By Tom Schuster, Director, Sierra Club Pennsylvania Chapter
Last month, the Citizens to Save Allegheny Mountain (CTSAM) took its fight against the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) to the Capitol. The PTC continues to pursue its disastrous plan to carve a gash through the mountain a mile long, 300 feet deep and 1000 feet wide, in order to abandon the existing tunnels. Engineering and design work is underway, and if efforts to stop them are unsuccessful, construction is planned to start by 2032.
The Allegheny Mountain is our region’s most iconic ridge, and this project would decimate one of the last major unbroken north-south migration corridors for wildlife. The Mountain Field and Stream Club, which has stewarded the land in the path of the project for the past century, has recorded bear families and bobcats on its trailcam. This area contains vernal pools, cold springs and peatlands in higher numbers that is typical for a ridge, leading to uncommon plant communities. It is the headwaters of the Raystown Branch of the Juniata, and its aquifers are the source of drinking water for multiple townships. The mountain is home to an unusually high number of porcupine dens, and there are several hibernacula of the endangered Indiana bat. The additional water pollution, wildlife habitat destruction that would result from this cut through the mountain are simply too great a cost.
Last year, CTSAM received funding from the Sierra Club’s Huplits Grant Program to help raise public awareness of the threats to the mountain. One of the products of that grant was this video simulation, which makes clear the profound impact and scale of the destruction planned.
On May 5th, I was honored to join CTSAM as well as the Somerset County Conservancy, Representative Carl Metzgar, and Somerset County Commissioner Brian Fochtman at a press conference in the East Rotunda of the Capitol to call attention to this issue and challenge our state leaders to reign in the Turnpike Commission. We succeeded in generating coverage in the Penn Capitol Star, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and Johnstown’s Tribune Democrat (the top headline!) and WJAC. I also had a rather lengthy radio interview on The Allegheny Front, which airs on a dozen NPR stations.
The Turnpike Commission is hearing us, but is not backing down. Following our coverage, the PTC’s Chief Engineer wrote an op-ed for Somerset’s Daily American arguing that the mountain cut is necessary to prevent traffic backups and for safety. It’s a rather condescending piece that overlooks the new traffic hazards that would be created due to higher speeds, steeper grades, more wildlife collisions, and weather conditions like ice and fog. It also underscores the fact that the Turnpike Commission has a very narrow set of goals, and is ignoring the toll on the environment and quality of life created by single-minded pursuit of those goals.
The good news is that they are finally feeling the need to defend themselves, which means our efforts to draw attention to this debacle are having an impact. Please help us keep the pressure up! Sign our petition, which will ensure you get updates about future developments and opportunities to help. Share the video on social media, and educate your friends. Write to your local paper about why we need to preserve the Allegheny Mountain. You can also donate directly to CTSAM. We beat this project once, and we can do it again, but it will take all of us, and we need to be in it for the long haul!
This blog was included as part of the June 2026 Sylvanian newsletter. Please click here to check out more articles from this edition!