FOREST START: “There has at the present time been no land
purchased, and the forest exists on paper as far as the government
is concerned.”

That’s where we left readers yesterday – and the Allegheny
National Forest back on Nov. 17, 1921.

The story in the McKean County Democrat went on to say that
there already had been 40,000 acres offered for sale to the
government … “this tract will be gone over first and when purchased
will form the first portion of the great forest to be established
and which, it is expected, will eventually reach one million acres
in size.”

As some reader might know, the forest never reached that size
but did make it to a half-million areas.

A major concern for the forest was protecting it from fire: “To
care for this forest and properly protect it, the government
forestry commission will establish telephone lines and caches of
fire-fighting tools and will maintain a crew of forest rangers
similar to those found in the great national forests of the
west.”

In the story, L.L. Bishop, the man who literally created the
Allegheny National Forest, outlined some guidelines in its
establishment:

“Lands considered for purchase subject to reservation of oil and
gas rights – government is not in oil and gas business – needs only
the surface to grow trees.

“Government ownership of surface will enhance the value of oil
and gas rights because area will be protected from fire, and timber
grown for use in the development of the underground resources and
use of surface for rod lines, pipe lines, building sites, etc., can
be readily secured.

Hunting and fishing would be allowed, and camping and all
recreational uses encouraged.

“Though not a national park, the Allegheny National Forest is
available for all use to which a park could be put, and in addition
will produce valuable crops of timber. No timber can be used in a
national park.”

“Care will always be taken to provide watershed and thus prevent
erosion and rapid run-off which means floods.

“Lands carrying valuable stands of mature timber not suitable
for purchase, policy is to use funds for the acquiring of cut-over
areas upon which to grow a new crop of timber.

“The 1,000,000-acre Pennsylvania purchase program will require
many years’ work and the expenditure of approximately ,5,000,000.
Lands are not to be acquired except with the consent of present
owner.”