In early October 2003, Friends of Allegheny Wilderness (FAW) based in Warren, Pennsylvania, released a proposal for designating new wilderness areas under the 1964 Wilderness Act in the Allegheny National Forest (ANF) to permanently benefit hunters, anglers, hikers, tourists, as well as the wildlife.
The publication, "A Citizens' Wilderness Proposal for Pennsylvania's Allegheny National Forest" is intended to coincide with the revision of the ANF's Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan), which formally gets underway this fall. The Forest Plan, which outlines management priorities for the entire ANF, was last revised in 1986.
After two years of study, including hours of on-the-ground inventory work, analysis of computerized Geographic Information Systems data and other information, FAW has identified eight individual areas of the Forest, a total of 54,440 acres, as potential wilderness. The FAW report is intended to inform discussion among interested individuals, and provide an objective recommendation to the Forest Service as they revise their Forest Plan.
Areas proposed for wilderness under the FAW proposal include the 4,100-acre Tionesta old-growth forest west of Kane, PA, the Clarion River roadless area near Ridgway, PA along the National Wild and Scenic portion of the Clarion River, and a ridge-top in the northern panhandle of the ANF known as Chestnut Ridge which is being naturally recolonized by hundreds of American chestnut trees.
Background
The Allegheny National Forest – Pennsylvania's only National Forest – is home to two designated Wilderness Areas – the Hickory Creek and Allegheny Islands Wilderness. Together these two areas (which were designated as part of the Pennsylvania Wilderness Act of 1984) total approximately 9,000 acres. Yet these areas account for less than two percent of the Forest as a whole. Nationally, 18 percent of Forest Service land is protected as Wilderness and in the Forest Service's Eastern Region the figure is 11 percent.
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