In 1981, about 17 percent of the state's crude oil production came from mineral rights owned by private individuals within the Forest boundary.

Today the Allegheny Plateau is known for black cherry, maple and other hardwoods, but two hundred years ago these species were less numerous.

[3][better source needed] White pine occurred in the original forest in relatively small, well-defined areas where it was typically accompanied by chestnut and to a lesser degree oak.

Disturbances such as tornado, blowdown, and ice storms were common events that created a random mosaic of small openings in the forest canopy across the landscape before human beings arrived to the North American continent.

Later, Native Americans burned small areas of the understory of the forest in locations to improve berry and oak mast production, hunting, and ease of travel.

By 1840, portable steam engines made circular sawmills practical, and mills that could process 10,000 board feet (24 m³) of lumber per day were common.

People, moving West and in the growing cities in the East, demanded lumber to build homes, stores and furniture.

They also opened up extensive and previously inaccessible areas of timber with specialized locomotives such as the Shay which could traverse steep hillsides, uneven tracks and sharp curves.

Shade-tolerant, long-lived trees like hemlock and beech gave way to sun-loving, shorter-lived species like black cherry, which readily germinated on the bare sunny ground.

Over time, various laws added other benefits like wilderness, heritage resources and grazing to the original idea of watershed protection and continuous timber.

When the Allegheny National Forest was established in 1923, the immediate challenge was nurturing the young trees growing amongst logging slash on the recently cleared hillsides.

Since they started growing at roughly the same time, most of the trees in today's second-growth forest on the Allegheny Plateau are the same age (70–100 years old).

Birds find sites for nests in the leafy tree crowns and plants like trillium prefer the filtered light of the maturing forest.

In the 1940s, the Forest Service gradually resumed timber harvesting under strict research-based guidelines to ensure sustainability for future generations.

Foresters deal with challenges like deer, insects, disease, drought and competing vegetation such as fern through research and careful management.

These and other facilities became popular after World War II when newly mobile families discovered the joys of outdoor recreation.

The creation of the Allegheny Reservoir when the Kinzua Dam was completed in 1965 brought the most dramatic change to developed recreation on the ANF.

Within ten years, a tremendous development program resulted in campgrounds, boat launches, beaches, picnic areas, hiking trails and overlooks around the reservoir shoreline and elsewhere throughout the forest.

Over time, people's changing and more sophisticated expectations led to campground improvements like electricity, hot showers, and baby-changing stations.

Today, the Forest Service carries out a variety of management and research activities, providing multiple benefits with a strong scientific basis.

The National Environmental Policy Act will make any oil or gas drilling in the forest subject to public judgement.

On June 1, 2009, the Minard Run Oil Co., Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Association, Allegheny Forest Alliance and Warren County Government filed suit in the United States District Court in Erie, Pennsylvania over the National Forest Service's use of the National Environmental Policy Act.