areas that are suitable for timber production.
The 1986 plan, which has been guiding the forest service for 21
years, projected 94.5 MMBF. Changes had been made to that number in
1995 when the harvest capabilities were reduced to 53.2 MMBF.
Reasons for the reduction then were changes in the forest
including drought, seedling development and disease, among a list
of others.
In the past and upon the plan’s release, the Pennsylvania Forest
Products Association has voiced concern that this lower number
hurts the local timber economy, tax payer payments and amounts the
forest service generates for local governments.
When asked, Morse said over the past six years, prior to the
2007 fiscal year which started in October, the forest service
provided 25 MMBF. This fiscal year they will provide 35 MMBF.
An area discussing the changes between the draft of the plan and
the final plan in the summary, the ANF suggests the decrease in
lands scheduled for timber production is due to projected oil and
gas management development.
At the press conference Friday, Morse admitted the forest
service could not today afford to support the projected 54.1
MMBF.
Another item of concern for groups during the comment period is
the inclusion of additional wilderness areas.
In the draft plan, Tracy and Chestnut Ridges, located off of
State Route 321, traveling north to south between State Routes 346
and Willow Bay, were proposed as possible designated wilderness
areas. Those areas lie in both McKean and Warren Counties.
In the final plan, Chestnut Ridge (McKean) and Minister Valley,
in Forest and Warren Counties, are proposed. Together, they total
about 12,000 acres of wilderness. Those coupled with the current
existing wilderness areas of Hickory Creek and Allegheny Islands
Wilderness will total more than 21,000 acres of the more than
513,000 acre forest.
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 trees.
But even if the ANF proposed the two new wilderness areas, it
will take Congress to actually designate them as wilderness.
Supporters of more wilderness designations have said recently that
it could take years for Congress to approve such designations.
But Friends of Allegheny Wilderness Executive Director Kirk
Johnson has said he is up to the task.
In a press release sent Friday, Johnson said he was pleased at
the proposed areas, but he also expressed concern over the fact
that more wilderness was not proposed in the plan. The group
actually proposed eight areas for the designation.
One of those was the Tracy Ridge area, one that Johnson says
holds the largest amount of roadless area, which means it would
appear to be very well suited for wilderness designation.
Without the Tracy Ridge proposal, it would appear the door
remains open for possible recreational development on the Allegheny
Reservoir, which the area borders.
McKean County Commissioner Bruce Burdick held a press conference
in August before he submitted the commissioner’s comments to the
ANF and in that conference, he said that the ANF should take a look
at the Minister Valley proposal of wilderness (if they were going
to propose any, which the commissioners would rather not see)
before they considered keeping Tracy Ridge in their proposal.
He said then, “And the Kinzua Beach area – it would be
impossible for development to go anywhere around the reservoir.
What about the Minister Valley area?…”
Bill Connelly, ANF planning officer, said Friday forest
officials did hear public comments regarding the Tracy Ridge area
and the fact that if it were designated wilderness, it would block
potential recreational development there.
The possibility for a private developer to come in and propose a
recreational facility is possible by obtaining a special use
permit.
The ANF includes the four counties of McKean, Elk, Forest and
Warren.
