Poll: 9 in 10 Vote “Wilderness”
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Warren, PA – Wilderness gets a vote from nine in ten Americans, according to a new Zogby poll, which shows strong bi-partisan support for wilderness designations. The poll results come as Congress is looking at more than a dozen wilderness proposals this summer. None of those includes Pennsylvania, and Kirk Johnson with Friends of Allegheny Wilderness says the Keystone State is lagging behind on the national forest and wilderness front.
"We only have two areas totaling approximately nine thousand acres, which amounts to less than two percent of the entire Allegheny National Forest."
The Friends of Allegheny Wilderness unveiled a "Citizens' Wilderness Proposal" for the Allegheny in 2003 that would protect about 54,000 acres. He says dozens of conservation groups and businesses have endorsed the plan. Critics have voiced concerned about logging limitations.
Johnson says the bi-partisan spirit reflected in the poll connects with Pennsylvania's history. Republican Congressman John Saylor introduced the Wilderness Act in the 1950s and was one of the bill's strongest backers.
"Congressman Saylor was someone who supported the creation of wilderness areas, and he came from a political school of thought from which you might not expect support of those ideas. And that's what we need, liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans to stand together."
This week marks the 100th anniversary of Congressman Saylor's birth.
More information on the Friends of Allegheny Wilderness is available online at
www.pawild.org/.
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