Unfinished Business: the Allegheny National Forest Revision Plan

Local residents pressure USFS on industrial development at top tourist destination

see UPDATE: de facto Eminent Domain in the Allegheny National Forest

and see related article: Land of Many Lawsuits

A letter writing campaign has been launched to stop oil extraction at one of the area's top tourist attractions at Rimrock Overlook. Local author Reginald Darling contacted about 28 local residents yesterday by e-mail, urging them to stop "a crushing blow to tourism." And now a new organization, FOR (Friends of Rimrock) has established a website to protect the popular hiking trail.

Article by Chris Lareau, updated 7/20/08

"Cornplanter's Stairs" at Rimrock Overlook is a popular family activity which allows hikers of all abilities to descend Rimrock Cliff. Photo Copyright 2008 by Chris Lareau

The letter, in opposition to plans which may include bulldozing roads and drilling a number of oil and gas wells in and around Rimrock Scenic Overlook and Picnic Area, says "we are now in danger of forever losing Rimrock Scenic Overlook and Picnic Area, the crown jewel of our Allegheny National Forest."

Although the U.S. Congress has yet to decide on the wilderness designation for the Rimrock area, the Allegheny National Forest headquarters in Warren recently rejected recommending protection for the area which is considered a favorite with tourists because of its spectacular views and unusual hiking areas which were once owned by Chief Cornplanter, a crucial ally in the American Revolutionary War. The property is adjacent to Kinzua Beach and the Kinzua Marina, about 6 miles east of Warren, Pennsylvania on Route 59. A Warren conservation group, Friends of Allegheny Wilderness, has been making the case for designating Rimrock a wilderness for many years.

Rimrock represents one of four top destinations at Kinzua Lake. The others are Jakes Rocks, the Kinzua Marina, and Kinzua Beach. Industrial development of Rimrock would turn tourists away. Kinzua Beach, the largest in the area, has been closed for a second year in a row. The local Forest Service has failed to maintain the beach's sanitary facilities, due to what it calls budget limitations. With two out of four destinations compromised, the area could easily lose its status as a top spot for summer vacationers.

While Congressional leadership delays on deciding whether to increase wilderness designations in the Allegheny National Forest, a feverish pace of oil drilling permits and environmental objections may bring new light to the need for such an action. A designation of wilderness by an act of Congress would establish law that would protect Rimrock Overlook.

As oil drilling permits mount with the local Allegheny National Forest, their fate stays in limbo because the recently submitted Forest Revision Plan has yet to be completed. The currently proposed plan was found to be out of compliance with federal law by the national office of the Forest Service, due to environmental law. Instead of re-submitting a corrected revision plan, the local Allegheny National Forest headquarters in Warren appears to prefer reviewing each oil permit on a case by case basis in terms of environmental impact. Previous disputes over timbering had to be settled in Federal Court and the lack of a finished Forest Revision Plan may bring more federal judges into the business as commodity prices for oil hit new records.

Below is a copy of the letter proposed to be sent to public officials by local residents:

Dear Supervisor Marten (or Senator)

I am writing to you regarding an urgent matter concerning the Allegheny National Forest (ANF). Oil and gas drilling is at record levels in Pennsylvania’s only national forest due to high crude oil and natural gas prices. Remote and pristine forests, so necessary for the protection of wildlife habitat and watersheds, are being converted to noisy industrial sites with roads criss-crossing and fragmenting the landscape. The sights, sounds and smells of oil and gas drilling irreparably alter the quiet setting one expects when visiting a national forest. Unfortunately, we are now in danger of forever losing Rimrock Scenic Overlook and Picnic Area, the crown jewel of our Allegheny National Forest.

PAPCO, an oil company based in Warren, PA has announced its intention to bulldoze roads and drill numerous oil and gas wells in and around Rimrock Scenic Overlook and Picnic Area. According to Bradford District Ranger Anthony Scardina, “The preliminary proposal that we have seen is in close proximity to the overlook area and its entrance road.” Allowing oil drilling in this scenic area high above the Allegheny Reservoir would be a crushing blow to tourism, striking at the heart of the ANF.

Any proposal to drill for oil and gas at Rimrock, or any other area on the Allegheny National Forest, must be analyzed in an Environmental Assessment (EA) pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Over 10,000 oil and gas wells have been drilled, and thousands of miles of roads have been constructed in the Allegheny without environmental analysis and public comment, pursuant to NEPA!

This is in stark contrast to the National Forest policy regarding private mineral development on the Ottawa and Huron-Manistee National Forests in Michigan, the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia and the Ouachita National Forest in Arkansas, where the Forests Service states: Federal actions such as permitting access and surface occupancy for the exercise of private mineral rights must be analyzed to determine potential environmental consequences pursuant to NEPA. The same policy must be immediately adopted by the Allegheny National Forest to ensure surface resources are protected for future generations of regional residents and ANF visitors from the negative impacts of oil and gas drilling.

The Forest Service must file objections to any proposed wells near Rimrock with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Act permits surface owners to file objections to the location of wells based on the proposed wells impacts to public forest lands, such as our Allegheny National Forest. Objections filed by the Forest Service compel the DEP to more closely consider the impact of proposed wells before deciding whether or not to issue oil and gas drilling permits.

The Forest Service must take a firm stance against oil and gas drilling in the Rimrock Overlook and Picnic Area. Oil and gas companies cannot be allowed to destroy one of the most spectacular – and popular – tourist destinations in the heart of the Allegheny National Forest.

Thank you for your time, attention, and immediate action in support of preserving the beauty and integrity of our Allegheny National Forest.

The e-mail also lists particular officials to which the letter can be sent:

Leanne Marten, Supervisor
Allegheny National Forest
PO Box 847
Warren, PA 16365
(814) 723-5150
lmarten@fs.fed.us

U.S. Senator Arlen Specter
United States Senate
711 Hart Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
(202) 224-4254
http://specter.senate.gov/public/

U.S. Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr.
United States Senate
383 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
(202) 224-6324
(866) 802-2833
http://casey.senate.gov/

See related articles:

Land of Many Lawsuits

In the Times Observer: Friends of Rimrock Speak Out    Buy The Rights        POGAM: State regulates environmental issues

In the Erie Times: Campsites could be replaced by Oil Wells
 

Comments

[Supra Cuban]

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[Joe]

The loss of the RimRock Overlook would be a huge blow to tourism on the Allegheny. There is real need for balance between industrial use and preservation on the Allegheny National Forest (ANF). It is time for our Legislators to renew thier interest in 'A Citizen's Wilderness Proposal for Pennsylvania's Allegheny National Forest' published by The Friends of Allegheny Wilderness and legislatively act on that Proposal!

[Marie]

If it wasn't for my dogs love of running through the woods and streams, mud and anything else she comes across I would have never found RimRock. we go to lots of the trails in town (Bradford) we walk around the marilla reservoir and the morrison trail in ANF. So I started looking online for more trails in the ANF that were fairly close and I came across RimRock! I think when I was a small child we once took a trip up there because we often went swimming at Kinzua, and when I went this past summer with my dog it did bring back a few memories, I love it and so did my dog and I can't wait for spring so me and my whole family can have picnics and walk. I would hate to go and have those stupid oil wells in the view of the tons of photos I take. if they do put them up it will ruin it and it may not even be worth going up there anymore, I would find some where else to go. they need to take those wells some where else!!!