Reading the article and comment threads, I think one may get the impression that the Allegheny has been completely destroyed, and that it is essentially a lost cause. This however, is certainly not the case.
While it is true that huge swaths of the forest have been destroyed by oil and gas drilling and clearcutting, there is much that remains relatively pristine...for now, at least.
I lived just southeast of the Allegheny for about 6 years. I spent a lot of time exploring the woods and the streams, and there still exist so many beautiful and amazing places. Some of these areas should be federally protected as Winderness, but others, as Jim Kleissler points out above, simply don't meet the legal definition yet are wonderful little gems of solitude and beauty, and play a vital role for wildlife and watersheds.
It is discovering a hillside covered in lady-slippers in an old growth forest, hiking through a valley with orange and yellow leaves floating down all about me, watching a black bear amble along, and so many other beautiful memories I have of spending time in this forest that lead me to work to make sure that future generations have the opportunity to find the same joy and wonder in the Allegheny that I have found.
So, yes, take a trip to the forest, and you will certainly see oil derricks, clearcuts, and other wounds. But you will also find your own treasures and special places, and it is these that we must work to defend.
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