The Virginian Pilot editorial says, "The George Washington National Forest is one of a very few remote places left on the East Coast. It would be a mistake to turn it into another industrial site, even in the name of energy independence."  Read more...

Mark Miller, VWC Field Director, graduated from the Virginia Natural Resources Leadership Institute in June.  Congratulations, Mark!  read more

The proposal, which would allow some drilling fluids to be kept secret, did not please environmental advocates or the oil and gas industry.  Read...

Saturday, June 29, 2013, 10 a.m
Dickerman Farm, 228 Old Parkersburg Pike, Swoope

Calling all Wilderness lovers!  Celebrate VWC successes of the past year and help officers and board members plan for the next.  Bring passion, good cheer, and a bag lunch.  Don’t be left all alone in the wild – join us!

 

MAY 8, 2013 
Jeremiah Knupp writes about the soon-to-come decision from the forest service on whether to allow fracking in the George Washington National Forest.  Read article in Old South High

Attention shutterbugs! Wilderness50, in partnership with Nature’s Best Photography and the Smithsonian Institution, announces the opening of this summer’s “Wilderness Forever” public photography contest. Winning images will be part of a 2014 exhibition in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. that will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act.  Learn more...

Wednesday April 24th 7 p.m.
Trinity Presbyterian Church,
725 S. High Street, Harrisonburg

*George Carson is leaving his 5,000- acre Montana ranch near the North Dakota Border...ask him what it's like to live in a drilling area.
*Chris Bolgiano, local author and environmentalist..., will share photos and anecdotes from a West Virginia  fracking site visit in April.  Ask her what she saw and heard.

Sponsored by
Trinity Presbyterian Earth Care House Church  and Creation Care Council of Park View Mennonite Church
More info:   234-6273
slynncameron@gmail.com

Southern Environmental Law Center just released "Fracking in the George Washington National Forest", which details many reasons why it's a bad idea.  Learn more, and consider writing your own letter to the editor.

The GWNF Warm Springs/James River Ranger Districts held the first public meeting to start working collaboratively on a 120,000-acre landscape level planning project in Bath and Allegheny Counties.  The project could potentially involve repair of slope failures along Simpson Creek, dam removal to facilitate fish passage in Wilson Creek, timber management, road management (improvements and potential decommissioning), development of wildlife clearings and waterholes, control of invasive plants, prescribed burning, and trail improvements near Douthat State Park. The meeting was attended by landowners, game managers, hunting organizations, members of the Cowpasture River Preservation Association,  and the Virginia WIlderness Committee.

District Ranger Pat Sheridan said that participants in this process will help determine which management activities will be proposed formally by the GWNF.    Management activities that come out of this collaborative process could include a recommendation for expansion of Rich Hole and Rough Mountain Wilderness areas. 

Seeking collaborative input from the public  on a large landscape level is a new approach the GWNF is trying.   Their hope is that this new process that engages stakeholders early on will be more efficient and effective in making projects happen on the ground.

Hikers, horsemen and mountain bikers teamed up to work on the Carr Mountain section of the Great Eastern Trail on April 6-7.  Fourteen volunteers, led by Tom Johnson, President of the Great Eastern Trail Association, assembled at Blue Hole and made their way to the German River trailhead near Criders.  With the help of 4 mules who carried tools to a remote section of trail, the group was able to make substantial progress on digging sidehill.  

Volunteers from PATC - Southern Shenandoah Valley Chapter worked alongside members of the North River Chapter of Backcountry Horsemen of Virginia and Shenandoah Valley Bicycle Coalition.  

The Carr Mountain section of the GET borders VWC's Beech Lick Knob Wilderness Proposal.  The trail, which is nearly completed, will be open to hikers, horseback riders, hunters, and mountain bikers.