"What is it that draws people to The Forest? Do they come to count the rings on the stumps of old growth white pines and marvel at what used to be? I think not. As evidence of human influence grows in the heart of The Forest, it becomes increasingly apparent that if there are not areas set aside to preserve the wilderness characteristics that so many value, we risk destroying the very thing we seek."
- Jim DeLong, Testimony at Allegheny National Forest public hearing, August 21, 2006
Jim DeLong works with Friends of Allegheny Wilderness to build support for protecting the wildest spots in Pennsylvania's Allegheny National Forest. Jim has written letters to his congressional delegation, distributed literature about wilderness, testified at public meetings, written letters to the editor, and met with his congressman's local staff person. "It may not seem like a lot," says Jim, "but everything we do is another brick in the load, and someday we're going to make that load big enough that it can't be ignored."
Jim grew up in the town of Warren, PA, on the edge of Pennsylvania's only national forest. He has been, in his words, wandering around the Allegheny National Forest for 50 years. "As a kid, I was out in the woods all the time, I just grew up with it," says Jim.
One of the areas that Jim cherishes most is the proposed Allegheny Front Wilderness. "It's an area with steep hillsides, which means fewer crowds. I was up in there on a brook trout fishing expedition on Sunday. It's a wild piece of country."
Advocates for wilderness in the Allegheny National Forest face a set of unique challenges, including the fact that some of the hardwood species that grow in abundance in the Allegheny National Forest happen to be extraordinarily valuable commercially.
However, in public testimony before the Forest Service last spring, Jim stated, "let us not be so shallow as to believe that all that is good and true and valuable can be measured in dollars and cents." As a certified financial planner, Jim is an authority on dollars and cents, as well as on investing in our future. And like most investments, the future of the Allegheny National Forest is uncertain. "I've watched encroachment along the edges. I've seen more litter and ATV tracks where they shouldn't be," says Jim.
Jim learned about Friends of Allegheny Wilderness when a colleague handed him a copy of the group's Citizens' Wilderness Proposal for Pennsylvania's Allegheny National Forest, which recommends eight areas in the forest, totaling 54,000 acres for wilderness protection. Having grown up hiking and fishing in the Allegheny Front, Jim wanted to help the effort to protect these wonderful places - a mere 12 percent of the forest - for future generations. "I distributed copies of the Citizens' Proposal and asked people to send in letters of support. Not form letters, but personal letters from people across the region."
Jim's work is having an impact. "The wilderness effort for the Allegheny National Forest benefits tremendously by Jim's advocacy and lifelong attachment to the proposed Allegheny Front Wilderness Area," says Kirk Johnson, Executive Director of Friends of Allegheny Wilderness. "If the Allegheny Front Wilderness Area is ultimately designated by Congress, future generations will largely have Jim to thank for it."
Recently, Jim has focused his attention on the proposed Tracy Ridge Wilderness. On March 30, the Forest Service released its final forest plan for the Allegheny, which sadly reversed the draft plan's proposed recommendation of Tracy Ridge - the largest Roadless Area in the Forest at 9,500 acres - for wilderness. The Forest Service only recommended two areas for wilderness in its plan, less than 13,000 acres.
Luckily, it is Congress - not the Forest Service - which will be the ultimate decider of wilderness protection for the forest. The next step for Jim and Friends of Allegheny Wilderness will be to bring their proposal to Pennsylvania's congressional delegation. "We need to get our legislators out in the forest to see what they're dealing with," says Jim. "I would be more than happy to take them out for a hike to see some of the places we're working on. It's important that they understand that people really care about these areas."
Jim's advice for other citizens who wish to get involved with wilderness is this: "Look for an organization in your region of the country that you can get involved with. There are plenty of groups like Friends of Allegheny Wilderness that people can be comfortable with and work with to voice their opinions. I don't think people realize how important it is to make their views known. I'm amazed at the response I get when I write a letter to the editor. People I meet with say ‘hey, I saw your letter. That was good, I agree with that.' It's just so important that people make their opinions known."
Places like the Allegheny Front need more advocates like Jim who not only care deeply about wilderness, but are willing to speak up to defend it. We salute Jim and the rest of the Friends of Allegheny Wilderness for their work to restore and protect some of the last wild places in America's eastern forests.
