Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

When: Thursday, October 29, 7:00 p.m. Where: Slater Room, Warren Public Library, free and open to the public What: Forever Wild: Celebrating America's Wilderness, preceded by the 16-min. film Keystone Wilderness The Pennsylvania Wilderness Act, which designated the Hickory Creek and Allegheny Islands Wilderness Areas in the Allegheny National Forest, was signed into law by President Reagan on October 30, 1984. Forever Wild is a 60-min. documentary hosted & narrated by Robert Redford capturing the glory of undeveloped, wild places and the passionate tales of America¹s modern wilderness volunteers who have spent countless hours working to ensure that wild places are preserved for generations to come under the Wilderness Act of 1964. In Colorado, Idaho, Utah, Montana and New Hampshire, these are tales of vision and dedication by Americans who work to preserve a legacy of wilderness. Forever Wild also features the sage insights of long-time wilderness advocate and historian Doug Sc...

WARREN --­ In The Way of the Woods: Journeys Through American Forests, Linda Underhill explores some of America¹s most extraordinary forests, from proposed wilderness in the Allegheny National Forest (ANF), to the old-growth groves of Cook Forest State Park, to the ancient rainforests of Washington¹s Olympic Peninsula. Pittsburgh native Underhill, a resident of Wellsville, New York and currently a visiting professor of English at Gettysburg College, spent several years visiting important forest areas from coast to coast in preparation for writing The Way of the Woods, recently published by Oregon State University Press. For her chapter on the ANF, titled "Going Wild," Underhill augmented her research with a hiking trip with Kirk Johnson, executive director for Friends of Allegheny Wilderness (FAW) into the proposed addition to the Hickory Creek Wilderness Area in southern Warren County. FAW is a Warren-based non-profit organization seeking permanent protection for select port...

The proposed Tracy Ridge and Chestnut Ridge Wilderness Areas in the Allegheny National Forest are featured in the June 2009 issue of Backpacker magazine. The article "Hike It, Save It" highlights 10 areas of federal public land around the country that organizations would like to see given a wilderness designation. The US Forest Service recently withdrew Tracy Ridge from recommended wilderness status but Kirk Johnson, executive director of Friends of Allegheny Wilderness, says the area remains undeveloped and is still qualified for the designation. He says the article will inspire renewed interest in permanently protecting these areas. The magazine has a circulation of 340,000. Backpacker magazine Friends of Allegheny Wilderness

WARREN --­ On the heels of the passage of the federal Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, National Wildlife Federation (NWF) supports expansion of Congressionally designated wilderness in the Allegheny National Forest (ANF). The ANF wilderness proposal of Friends of Allegheny Wilderness (FAW) has the support of a rapidly growing, broad-based grassroots constituency that seeks protection for some of Pennsylvania¹s last parcels of remote, wild forestland. FAW¹s Citizens¹ Wilderness Proposal for Pennsylvania¹s Allegheny National Forest advocates adding eight areas and 54,460 acres to America¹s National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS), which was established with the passage of the Wilderness Act of 1964. "With passage of this important federal public land protection, it¹s now time to turn our attention in earnest to Pennsylvania¹s only national forest -- the Allegheny," said Anthony Caligiuri, Executive Director of NWF¹s Chesapeake Mid-Atlantic Regional Center, in A...

State Reps. Kathy Rapp (R-Forest/McKean/Warren), Martin Causer (R-Cameron/McKean/Potter) and Matt Gabler (R-Clearfield/Elk) are speaking out against attempts to further restrict recreational and economic access in the Allegheny National Forest (ANF). The effort is being spearheaded by the environmental group Friends of the Allegheny Wilderness (FAW). "The three of us have sent a letter to our colleagues in the United States Congress, as well as to the United States Department of Agriculture and the Forest Service, opposing efforts to restrict access to more than 54,000 acres of wilderness space in the forest," stated Gabler. "In these difficult economic times, any endeavor that is a detriment to jobs and the financial well-being of our region must be stopped." As a result of the 1964 Wilderness Act, only the U.S. Congress can expand wilderness area. In addition to concerns about the economic impact of an expanded wilderness area, the lawmakers are also concerned ab...

Kirk Johnson, executive director of the Friends of Allegheny Wilderness, will present a program on “Keystone Wilderness: A Citizens’ Wilderness Proposal for Pennsylvania’s Allegheny National Forest” at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford on Thursday, April 2. Johnson’s talk, which is presented by the Friends of Hanley Library, will take place at 7 p.m. in the Mukaiyama University Room of the Frame-Westerberg Commons. The program will include a viewing of a film produced by Friends of Allegheny Wilderness that uses photography and video of proposed areas to be protected. Following the screening of the film, Johnson will discuss his organization’s efforts for conservation on the Allegheny National Forest, followed by a question-and-answer period. Kirk Johnson graduated from Albion (Mich.) College in 1991 with a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy and from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash., in 1999 with a master of environmental studies degree. ...

Kirk Johnson, Executive Director, Friends of Allegheny Wilderness "Today the U.S. House of Representatives finally passed the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act [H.R. 146] which when signed into law by the President will protect in perpetuity as wilderness under the Wilderness Act of 1964 two million acres of our Federal public lands in their natural condition for future generations of Americans to use and enjoy. Although there are no Allegheny National Forest lands included in the measure, Friends of Allegheny Wilderness and our vast network of supporters applaud the 15 out of 19 Pennsylvania House members who voted to invest in our grandchildren's future by supporting this important bill. Both Arlen Specter and Robert Casey are also to be heartily congratulated for voting for the measure previously in the U.S. Senate. The wilderness community across the country has invested a tremendous amount of blood, sweat, and tears over the last decade to get to this point. With today...

Earlier this week, the US House defeated a bill that would have designated about 54,000 acres of the Allegheny National Forest as protected wildnerness areas. But Kirk Johnson, executive director of Friends of Allegheny Wilderness, says the issue is not dead and will probably come before Congress again. For more, go to the Warren Times Observer . Friends of Allegheny Wildnerness .

More than 50 scientists and researchers with intimate knowledge of Pennsylvania¹s flora, fauna, and ecosystems have signed a letter to the state¹s Congressional delegation endorsing the Citizens¹ Wilderness Proposal for Pennsylvania¹s Allegheny National Forest. The Citizens¹ Wilderness Proposal, developed by volunteers from throughout Pennsylvania and advocated by Friends of Allegheny Wilderness (FAW), calls on Congress to designate as wilderness eight tracts totaling 54,460 acres on the 513,300-acre Allegheny National Forest (ANF). The ANF is Pennsylvania¹s only national forest. Wilderness designation under the federal Wilderness Act of 1964 is the highest level of protection that can be given federal lands, forever keeping them as natural areas free from road building, development, and motorized uses. In their letter to Congress, the scientists stated that designating the areas recommended in the Citizens¹ Wilderness Proposal "would help to improve the ecological health across t...