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January 12, 2005
Wednesday's Feature Wild Area - Tionesta Wilderness Area
Every Wednesday in 2005, the Allegheny Defense Project will feature a proposed special area on our blog, the Hellbender Chronicles. These areas are featured in the ADP's Allegheny Wild! Proposal for the Allegheny National Forest. Many of these areas would be given protections under the Act to Save America's Forests.
The proposed Tionesta Wilderness Area
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
The Tionesta Wilderness features the Tionesta National Natural Landmark (the largest old growth forest in Pennsylvania), thousands of acres of proposed old growth management corridors, the North Country National Scenic Trail, the East Fork Roadless Area, Twin Lakes Hiking Trail, the proposed Tionesta Wilderness Trail, Crane Run Wilderness Trout Stream and other wild features.
Background: The Tionesta Wilderness proposal first appeared in 1996 when the Allegheny Defense Project was first responding to logging threats in the surrounding forest. The East Side (then known as Mortality II), Eagle Mills, James Mills, and Six Pipes timber sales all threatened the integrity of the Tionesta old growth and surrounding recovering forest lands. In 1997 the ADP started formalizing its proposal and in 1999 the proposal for a Tionesta Wilderness Area was introduced in a research paper in the Natural Areas Journal. In spring of 2004, the Allegheny Defense Project formally included the proposed Tionesta Wilderness Area in our Allegheny Wild! proposed management plan for the Allegheny National Forest. The proposal was detailed in a 66-page fully cited report. The Tionesta Wilderness Area was incorporated as a Special Area in the Act to Save America's Forests. By the end of 2005, over 1,000 businesses, organizations, and individuals had endorsed the Allegheny Wild! proposal.
Status: Today, this area remains largely unprotected. The Martin Run Timber Sale threatens logging in the heart of the proposed Tionesta Wilderness Area. The mineral rights underneath the Wilderness, and even the Tionesta National Natural Landmark, are largely held by private corporations such as National Fuel.
Description: The Tionesta Wilderness Areas centers around the Tionesta Scenic and Research Natural Areas, an old growth northern hardwood forest compromised of 300 to 500 year old trees, and its restoration values to neighboring second growth forests. The Tionesta old growth forest was designated a National Natural Landmark and is home to all kinds of wildlife including the Northern Goshawk, the Indiana bat, the state endangered Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, and a variety of songbirds that prefer old growth habitat. The old growth has incredible value as a source for restoration of wildlife and plant diversity to surrounding forest lands that are still recovering from past logging and drilling operations.
Photos of the Tionesta Wilderness Area
Backpacking in the Tionesta Wilderness
Exploring the Tionesta Wilderness
Posted by jkleissler at 03:14 PM | Comments (2)
Stop the Martin Run Timber Sale
The proposed Tionesta Wilderness Area is under threat. The integrity of the Tionesta Scenic and Research Natural Areas are at risk. Restoration of the recovering forest is at risk. Please act today!
What you can do!
• Join the Allegheny Defense Project at tonights Forest Protection Meetups!
Buffalo, NY
Erie, PA
Philadelphia, PA
Pittsburgh, PA
• Write a letter to Allegheny National Forest Supervisor Kevin Elliott, PO Box 847, Warren, PA 16365 or kbelliott@fs.fed.us
• Write your local Senator and Congressman asking them to stand for Wilderness and against the Martin Run Timber Sale
• Write a Letter to the Editor talking about the restoration value of the Tionesta old growth and the threats posed by the Martin Run Timber Sale
What is at risk? (the details)
The Martin Run Timber Sale is one of the most damaging proposals ever to come out of the US Forest Service offices in the Allegheny National Forest. This timber sale would allow more than 1,900 acres of primarily even-aged logging with major ramifications for wildlife habitat, watershed protection, and national treasures.
Posted by jkleissler at 03:05 PM | Comments (0)