Welcome to Pennsylvania's only National Forest! This lens encourages you, firstly, to use the forest - to get to know its natural history by hiking, camping and canoeing its trails, hills and waterways. If you're interested in Outdoor Recreation, this site is for you.
Secondly, it's meant to help you to become more familiar with the many issues surrounding use of the Allegheny National Forest. If you're interested in how public forests affect your community, you've come to the right place.
ALERT
Have Your Say In The New Allegheny National Forest
- USFS Forest Plan Revision
- The Allegheny National Forest is in the process of revising its Forest Plan. The original plan was adopted in 1986. As required by Federal Law, forest plans must be revised every 10 to 15 years. In May 2003, several Collaborative Learning workshops were held to discuss the Need for Change of the current Forest Plan. In August 2003, more workshops were held to identify which of the many topics generated by the public and by the ANF personnel should be considered. The Notice of Intent to revise the Forest Plan was published in the Federal Register on September 25, 2003.
Forest Supervisor Kathleen Morse announced the availability of public information meetings the public can attend to learn about the Revised Forest Plan in eight different communities around the Allegheny National Forest. These meetings allowed interested citizens to attend and listen to a PowerPoint explanation about the DRAFT Revised Forest Plan. The PowerPoint explanation play ed periodically throughout the four hour meeting so people can attend at a time convenient for them.
The next step in the forest plan revision process is for public hearings to be held. The dates for these public hearings have not yet been released to the public, but will be sometime in August.
Check back to see exactly when these public hearings will be held.
Forest Uses
ATV Recreation
Should the USFS expand the already 100+ miles of ATV trails?Ever considered illegal off-trail riding, soil erosion, and user conflicts with other public recreationists?
Is it appropriate for public lands to have ATV trails in the first place?
The new forest service plan seems to think so, and expands the number of ATV trails while not setting simliar goals for nonmotorized recreation such as hiking, biking, and cross-country skiing.
Do you think this is fair? Let me know!
About The Forest
Getting Started
- US Forest Service's Info
- "Within the Forest, three unique landscapes comprise some of the most extensive virgin forest in the eastern United States. The 4,131 acres of the Tionesta Scenic and Research Natural Area contain ancient virgin white pine, hemlock, and beech. The Hearts Content Area, a primeval tract of 300-400 year old trees, spans 122 acres. The Allegheny River Islands Wilderness is another unique feature of the Allegheny National Forest. The seven islands in the Allegheny River offer remote canoeing and back-country camping."
- Wikipedia's Info
- "The Allegheny National Forest is a National Forest located in northwestern Pennsylvania. The forest covers over 500,000 acres (2,000 km²) of land. Within the forest is the Kinzua Dam, which created the Allegheny Reservoir."
- GORP's Info
- "The Allegheny National Forest sits in the rugged plateau country of northwestern Pennsylvania. Many creeks and streams cut deeply into the plateau, creating a rolling and sometimes steep topography with a 1,300 foot range of elevation. The terrain is covered with a typical eastern hardwood forest: Black cherry, yellow poplar, white ash, red maple, and sugar maple are all common to the area."
Google Maps
Forest Economy
Resource Extraction In The Allegheny
- Pennsylvania General Energy
- "Producing the Energy We Need. Protecting the Environment We Treasure."
- The Collins Companies: Kane Hardwood
- "126,000-acre Collins Pennsylvania Forest in the Allegheny Mountains of northwest Pennsylvania. Operations began in 1855."
Forest Uses
Oil And Gas
Should Private Oil And Gas Drilling Rights Be Issued on Public Lands?Nearly 95% of the mineral rights in the Allegheny National Forest are privately held.
Get Involved!
Not For Profit Organizations
- Allegheny Defense Project
- "Allegheny Defense Project is a non profit organization dedicated to protecting and restoring the forests and rivers of the Allegheny Plateau. We focus our work on defending public lands from industrial extraction, the primary threat to the health and well being of these incredible places, with special emphasis on the Allegheny, Pennsylvania's only national forest. We do this with on-the-ground monitoring and research, participation in the decision making process and outdoor education that promotes responsible recreation."
- Friends of Allegheny Wilderness
- "Friends of Allegheny Wilderness seeks to foster an appreciation of wilderness values and benefits, and to work with local communities to ensure that increased wilderness protection is a priority of the stewardship of the Allegheny National Forest."
- The Wilderness Society
- "We Americans are the people we are largely because we have had the influence of the wilderness on our lives." - Pennsylvania Representative John P. Saylor, on sponsoring the Wilderness Act in Congress, 1956.
- The Sierra Club
- "The Allegheny Group's first projects involved legal battles to oppose granting strip mining permits which threatened irreplaceable local water supplies. Members may become involved in various conservation committees that work on such issues as air quality, population, carrying capacity, oil and gas, wetlands, recycling and political education."
- Seneca Faithkeeper's School
- "Senecas Preserving Our Language, Traditional Culture, And Customs" "It is the elders who possess the means, the Seneca langauge, to pass on their knowledge and wisdom of our Seneca heritage."
Forest Uses
Canoeing
From Kinzua Dam to miles of shoreline, exploring the Allegheny by water is open to kayakers and canoers alike."The Allegheny River Islands Wilderness is another unique feature of the Allegheny National Forest. The seven islands in the Allegheny River offer remote canoeing and back-country camping."
Vote!
Where Elected Government Stands
- Congressman John E Peterson
- "The Allegheny National Forest, Pennsylvania's only national forest, is a natural paradise that encompasses more than half a million acres of rugged plateau country in northwest Pennsylvania. From magic forests and timeless rivers to quaint historic towns, this unique corner of the universe is just waiting to be discovered."
Allegheny Literature at Amazon
Your Purchases Help Continue Conservation And Education Programs
Go Explore!
Local Outfitters And Resources
- Allegheny Outdoor Adventures
- We are a group of environmentally conscious "explorers" interested in trips that might include, but not limited to: caving, hiking, backpacking, camping, mountain biking, canoing, kayaking, rafting, tubing, rock exploring, rock climbing, rappelling, swimming, sunbathing, snorkeling, scuba diving, winter camping, orienteering, bird watching, X-Country skiing and Geocaching in the Allegheny National Forest & Allegany State Park Areas.
- Allegheny Outfitters
- "Welcome to Kinzua Country, in northwestern Pennsylvania, where the mighty Allegheny River winds through the rolling hills of the Allegheny National Forest. What better way to spend the afternoon than floating down the river in one of our canoes. Watch for eagles and hawks above, white-tailed deer along the shore or one of many species of fish in the water beneath you. Bring the kids, your sweetheart or your best buddy for a relaxing canoe trip you will never forget. We have a trip to suit everyone!"
- REI: Pittsburgh
- "REI Pittsburgh is excited to be part of the urban renewal taking place at the SouthSide Works, home of the former LTV steel mill. Nearby recreational opportunities abound with the Monongahela River and the South Side Riverfront Trail just a few short strides from the store's doorstep. When visiting Pittsburgh's historic South Side stop on in and let the friendly REI staff help outfit you for adventure-whether it's cycling the city's Three Rivers Heritage Trail, hiking the nearby Allegheny Mountains or rock climbing in neighboring West Virginia."
Forest Uses
Commercial Logging
The National Forest Protection Alliance Says:* Only 4% of our nation's timber comes from National Forests
* Logging and logging roads have caused deadly fires and landslides, contribute to soil erosion, degrade and fragment wildlife habitat
* Recreation and tourism on public lands contribute 30 times more to the economy than logging
Google News
News In And Around The Forest
Hellbender Chronicles
ADP Blog
Environmental Intelligence
YOU Can Investigate The Issues
Using Google Earth
- Environmental Groups Leveraging Google Earth
- Last week the San Francisco Chronicle published an article - called "GREEN Eyes in the Sky " about how Google Earth is leveling the playing field for environmentalists by providing a powerful visualization tool. First, GE provides them with a powerful way to look at high resolution satellite and aerial photography of pollution, waste, industrial growth, and encroachment to natural areas (see example here). Second, GE is also a powerful presentation tool allowing them to not only see the ground in close detail, but also allowing the presentation of pictures, data (for example, waste sites, oil wells, etc.), highlighting rivers and waterways, showing deforestation, and more.
- More Satellite Environmental Data in Google Earth
- As promised, here are some more environmental time-progression satellite data which were posted by Valery35 at the Google Earth Community during the past few days. In this collection, we start with the corresponding data to the Day Land Temperatures of the Earth now with the Night Land Temperatures. In addition, Valery posted data on the Biosphere, Leaf Area Index, and Vegetation Index. Once again, all of this data came from NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellites Terra and Aqua.
- Collection of Ecology Posts
- The purpose of this post is to make a collection of several posts about ecology from differents authors, from this community. It will be updated as new posts appears. I´ll try to select posts with lots of info, pictures, links, not those where there is just a placemark of a nice or natural place. Per definition: Ecology: the branch of biology concerned with the relations between organisms and their environment. Hope you´ll find here stimulus to be in love with the planet in a deeply and harmonious way. (From Squidoo ANF: Thanks Gerardo!)
- State of Our Ecology in Google Earth
- One of the Google Earth Community (GEC) members called 'Gerardo64' has been compiling a list of links to posts related to issues involving the ecology of Earth. This is a good idea, because there is currently no better program for visualizing problems with our planet than Google Earth. You can see his list of links in his post here, which include issues such as deforestation [Google Earth File. You must have GE installed.] , temperature anomalies, glacier melt, coral reefs, and even light pollution. There are some good collections in his list, some written about here at the Google Earth Blog (GEB) include: Hidden Logging in Amazon, Environmental Groups Using GE, Sierra Club and Public Land Sale, and Satellite Environmental Data.
Flickr Pictures from ADP
Check out pictures posted by the Allegheny Defense Project.
by Allegheny_Defender
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