1. United States
2. Pa.
3. Letter

People outside this region have no idea how completely our communities depend on the Allegheny National Forest. ANF is not scenery. It is Pennsylvania’s only national forest and the structural support beam holding up the entire PA Wilds. And while the U.S. Forest Service undergoes a dismantling that threatens its capacity to function, our federal delegation has not mounted the defense this region urgently needs. The PA Wilds was created under Governor Ed Rendell as a deliberate rural‑development strategy. Senator Bob Casey was already in office during that founding era. Representative Glenn Thompson has served through nearly the entire lifespan of the program, representing the counties most dependent on it. Senator John Fetterman now shares responsibility for safeguarding the region’s future. Whether they like it or not, all three are political successors to the administration that built the PA Wilds — and all three share responsibility for defending it now. The Allegheny National Forest is the PA Wilds. It draws more than 1.2 million visitors annually, generates over $75 million in tourism spending, supports more than 1,000 direct jobs and $30 million in labor income, and provides the largest block of public access land in the region. It protects the headwaters of the Clarion and Allegheny Rivers, supplies drinking water to tens of thousands, and delivers millions in federal payments that keep rural schools, emergency services, and county governments functioning. County‑level dependence is profound. Forest County receives more than $100,000 a year in Secure Rural Schools funding, and its school district relies on over $700,000 — roughly 5% of its budget. Elk, McKean, and Warren Counties depend on 25% of ANF timber receipts for schools and roads. These are not optional dollars. Privatization or “more timbering” is not a solution. Federal payments like SRS and PILT disappear under privatization. Private harvests do not generate county revenue. The money goes to companies — not schools, not roads, not counties. Every member of Congress representing this region knows these facts. Yet none have mounted a forceful public defense of ANF or the Forest Service. Rural Pennsylvanians deserve more than silence. We deserve action.