Applying sound science, the U.S. Forest Service has helped in the successful recovery of the ANF from the barren hills of the early 1900’s – a result of the unregulated logging industry typical of that era. Today, sustainable forestry assures water and soil quality, supports wildlife (both endangered and non-endangered), reduces tree pest and disease impacts, and provides for a diversity in the tree species and age classes.
We are thankful that our early legislators established the National Forest system – which was, in part, created to prevent such widespread harvesting and to assure a continued source of timber for the forest products industry. Under this law, Americans could look to a future with a completely renewable and recyclable resource for building material, paper, furniture, fuel and more.
The National Forest system also provides for communities and school districts that host National Forest lands, by returning 25% of all timber harvest revenues earned annually. The loss of this revenue would adversely affect educational programs and municipal road improvements. In Northern Pennsylvania, thousands could lose their jobs should harvest of this resource no longer be available.
The Problem –
Decades of under management – largely caused by a combination of Forest Service budgetary shortfalls and obstructionist lawsuits limiting timber sales – has contributed to a condition whereby the Allegheny National Forest (ANF), as we know it today, is unsustainable. Forest health has deteriorated to a point where species composition is in serious jeopardy. Proven management protocol is delayed to the detriment of proper stewardship. The AFA is committed to holding the U.S. Forest Service and legislators responsible for the forest condition and its reversal.
In addition to the forest health and sustainability, lower harvests have resulted in a 50% decline in the local hardwood industry, hundreds of lost jobs, and billions in lost revenues for the U.S. Treasury and local communities. In 2013, Ken Kane of McKean County (a practicing forest resource manager and former member of the Kane School Board) was one of several witnesses to testify before the House Agriculture Subcommittee on the National Forest System Management and Its Impact on Rural Economies. Use the link below to read Mr. Kane’s testimony in its entirety: http://docs.house.gov/meetings/AG/AG15/20130313/100454/HHRG-113-AG15-Wstate-KaneK-20130313-U1.pdf
Visit Congressman Glenn Thompson’s website for excerpts and a summary of this hearing: https://thompson.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/thompson-agriculture-subcommittee-examines-national-forest-system
Read articles related to the Allegheny National Forest on Congressman Glenn Thompson’s website: https://thompson.house.gov/search/node/national%20forest