Federal officials have granted their blessing to a proposal aimed at improving the health of the Allegheny National Forest in several Warren County municipalities.

The project comprises over 44,000 acres in Brokenstraw, Conewango, Mead, Pleasant and Watson townships.

“The purpose of Pleasant Project is to improve forest health, reduce nonnative invasive plants, restore stream conditions, improve wildlife habitat, and maintain the transportation system for access, and safety,” a draft assessment states.

The ANF on Tuesday announced that Bradford District Ranger Rich Hatfield “signed the decision notice and finding of no significant impact” that will allow the project to move forward.

“Located south of Warren, the Pleasant project area encompasses approximately 24,390 acres,” a statement explained. “The project includes timber harvesting on 2,965 acres to provide quality timber products that contribute to the local and regional economies. The project will also result in a diversity of tree age classes and forest types, address forest health issues including non-native invasive plant species, enhance wildlife habitat, and improve stream conditions.”

The ANF proposes the following actions in the area: improvements to forest health through tree harvesting and reforestation; oak restoration; prescribed fire; treatment of non-native invasive plants; wildlife habitat improvements; and aquatic habitat and stream improvements. Transportation actions include adding roads to the Forest Service transportation system, road management changes, and improvements to existing roads.

Silviculture treatments (silviculture means, essentially, the growing of trees) include 1,990 acres of tree harvesting and over 2,500 acres of prescribed fire.

An additional 8,550 acres are identified for non-native invasive plant treatments. That can include manual treatment such as pulling and digging, mechanical treatments such as brush-cutting and mowing as well as herbicide treatment.

Transportation elements include 1.3 miles of new forest road, 13.2 miles to be resurfaced and over 10 miles being added to the National Forest Transportation System.