Photo by Joseph Bell
Allegheny Forest Alliance Executive Director Jack Hedlund, center, discusses the group’s initiatives with Spring Creek Township’s supervisors during their meeting last night. Hedlund is joined by Dale Anderson, left, who serves as Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Forest Industry Association, and former congressman John Peterson, who will take over Hedlund’s post in June.

By Joseph Bell

Staff Writer

SPRING CREEK TWP. – Allegheny Forest Alliance members attended last night’s Spring Creek Township Board of Supervisor’s meeting to discuss potential membership into the fold.
According to township chairman Richard Wittman, the supervisors had received more than one letter from the alliance proposing the township’s admittance into the AFA.
“I decided to make a phone call and talked to (AFA executive director) Jack Hedlund,” Wittman said. “When you ask for money, you get my curiosity, especially when I don’t know where it’s going.
“I’m aware of the alliance but that’s all I’m aware of.”
Hedlund presented the township’s elected officials with several documents explaining the alliance’s various goals.
“We’re the advocacy group for townships and school districts, on your behalf, for the forest service and anything else that we have to essentially do,” Hedlund said. “We have approximately 33 townships in the four-county region and I believe 18 of them are members.
“Not all of them are members.”
According to the alliance’s Web site, the AFA is a ‘non-profit coalition of school districts, townships, recreation groups, businesses and others. The entity supports and promotes sustainable forestry, environmental stewardship and multiple-use management of the Allegheny National Forest and other public forest lands on the Allegheny Plateau in Pennsylvania.’
“For the year 2008, Elk County received a little over $1 million from the 25 percent payment, as split essentially 50/50,” Hedlund said. “Townships get half and the school districts get half, and Elk County is the only county split 50/50.
“Basically, I had to make the argument to the Elk County Commissioners and they went with the 25 percent.”
According to Hedlund, the alliance works with the forestry service to ensure that the entity continues to recognize its obligations.
“There’s nothing to say the forest service tomorrow could just quit cutting, that’s just something we have to live with and we do the best that we can to stay on their tails and try to insist that they have an obligation,” Hedlund said. “They keep telling us that they understand their obligation and that they have to manage the forest, and that they’re going to be cutting trees.
“We do all we can to pressure the forest service to do their obligation and cut timber.”
Without timber cutting, Hedlund said the local workforce would drastically suffer.
“We suffer because people have power saws that don’t work, people with log trucks that don’t work and all those people are citizens in these particular areas and we do all that we can to see that the forest service does its job,” Hedlund said.
While Hedlund is set to retire in June, he will be replaced by John Peterson, who served six terms as 5th District congressman on the Republican platform. Peterson chose not to seek a seventh term last year.
“I know the players in Wisconsin and the players in Washington too, which is somewhat of an advantage,” Peterson said. “We want to continue Jack (Hedlund’s) strong voice.”
For the future, Peterson said the forest has “huge tourism ability” that the former congressman finds highly underutilized.
“The forest is an economic engine that can be revved up,” Peterson said. “Some people undervalue tourism. We’re looking forward to this and we think it would be an investment into (Spring Creek Township’s) future.
“All I can promise is that we’re going to try to maximize the economic value of the Allegheny National Forest in the four-county region and the townships and school districts. We think it’s a great national and local resource, and if we don’t fight, the opposition will win. I think we have to keep the voice up.”
The supervisors did not make an immediate decision regarding alliance membership.