FOREST FOCUS: Two proposed wilderness areas in the Allegheny
National Forest – Tracy Ridge and Chestnut Ridge – are featured in
the June 2009 issue of the outdoor-recreation industry magazine
Backpacker.
The Backpacker article, “Hike It, Save It,” works off the
premise that the best way to help save the areas from destruction
is by simply going out and enjoying them on foot. The awe and love
developed for these special areas by exploring them will ultimately
translate into strong advocacy to permanently protect them, the
author suggests. Backpacker has a national circulation of
340,000.
The two areas are in a list of “10 stellar hikes in proposed –
and at-risk – wilderness areas.”
“Until the mid-20th century, an estimated 4 billion American
chestnut trees stretched from southern New England to northern
Mississippi. Then, a non-native fungus called chestnut blight
nearly wiped them all out. One of the trees’ last stands is the
aptly named Chestnut Ridge in north central Pennsylvania,
5,191-acre proposed Wilderness Area in the Allegheny National
Forest,” the article says.
Across from Chestnut Ridge lies Tracy Ridge which, at 9,705
acres, is the largest unprotected roadless area in the Allegheny
National Forest, it continues.
The Friends of Allegheny Wilderness, which provided us with the
magazine article, proposed the two areas for wilderness designation
in 2003.
Tracy Ridge, situated along the eastern shoreline of the
Allegheny Reservoir in Warren and McKean counties, was initially
recommended for wilderness designation by the U.S. Forest Service
but it was removed from the final version of its Forest Plan
because of a desire for developed overnight accommodations along
the Reservoir shoreline and the possible use of prescribed fire
within the area, Friends say.
The Forest Service did recommended to Congress that Chestnut
Ridge, directly east and adjacent to Tracy Ridge on the other side
of State Route 321, be included in the National Wilderness
Preservation System. Congress has yet to act on this
recommendation.
“We are very excited not only for our wilderness campaign, but
also for the national attention brought to the Allegheny National
Forest in general by this Backpacker article,” said Warren native
Ronald Simonsen, M.D., president of the board of directors for
Friends of Allegheny Wilderness. “Warren County and the entire ANF
is a great tourist and outdoor recreation destination, and this
just provides further proof.”
