Keep it natural: Allegheny National Forest needs more wilderness
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Allegheny National Forest, Pennsylvania's only federal woodland, stands to get a double dose of protection from two new developments. It couldn't come at a better time, given heightened interest in drilling due to the potential of the multistate Marcellus Shale deposits.
One development is a renewed initiative to set aside more wilderness area that would be shielded against expanded road building, timbering and oil and natural gas drilling. The other comes from a shift in oversight of drilling permits in the 513,000-acre forest 100 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.
Despite a strong push by environmental groups to sanction more wilderness area under the 10-year forest management plan published in 2007, only 8,979 acres -- or 2 percent -- today have such designation. That compares poorly to the 18 percent average of all national forest land in the United States that is categorized as wilderness.
Last month more than 50 scientists and academics signed a letter calling on U.S. Sens. Arlen Specter and Bob Casey and U.S. Reps. Kathy Dahlkemper and Glenn Thompson to secure congressional approval for 54,640 acres of wilderness, an earlier proposal of the Friends of Allegheny Wilderness. That would bring the wilderness portion of the forest to only 12 percent, in line with Eastern forests but still far below the national average.
The other move involves the shift in oversight of oil and gas industry operations at Allegheny National Forest to the U.S. Forest Service's regional office in Milwaukee. The service also said it will begin an environmental impact study of oil and gas drilling operations in the woodland. Those who want to improve its diversity of uses -- not just for business but also for recreation, sport and tourism -- see the twin moves as an attempt by the Forest Service to tighten regulation on the impact of oil and gas wells.
Pennsylvanians should applaud and support these efforts to maintain the forest's natural quality. With companies eager to tap the potentially lucrative Marcellus Shale deposits, the only way to manage a finite asset like Allegheny National Forest is to keep its fragile zones out of harm's way and give drilling activity adequate scrutiny.
First Published February 16, 2009 12:00 am
