For anyone interested in seeing the destruction from oil and gas drilling, download Google Earth if you haven't already and check out the Allegheny National Forest from space. It is really astonishing.
In the meantime, check out these images I've downloaded of specific areas in the Allegheny.
http://s58.photobucket.com/albums/g262/noneliteliberal/Allegheny/?action=view¤t=TracyRidge.jpg
I've put up images here that show areas that have been impacted from obvious clearcutting and oil and gas drilling and areas that are protected (or at least ought to be).
I don't know who can look at these images and be ok with what is going on in Pennsylvania's only national forest.
Ryan
It is important to clarify that timber production was not part of the reason for designating the Allegheny National Forest. President Coolidge's proclamation for the Allegheny can be seen at the Allegheny Defense Project's website:
http://www.alleghenydefense.org/images/forest_watch/proclamation.jpg
As the proclamation clearly establishes, the Allegheny was designated for the protection of the watersheds of navigable streams by referencing the Weeks Act of 1911. Note that there is nothing there pertaining to the Allegheny being established for timber production.
It was not until a year or so after the Allegheny was established in 1923 that the Weeks Act was amended to include timber production as one of the reasons for establishing national forests in the east.
Turning to today, there is no need for logging or oil and gas drilling in the Allegheny National Forest. The Allegheny is a mere 3% of Pennsylvania's forestlands. Even in the northwestern part of the state, there is still far more private land than there is public land. We simply do not need the taxpayer subsidized logging that is occurring in our state's only national forest.
Oil and gas drilling is devastating the Allegheny right now. Every day, more and more of the forest is lost to more roads, wells, pipelines, and storage tanks. It is nothing short of a tragedy and is robbing future generations, first of the joy of experiencing a place for solitude and second by leaving the cleanup and restoration costs to taxpayers.
And make no mistake. The amount of oil being extracted in the Allegheny is miniscule compared to our consumption as a nation. In other words, the Allegheny is literally being destroyed for the profits of oil companies with virtually no benefits for consumers.
Ryan
For more information:
www.alleghenydefense.org
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