Kirk Johnson is Executive Director for Friends of Allegheny Wilderness, a Warren-based nonprofit that seeks to foster an appreciation of wilderness values and benefits and work with local communities to ensure that increased wilderness protection is a priority of the stewardship of the Allegheny National Forest.
Well, the election is over and the people have spoken. Back in September ErieBlogs.com ran an op-ed about our ongoing efforts for wilderness protection in the Allegheny National Forest (ANF), and now it’s time for an update. Coincidentally enough, of the 19 Congressional seats in the entire state of Pennsylvania, the only two that changed hands as a result of last November’s election are the two that encompass the ANF – Pennsylvania’s only national forest.
In the 5th Congressional district, which includes the vast majority of the ANF, Republican Glenn Thompson defeated Democrat Mark McCracken to win the seat being vacated by retiring Congressman John Peterson. Peterson held the 5th district seat for six consecutive terms. He announced his retirement last January.
In the 3rd Congressional district, which includes all of Erie County and two small portions of the ANF in Warren County, Democratic challenger Kathy Dahlkemper defeated Republican incumbent Phil English. English held the 3rd district seat for seven consecutive terms.
Both Thompson and Dahlkemper took office when the 111th Congress opened on Tuesday. Both will utilize the district office space of their predecessors. Congressman Thompson hired most of former Congressman Peterson’s staff as his own.
These developments are acutely relevant to the FAW campaign to protect more than 50,000 acres of ANF wilderness. An act of the United States Congress is required to designate wilderness as part of America’s National Wilderness Preservation System – leaving it in it’s natural condition in perpetuity for future generations of people and wildlife alike to use and benefit from.
Given the traditional mechanisms by which wilderness legislation for a particular area advance in the Congress, there will be no ANF wilderness bill passed without the support of the local Congressman. (For example, even though 30,000 acres of ANF wilderness was strongly supported by both of Pennsylvania’s Senators during the 1975 Eastern Wilderness Areas Act debate, local Congressman Albert Johnson actively opposed and ultimately prevented the move.)
If you love our nation’s wild lands, please take the time in the next week or two to write to both Congressman Thompson and Congresswoman Dahlkemper and congratulate them on being elected to the United States House of Representatives. Take the opportunity to remind them of the urgent nature of our wilderness campaign – less than two percent of the entire ANF is permanently protected as wilderness! Please encourage them to support the Citizens’ Wilderness Proposal for Pennsylvania’s Allegheny National Forest legislatively in full. A convenient template letter that you can download and edit as you see fit is available on the FAW website, www.pawild.org (look on the right-hand side of the front page). The direct link to the Word doc is:
http://www.pawild.org/FAWSupportLetter.doc
Mailing addresses are as follows:
The Honorable Glenn Thompson
Member of Congress
127 West Spring Street
Titusville, PA 16354
The Honorable Kathy Dahlkemper
Member of Congress
208 East Bayfront Parkway
Suite 102
Erie, PA 16507
Thank you very much for your help and support as we adjust during this important period of transition! And writing letters is not the only thing you can do. As native Pennsylvanian Edward Abbey once wrote, “the idea of wilderness needs no defense, only more defenders!” If you would like to get actively involved in the campaign to protect Pennsylvania’s wilderness in perpetuity, please contact FAW today.
Friends of Allegheny Wilderness
220 Center Street
Warren, PA 16365
814-723-0620
info@pawild.org
www.pawild.org
A Citizens’ Wilderness Proposal for Pennsylvania’s Allegheny National Forest: www.pawild.org/exec_summary.html
