September 30, 2003
Shallow Gas Well Ban
The Post-Gazette reported last Friday about the planned ban on future shallow oil and gas leasing in Pennsylvania's State Forests. The article is misleading in some of its assumptions such as:
"Regardless of whether the forest plan is adopted as written, about 400 shallow wells will continue to operate until they're tapped dry, Leslie said. She also noted that the state's controversial Trenton-Black River deep wells -- the rights to which were auctioned last year -- haven't been drilled, and the state has yet to realize royalties."
The misleading part about this is that it is not revealed that Trenton-Black River deep wells will continue to be allowed to be drilled. The article does not do a good job of clarifying that this is just one auction. Also, anything over 7,000 feet will still be available for leasing. So the state is not ending drilling on state forest lands - they are just making way for the most lucrative kind.
The beginning of the article was misleading also in that it makes it sound like the DCNR has committed to protecting most of the state forest land from drilling
"Environmental groups scored a major victory over commercial loggers this year when Pennsylvania's conservation agency unveiled a new forest plan that prohibits timber harvesting in the state's most fragile forest areas."
This "major" victory for the state's most fragile areas is a good step in the right direction - but most of the 2.1 million acres would still be available for commercial extraction purposes. This also is not a victory yet as the forest plan has yet to be adopted so the conclusion drawn by the reporter is premature.
Posted by Ryan at 09:42 AM | Comments (0)
September 26, 2003
Coker Installation Pending
The DEP is still considering a permit application from United Refining of Warren, PA, for the installation of a petroleum coker next to the Allegheny River.
Chuck Hayes, reporter for the Times Observer hit the nail on the head with this:
DEP gave preliminary approval to the coker unit, then solicited public input. Wortman said the public comment period is now over.
(David) Wortman is United's manager of supply and trading. Wortman is quick to point out that the public comment period is now over, essentially saying that now the process is back to normal. Why is David Wortman telling the paper the DEP's time table? Could it be that the DEP and the corporations they regulate are so intertwined they speak for eachother?
This would certainly explain why the DEP pre-approved the permit, then asked the public what they thought.
Posted by Ryan at 05:01 PM | Comments (0)
Lumber prices, Iraq reconstruction and tree huggers
This is interesting - the Warren Times Observer reported today that the rising cost of plywood is largely due to the reconstruction of Iraq.
What is funny, is that Harold Cornish, owner of Cornish Lumber Company places the blame, in part, on "tree huggers":
"They've got our national forest around here in the best shape it's been in in years, and now a few tree huggers want to screw the whole thing up. Timber is like a garden. When it needs to be cut, it should be cut and let the new come up," Cornish said.
This is such a shameless attempt to increase access to the Allegheny National Forest for logging. The whole 'timber is like a garden' mentality is so old and obviously not based on sound ecological science it's hard to believe anyone would suggest it as legitimate. The paper should of contacted someone, preferrably the 'tree huggers' getting attacked, for a rebuttal instead of presenting to the public a completely one-sided story.
Posted by Ryan at 04:29 PM | Comments (0)
September 25, 2003
Forest Service Watch #1
Once every week we'll round up what we know about what the Forest Service is up to. Here is our first issue of Forest Service Watch:
News Releases
• Forest Service roads are opened for the big game hunting season. Every fall a number of roads are opened to allow deeper access into the Allegheny National Forest to hunters. Download the pdf document here.
• The Forest Service opened forest motor bike trails just in time for Hurricane Isabel on September 14. There is no notice that they closed trails for the hurricane. So we don't know if they did or didn't. Download the pdf document here.
Forest Planning
• This is major. The Forest Service has posted two planning documents for recreation management and interpretive management. On their face there are some apparent legal issues here as neither appears on their face to have been developed consistent with requirements of planning laws. I will research this over the weekend and provide an update sometime next week. Both large pdf documents available here.
To proceed on this point, I haven't taken even a glance at the substance of these reports which would unlikely impact their legality. However, before I do I should point out that they appear to be planning documents which are supposed to be prepared as the result of very specific public involvement and environmental analysis processes. This fact doesn't change even if these documents are good in substance. Typically, documents that don't follow the legally mandated processes, are in my opinion, of a lesser quality and overtly biased documents. The exception are empirical review documents which I don't think these documents are.
• Nothing new on the next round of forest planning meetings. Keep your eyes posted.
Timber Sales
• Unfortunately our appeal of the windthrow salvage was denied. No big surprise here. The appeals process while important is simply silly because it goes before the same agency that has been pushing the logging in the first place. timber bids have started to come in already, particularly for the Marienville area.
• The Forest Service has timber data up on their website through 2002. Notice the increase in timber awarded. This reflects East Side I think. Fortunately, the timber being cut is down a little from 2001. Lets hope it stays that way.
• Again, this is old but the FS sent out a notice last month delaying the bid dates on ten East Side contracts until November. This is something like the sixth delay on these sales. Something good for a change. Here are the timber bids we've received lately:
The FR 160J Removal Sale - a 30 acre clearcut. Not sure what project this is from. Bid date is October 14.
The Lot 695, 719 Sale - Catchy title huh? Sadly these are three clearcuts planned at Minister Creek. This includes the one along the North Country Trail.Bid date is October 16.
The FR 540 Sale - everything is named after land units and forest roads now. This is two clearcuts totalling 76 acres near the North Country Trail at Coon Creek. Bid date is October 22.
The Warrant 5104, 2992, 2995, 2916 Sale - This is a Windthrow Salvage Sale out by Job Corps Road north of Beaver Meadows. Bid date is October 27.
The Warrant 3179 Sale - This is a Windthrow Salvage Sale out by Greely Farm in an East Side area. This area is getting punished hard which really sucks as it is an area I know well. Bid date is October 20.
The Bald Hill Sale - two clearcuts totalling 58 acres in the Bald Hill Run area.Bid date is October 7.
Website Improvements
• This isn't new news, BUT a very limited amount of GIS data is available on the FS website. Someday we'll update folks on the GIS hoax that the Forest Service has been transpiring on the public.
Posted by jkleissler at 06:14 PM | Comments (0)
Privatization of Public Land
Two Mile Run County Park is located in Venango County. It was recently (in the last year or so) taken over by a private firm, Parks Unlimited, for management. Now, due to the July 21 storms that rolled through the area causing extensive windthrows, the park is bidding out nearly 600 acres for salvage, according to the Oil City Derrick.
Here is a sample of the irrational thinking based on "economics-first" forest management:
"...this is an emergency situation because timber on the ground is deteriorating rapidly" - Ann Rudegeair, Parks Unlimited
No environmental analysis, no involvement with the public -- just log it. This is something to keep in mind with Congressman John Peterson and Allegheny National Forest Supervisor Kevin Elliott exploring ways to privatize the Allegheny National Forest.
Posted by at 02:08 PM | Comments (0)
September 24, 2003
Original Forest Composition
The original forest composition on the Allegheny Plateau is believed to have been hemlock-northern hardwood and I've also seen hemlock-white pine-northern hardwood.
Right now, there seems to be a major squabble over how much disturbance existed in the pre-European settlement forests, particularly from Native Americans for the development of oaks.
I accept that Native Americans had an influence but I do not believe it was that widespread simply because the population in what is now Pennsylvania was so small at that time. Sure, there were clearings for homes and agriculture, particularly along rivers and burnings for berry production, etc. But the overall ecological imprint, I believe was very small.
Whitney placed black cherry and oaks (both disturbance dependant) at 0.8% and around 5%, respectively. This does not suggest widespread disturbance, human or natural. I think it is only the folks who want to increase logging on public land that are pushing forth this notion that there was widespread disturbance from Native Americans.
Now, the DCNR has redefined the vegetative classifications for PA forests and is listing 'Allegheny Hardwoods', defined by being 50% or more black cherry, as a distinct forest type, even though if not perpetually disturbed by man, this so-called 'forest type' would mature to become a northern hardwood forest.
I asked my advisory today in my botany class why Allegheny hardwoods is being classified as a distinct forest type and not an age-class, which is really what it is. He tended to agree with me saying it is not a closed argument and that certainly if not for perpetual human influence (logging), Allegheny hardwoods would not exist, except for natural windthrows. This would be very localized and not constitute a distinct forest type.
Posted by at 01:26 PM | Comments (7)
September 23, 2003
Peterson Pruning the Forest
Only our staunch cut-it-all-down Congressman John Peterson could argue that a clearcut resembles "pruning" in the Allegheny National Forest:
Turning to another kind of Pennsylvania greenery, Peterson addressed forest management in the state."We have one of the most valuable forests in America," he said, speaking of the Allegheny National Forest. He said the goal of the government is to educate landowners as to forest management and to address the forest management plans of the government itself.
"The future of the forest is about managing it," he said, explaining the process of pruning a tree to help the forest grow.
'nuff said. The article is at the Bradford Era.
Posted by jkleissler at 01:32 AM | Comments (0)
September 22, 2003
ATV Killings
Somebody has got to take more aggressive action to control ATV use by minors. This is unbelievable. Six children driving on one ATV on a public road! It is also illegal.
Unfortunately, because of a lack of will in our political leadership and some irresponsible adults these children had to suffer. It is time to restrict the use of these vehicles by minors - and to take these restrictions seriously!
Click Here to View the Full Article
DOUGLAS, Ga. (AP) -- A car collided head-on with an all-terrain vehicle on a rural road, killing five children on the ATV and critically injuring a sixth, officials said.Charges were pending Monday against the car's driver, Amanda Michelle Troupe, 29, said Gordy Wright, a spokesman for the Georgia Department of Public Safety.
The children were on the ATV when the Lincoln sedan crossed the centerline and hit the four-wheeler, said Joann Lacey, a radio operator in the Douglas state patrol post.
Wright said the state patrol's Specialized Collision Reconstruction team would investigate and present evidence, including the results of a blood test on Troupe, to the district attorney.
One of the children killed, 14-year-old Coranne Megan Nelson, was driving the off-road vehicle, which is not permitted on a public street, without a driver's license.
The other victims were Dustin Varnedore, 11, and his 13-year-old sister, Kayla, of Wray; Lindsay Joiner, 13, of Douglas and Courtney Arsenault, 10, of Alma.
Heather Bass, 13, of Ambrose, was flown by helicopter to Memorial Medical Center in Savannah, where she was listed Monday in critical condition.
...
Then check out this report (pdf format) on ATV safety.
Update: The Allegheny Trail Riders, a rather extreme bunch of ATV Riders (who many riders don't want to be affiliated with), has an interesting link atop their website to the ADP site for Allegheny Wild! The only thing is that they allege that the link is for our position on ATVs when in fact it is only a link to a reference we cite in our Allegheny Wild! report. Our position is in the report itself. This isn't the only misinformation on their site but it stuck out as being on top of the main page. This is unfortunately typical.
Posted by jkleissler at 01:48 PM | Comments (1)
Hellbender Journal Coming Your Way
The newest issue of the Hellbender Journal, a 28-page special issue on Allegheny Wild!, is going to the printer today. Be sure to visit the Allegheny Defense Project website later this week if you want to read the on-line edition.
Posted by jkleissler at 10:43 AM | Comments (0)
September 21, 2003
Seneca Resources (National Fuel Gas)
One of my sources has revealed that Seneca Resources (National Fuel Gas) has sold approximately half of its forest land in PA and used the money to purchase a gas pipeline that runs from Canada to U.S.
The buyer of the forest land was not revealed by Seneca Resources.
However, this news certainly appears to tie into the recent Globe Staff, 9/19/2003 story "Mass. pension fund bets aggressively on timber But moves coming amid volatile times in lumber industry"
The Massachusetts state pension fund is making a huge bet on stately stands of Douglas fir in the West, piney woods in the South, and hardwood forests in the Northeast.
State pension officials have purchased almost half a million acres of timber in the past two years and are planning to pour hundreds of millions of dollars more, making Massachusetts one of the most aggressive buyers in a hot sector that is drawing lots of new investors.
In August alone, the Massachusetts pension agency bought 101,660 acres in New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas, with a value of $219 million.
Posted by at 10:37 PM | Comments (6)
September 20, 2003
Open Thread
The comment thread for that long series of posts is too far down to expect much use of it.
So here is an open thread for folks to discuss the many issues raised below.
for an Allegheny Wild,
Jim k
Posted by jkleissler at 01:30 AM | Comments (8)
September 19, 2003
Welcome to the Hellbender Chronicles New Weblog site!
Welcome! We hope you enjoy the new layout for the Allegheny Defense Project's weblog. Let us know if you would like to become a contributor. Otherwise feel free to join in on any of the comment strings.
You may have missed the posts from our previous layout so I have included them here for your reading pleasure (and also because of a silly layout issue that I can't resolve without starting with a lengthy post!).
-jim k
Friday, September 19, 2003
Warren County goes with Guaranteed Payments
According to sources, Warren County Commissioners voted to go with the guaranteed payment method rather than stay with the 25% fund. That means that 3 of the 4 counties (Forest, McKean and Warren) are now receiving money from the guaranteed payment method instead of the old 25% fund.
This leaves only Elk County to decide which way to go before the end of the month. I would say that the lessons of Forest County and the direction that McKean and Warren County, not to mention the data that shows they would receive more money through the guaranteed payments should be enough to persuade the commissioners to make the right choice.
# posted by Ryan @ 1:58 PM
Fall Gathering Cancellation Update
Well, it doesn't appear that the hurricane is going to have as much impact as was anticipated, although reports from up towards Kane suggest driving rains and creeks ready to overflow. In the Clarion area we mostly just had some downed branches and a fair amount of rain but nothing too serious.
Unfortunately, we had to make the call on what to do about the Fall Gathering based on the the best forecasts we had as of Thursday morning, which called for 50-60mph gusts of wind. There were also flood and wind advisories in effect, and we needed to make sure we had enough time to contact everyone. Keep your eye open as we'll be planning something to make up for the lost event!
-jim k
# posted by James @ 12:13 PM
Stormwater and Logging
Over the last fifteen years or so, economists have been studying the "ecological services" provided by intact forests and other ecosystems. One of the major ecological services that forests provide is in water quality and flow regulation. When a watershed is impacted, e.g. by logging, these costs are "externalized"; the logging company doesn't pay them -- we do.
- Rachel
Friday, September 19, 2003
From the Bradford Era
COG discusses stormwater management
By KIMBERLY WEINBERG / Era Reporter
It was appropriate that the Tuna Valley Council of Governments discussed stormwater management Thursday night as Hurricane Isabel moved its way into the central part of the state.
Bradford Township Supervisor Dave Farrell said that stormwater runoff is his township's largest problem. He and others at the meeting blamed a lot of the runoff on logging on the hills in the valley.
"It seems to lead to the loggers lately," he said. "We definitely have to do something."
Farrell said the township has considered putting up money for an engineer to study its watershed.
# posted by Rachel @ 11:53 AM
Thursday, September 18, 2003
Folks,
After much deliberation, we have decided we have no choice but to take the
unprecedented step of cancelling the ADP Fall Gathering scheduled for this
weekend. Hurricane Isabel is slated to pass right through here tomorrow
afternoon--it would be the first hurricane to pass over the Allegheny in 50
years. There are flood and high wind alerts, and we are very concerned
about the safety of participants, as well as the logistical nightmare that
the storm is slated to bring.
We are considering the possibilities of a spring event and/or a fall or
winter meeting, and there are a couple of upcoming events that we'd like to
encourage your participation in:
Next weekend (9/27-9/29): National Forest Protection Alliance/Buckeye Forest
Council annual convention near Columbus, OH. More information at
www.forestadvocate.org. Please register ASAP if you'd like to attend that
meeting. We are planning an ADP caucus at the convention.
October 11: North Country Trail work day: The Allegheny National Forest
chapter of the North Country Trail Association is planning to perform some
trail work on the NCT in the Allegheny, and ADP will be participating. Look
for more information coming soon to the ADP website www.alleghenydefense.org
and further announcements on the Hellbenders listserve.
If you've already registered for the Fall Gathering, we will be either
returning your registration donation checks or issuing a refund within the
next week.
# posted by Rachel @ 1:07 PM
Wednesday, September 17, 2003
Hurricane Update
As of right now, if predictions for Hurricane Isabel do not change by morning, we have decided to call off the Fall Gathering. There are too many unknowns created by the hurricane. Instead we will put our energy into getting the Hellbender Journal out next week and organizing for the next round of forest planning meetings.
We'll keep everyone posted on the status of the hurricane as we learn more. We'll also keep tabs on the aftermath.
-jim k
# posted by James @ 7:48 PM
Hurricane Warning
The current projected path of Hurricane Isabel has it clearing right through the Allegheny National Forest.
The Fall Gathering
Folks planning to make the ADP's 10th annual Fall Gathering should keep an eye open. We've never postponed or cancelled the event before but if it looks like the high winds could create dangerous conditions we might have to do just that. We are following the hurricane's path closely and will keep folks posted. The Bradford Era reports that it has been fifty years since a hurricane eye came through the area.
Storms = Bad Timber Sales
Every time a storm like this comes through the area we have to worry about the impacts of high winds (and related tornados) on the forest itself. While big-time wind disturbance plays an important natural role in the Allegheny, salvage logging often follows these events and this harms forest habitat and soils.
# posted by James @ 9:53 AM
WATCH OUT: Oil Companies on the Loose!
This article from Wednesday's Bradford Era should put us on notice (although we already knew this was happening):
The rising price of natural gas is increasing drilling activity in McKean County.
"It sure looks like there's increased activity," says John Harper of the Pennsylvania Geological Survey. Harper receives information about oil and gas drilling from the Department of Environmental Protection and makes it available to the public. Harper explains that the information is used by the oil and gas industry to tell which areas are being drilled so they can get in on the action.
Right now, the action is in McKean County, according to Brad Vanderhoof, regional program manager for the Department of Environmental Protection's oil and gas program out of Meadville.
"McKean County is the hottest county," he said, explaining that the DEP is issuing more permits for oil and gas drilling in McKean than in any other county.
Vanderhoof said there are currently 13 drilling rigs moving around McKean County drilling new wells.
Oil and gas drilling has been rising rapidly over the past few years. We saw a 500% increase from 1996 to 2001 and we've stayed steady with more than 300 oil and gas wells being drilled each year in the Allegheny National Forest. Nobody has bothered to assess the long-term costs of repairing the inevitable damage.
-jim k
# posted by James @ 12:01 AM
Tuesday, September 16, 2003
Payments to Counties
The Bradford Era reported this morning on payments to counties programs in McKean County:
McKean County could receive $1,583,378.19 in revenue from the sale of timber on the Allegheny National Forest for fiscal year 2003, according to figures supplied by forest officials Monday.
This, of course is flat wrong. The $1.5 million payment would be received for electing NOT to base revenue on the sale of timber. Go figure that they would get this simple fact wrong as noted below.
The figure -- $515,393 more than last year -- is due to a change in the way the county will be receiving the funds from the federal government.
The key here being "...is due to a change in the way the county will be receiving the funds from the federal government." McKean County lost money last year for electing to choose revenues DEPENDENT on timber cutting instead of the guaranteed payment alternative. This decision to change to the guaranteed payment alternative is long overdue and the fiscally responsible action.
- Jim and Ryan
# posted by Ryan @ 9:10 PM
Welcome!
Welcome to the Allegheny Defense Project daily blog! We will update this blog regularly to keep folks posted on happenings in the Allegheny National Forest.
# posted by James @ 5:52 PM
Posted by jkleissler at 07:24 PM | Comments (0)