Maintaining wildlife movements and migrations is one of the most important wildlife conservation strategies of the 21st Century.  Wildlife move both daily and seasonally to survive. However, the habitats animals rely on continue to be fragmented by housing, roads, fences, energy facilities, and other man-made barriers.  Today the need for wildlife's ability to move may be greater than ever.  An expanding U.S. population is bringing more people and development into conflict with wildlife and their historic habitats.  And climate change is fundamentally altering landscapes, forcing many animals to relocate.  Yet the United States has no laws on the book to support wildlife movements or maintain wildlife habitat corridors. 
 
The Wildlife Corridors Conservation Act (S.1499, H.R.2795), introduced by Representatives Beyer (VA!) and Buchanan, and Senator Udall, would create a national program for maintaining wildlife migrations, movements, and wildlife corridors to ensure that wildlife will face fewer struggles to reach food, water, shelter, and breeding sites.
 
The Wildlife Corridors Conservation Act of 2019 is a momentous step forward for 21st century wildlife management.  It will help so many species—from black bears, elk and mule deer to turtles and monarch butterflies—adapt to the rapid environmental changes resulting from human pressures on the environment and climate change.
 
Take action to help wildlife move in a changing world: send a message to your members of Congress, urging them to co-sponsor and pass the Wildlife Corridors Conservation Act of 2019.
 
 
Virginia Congressional Delegation—Contact Information 

U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D) 
https://www.kaine.senate.gov
Abingdon Office
121 Russell Road, Suite 2 Abingdon, VA 24210 Phone: (276) 525-4790 Fax: (276) 525-4792 
Danville Office
308 Craghead Street, Suite 102A Danville, VA 24541
Phone: (434) 792-0976
Fax: (434) 792-0978 
Manassas Office
9408 Grant Avenue, Suite 202 Manassas, VA 20110
Phone: (703) 361-3192
Fax: (703) 361-3198 
Richmond Office
919 East Main Street, Suite 970 Richmond, VA 23219
Phone: (804) 771-2221
Fax: (804) 771-8313 
Roanoke Office
611 S. Jefferson Street, Suite 5B Roanoke, VA 24011
Phone: (540) 682-5693
Fax: (540) 682-5697 
Virginia Beach Office
222 Central Park Avenue, Suite 120 Virginia Beach, VA 23462
Phone: (757) 518-1674
Fax: (757) 518-1679 
Washington, DC Office
231 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: (202) 224-4024
Fax: (202) 228-6363 
 
U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D) 
https://www.warner.senate.gov
Abingdon Office
180 West Main Street, Room 235 Abingdon, VA 24210
Phone: 276-628-8158 
Norfolk Office
101 W. Main Street, Suite 7771 Norfolk, VA 23510
Phone: 757-441-3079 
Richmond Office
919 E. Main Street, Suite 630 Richmond, VA 23219
Phone: 804-775-2314 
Roanoke Office
110 Kirk Avenue, SW Roanoke, VA 24011 Phone: 540-857-2676 
Vienna Office
8000 Towers Crescent Drive, Suite 200 Vienna, Virginia 22182
Phone: 703-442-0670 
Washington, DC Office
703 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510
Toll Free: 1-877-676-2759
(VA residents only)
Phone: 202-224-2023 
 
District 1: Rep. Rob Wittman (R) 
https://wittman.house.gov
Hanover Office
6501 Mechanicsville Turnpike, # 102 Mechanicsville, VA 23111
Phone: (804) 730-6595
Fax: (804) 730-6597 
Stafford Office
95 Dunn Drive, # 201 Stafford, Virginia 22556 Phone: (540) 659-2734 Fax: (540) 659-2737 
Tappahannock Office
508 Church Lane
P.O. Box 3106 Tappahannock, VA 22560 Phone: (804) 443-0668 Fax: (804) 443-0671 
Washington, DC Office
2055 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-4261
Fax: (202) 225-4382 
 
District 2: Rep. Elaine Luria (D) 
https://luria.house.gov
Eastern Shore Office
25020 Shore Parkway, Suite 1B Onley, VA 23418
Phone: (757) 364-7631 
Virginia Beach Office
283 Constitution Drive
One Columbus Center, Suite 900 Virginia Beach, VA 23462 Phone: (757) 364-7650
Fax: (757) 687-8298 
Washington, DC Office 534 Cannon HOB Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-4215 
 
District 3: Rep. Bobby Scott (D) 
https://bobbyscott.house.gov
District Office
2600 Washington Ave., # 1010 Newport News, VA 23607 Phone: (757) 380-1000
Fax: (757) 928-6694 
Washington, D.C. Office
1201 Longworth House Office Bldg Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-8351
Fax: (202) 225-8354 
 
District 4: Rep. Donald McEachin 
https://mceachin.house.gov
Central Virginia Office
110 North Robinson St, # 403 Richmond, VA 23220
Phone: 804-486-1840
Fax: 804-269-4139 
Hampton Roads Office
131 N. Saratoga St, Suite B Suffolk, VA 23434
Phone: 757-942-6050 
Washington, DC Office
314 Cannon House Office Building Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-6365
Fax: 202-226-1170 
 
District 5: Rep. Denver Riggleman (R) 
https://riggleman.house.gov
Charlottesville Office
686 Berkmar Circle Charlottesville, VA 22901 Phone: (434) 973-9631 
Danville Office
308 Craghead St, Suite 102-D Danville, VA 24541
Phone: (434) 791-2596 
Washington, DC Office 1022 Longworth HOB Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-4711 
 
District 6: Rep. Ben Cline (R) 
https://cline.house.gov
Harrisonburg Office
70 N Mason St, Suite 110 Harrisonburg, VA 22802 Phone: (540) 432-2391 Fax: (540) 432-6593 
Lynchburg Office
916 Main St, Suite 300 Lynchburg, VA 24504 Phone: (434) 845-8306 Fax: (434) 845-8245 
Roanoke Office
10 Franklin Rd SE, Suite 510 Roanoke, VA 24011
Phone: (540) 857-2672
Fax: (540) 857-2675 
Staunton Office
117 S Lewis St, Suite 215 Staunton, VA 24401 Phone: (540) 885-3861 Fax: (540) 885-3930 
Washington Office
1009 Longworth House Office Building Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-5431
Fax: (202) 225-9681 
 
District 7: Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D) 
https://spanberger.house.gov
Glen Allen Office
4201 Dominion Blvd, # 110 Glen Allen, VA 23060 Phone: (804) 401-4110 
Spotsylvania Office
9104 Courthouse Rd
Room 249
Spotsylvania, VA 22553 Phone: Coming soon.
Call (202) 225-2815 for now 
Washington, DC Office 1239 Longworth HOB Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-2815 

District 8: Rep. Don Beyer (D) 
https://beyer.house.gov
District Office
1901 N. Moore St., # 1108 Arlington, VA 22209
P: (703) 658-5403
F: (703) 658-5408 
Washington, DC Office 1119 Longworth HOB Washington, DC 20515 P: (202) 225-4376 
F: (202) 225-0017 
 
District 9: Rep. Morgan Griffith (R) 
https://morgangriffith.house.gov
Abingdon District Office 323 West Main Street Abingdon, VA 24210
T (276) 525-1405 
F (276) 525-1444 
Christiansburg District Office 17 West Main Street Christiansburg, VA 24073
T (540) 381-5671 
F (540) 381-5675 
Big Stone Gap Office Federal Courthouse
Big Stone Gap, VA 24219 T (276) 525-1405
By Appointment Only 
Washington, DC Office 2202 Rayburn HOB Washington, D.C. 20515 T (202) 225-3861 
F (202) 225-0076 
 
District 10: Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D) 
https://wexton.house.gov
Sterling Office
21351 Gentry Drive, # 140 Sterling, VA 20166 Phone: (703) 234-3800 
Washington, DC Office 1217 Longworth HOB Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-5136 Fax: 202-225-0437 
 
District 11: Rep. Gerry Connolly (D) 
https://connolly.house.gov
Annandale Office
4115 Annandale Road, Ste. 103 Annandale, VA 22003
Phone: (703) 256-3071
Fax: (703) 354-1284 
Prince William Office 2241-D Tacketts Mill Drive Woodbridge, VA 22192 Phone: (571) 408-4407 Fax: (571) 408-4708 
Washington, DC Office 2238 Rayburn HOB Washington, D.C. 20515 Phone: (202) 225-1492 

​Virginia’s shale barrens are a distinctive feature of the geology and ecology of the state’s western highlands. The rich plant life found in this rocky terrain is one reason the Central Appalachian region qualifies as a biodiversity hot spot.

Many of the shale barrens in Virginia are located in the George Washington and Jefferson national forests. The largest of these is the 3,000-acre Rough Mountain shale barren, mostly in Bath County, near the Cowpasture River. As we have seen in the case of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, even special resources like unique shale barrens on public lands are at risk for development if not protected. Fortunately, the large Rough Mountain shale barren has been protected as part of the Rough Mountain Wilderness since it was designated in 1988 and so is considered permanently off-limits to development.

In October of 2017, U.S. Virginia Senator Tim Kaine introduced the Virginia Wilderness Additions Act. The bill was referred to the Senate floor as part of other legislation, but did not make it to a final vote. This January, the Virginia Wilderness Additions Act of 2019 (S. 247) was reintroduced in the Senate by Senators Kaine and Mark Warner. The legislation would expand Rough Mountain Wilderness and the nearby Rich Hole Wilderness by a combined 5,600 acres.
 
Like the Cowpasture River area, Rich Hole Wilderness is also in the George Washington National Forest, mostly in Rockbridge County. If the bill becomes law, these additions would create a nearly contiguous block of wilderness totaling more than 20,000 acres in the Lower Cowpasture River region, reinforcing protection of the region’s shale barrens.

Both bills—the one introduced in 2017 and the one introduced earlier this year—have had the support of
a diverse coalition of stakeholders. This year’s bill (S. 247) has been referred to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. No companion legislation has yet been introduced in the House of Representatives.

The casual hiker or naturalist may walk past a shale barren thinking he or she has seen just another rocky patch along the trail. But shale barrens deserve a closer look in order to appreciate their many features and the fragile life they support.

Shale barrens are usually found on steep, southern-exposed mountain slopes in western Virginia and eastern West Virginia (as well as in the western Maryland and western Pennsylvania) at elevations from 1,000 to 2,600 feet, often in tracts of several dozen acres. They are relatively dry, and their rocky surfaces soak up the heat of the summer sun. Their generally sparse vegetational cover nonetheless varies from one barren to the next and within a barren. Some shale barrens present a crumbly, rocky surface covered with little more than Reindeer Lichen (Cladonia rangiferina); others resemble a wispy prairie of Pennsylvania Sedge (Carex pensylvanica), Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), Eastern Needlegrass (Piptochaetium avenaceum), and Poverty Oatgrass (Danthonia spicata); still others have sparse and stunted tree cover usually of Virginia Pine (Pinus virginiana), Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra), Pignut Hickory (Carya glabra), and Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana), sometimes above a carpet of Reindeer Lichen.

These isolated islands of habitat host many rare species of plants as well as butterflies. At least 15 species of wildflowers are endemic to Central Appalachian shale barrens, including Shale Barren Rockcress (Boechera serotina), White-haired Leatherflower (Clematis albicoma), Shale-barren Ragwort (Packera antennariifolia), Kates Mountain Clover (Trifolium virginicum), Shale Barren Wild Buckwheat (Eriogonum allenii), Shale Barren Evening-primrose (Oenothera argillicola), and Shale-barren Pussytoes (Antennaria virginica).

Rare animals hosted by shale barrens include butterflies such as the Appalachian Grizzled Skipper (Pyrgus centaureae wyandot), the Olympia Marble (Euchloe olympia), and the Columbine Duskywing (Erynnis lucilius), and moths such as the Sweet Underwing (Catocala dulciola) and the Pine Barrens Underwing (Catocala herodias gerhardi). In a seeming case of the downtrodden doing what it can to help the oppressed, the globally critically imperiled Appalachian Grizzled Skipper butterfly pollinates the federally endangered Shale Barren Rock Cress. According to the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, the main threat to these plant and animal communities is from introduced invasive weeds, though some shale barrens near roads are also threatened by quarrying. More positively, the Eastern Fence Lizard (Sceloporus undulatus) is abundant on shale barrens.

Citizens who appreciate shale barrens and the biodiversity they support should welcome the designation of additions to the existing Wilderness areas as an effective public policy tool to protect these ecosystems.

The creation of a federal Wilderness affords the highest level of protection for public land under federal law.
Just to the northeast of the areas covered by S. 247 are several other shale barrens, including Ratcliff Hill, Big Cedar, and Reubens Draft. While these areas are protected to an extent by designation as special biological areas, they do not have Wilderness status. These unique places are all close to the proposed route of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, and opponents cite the pipeline project and its associated construction and operation as having the potential to negatively impact these fragile and incredibly diverse mountain ecosystems.

Society members who support bills such as S. 247 could send a message to Virginia Senators thanking them for their support of the bill.
​--Tom Engle is a member of the board of the Virginia Wilderness Committee and lives in Augusta County, near Middlebrook. He was in the U.S. Foreign Service from 1986 to 2017.

Find the entire publication here: https://vnps.org/download/vnps/vnps_newsletters/Sempervirens%20Spring%202019.pdf

Celebrate the past 50 years of successful wild land protection with the Virginia Wilderness Committee at our 50th Anniversary Celebration and Annual Meeting on Saturday, August 3 at 3pm at the Ivy Creek Natural Area Education Building, 1780 Earlysville Road, Charlottesville, VA.

​Hope to see you there!

Beautiful new brochure on the Rich Hole and Rough Mountain Wilderness Additions.  Senator Tim Kaine introduced the Virginia Wilderness Additions Act of 2019 in January.  We are hoping for passage of this bill this year, creating the largest Wilderness complex on the George Washington National Forest.  

​Here is some great information from our friends at the Southern Environmental Law Center.

The proposed route for Dominion’s 600-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline has been a mess from the beginning. It carves through family farms, steep mountain ridges, and public water supplies, and it is slated to cross the Appalachian Trail on U.S. Forest Service land, a move that federal judges say is not legal. 

Rather than reconsider their poorly-planned project, Dominion is asking the U.S. Congress to change laws to make way for its unneeded gas pipeline. 

Tell your senators and your representative in Congress that you oppose legislation that would change the rules to make way for Dominion’s unpopular, expensive, and destructive pipeline. 

​Thank you for taking action to protect the mountain streams, family farms, private property, water supplies, and Appalachian Trail that we all cherish. 
 
What’s It About
 
Dominion is in trouble. It’s been five years since the company announced that it would build a high-pressure gas pipeline from West Virginia, across the Allegheny and Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, into North Carolina. Today, the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) is broadly unpopular, 50 percent over budget (now a shocking $7.5+ billion), and two years behind schedule. 
 
In December 2018, a federal court in Richmond said that Dominion’s plan to cross the Appalachian Trail (AT) was not legal, and it overturned the U.S. Forest Service’s approval of the crossing. Dominion is calling on Congress to come to its rescue, asking senators and representatives to change the law and undo the court’s ruling. 
 
This special treatment would undercut the regulatory process in two significant ways: 
 
o ACP legislation would insert Congress into an ongoing process to the detriment of landowners, utility customers, and public lands users. ACP’s proposed route is still under review by agencies and courts, including separate cases challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s biological opinion and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s certificate. The outcome of this agency and judicial review could significantly change the route and even result in a fundamental rethinking of the entire project. 
 
o Legislation would create the troubling precedent that pipeline developers could call on Congress to fix permitting problems for ill-conceived projects that run afoul of the law. And Congress doesn’t need to act. Despite the exaggerated claims from Dominion, oil and gas pipelines do not cross the AT on national forest lands. It simply has not been necessary. Dominion has other routing options which the Fourth Circuit found it failed to study. 
 
The Forest Service permit allowing the AT crossing is one of seven permits that federal courts have overturned or put on hold, all because of Dominion’s careless route selection and rushed permitting. ACP’s proposed permanently cleared right-of-way, as wide as a seven-lane highway, will spoil scenic views from the Appalachian Trail and the Blue Ridge Parkway. 
And it’s increasingly clear that the pipeline is not needed to meet electricity and gas demand. In 2018, Virginia regulators found that Dominion already owns enough pipeline capacity to serve its existing power plants. Remarkably, Dominion has not produced a study demonstrating a need for the ACP.  
 
Worse, electricity customers in Virginia and North Carolina would be on the hook to pay for the costly new pipeline. ACP developers are guaranteed a yearly profit of 15% on top of the more than $7 billion pipeline price tag. Dominion and its partner Duke Energy plan to pass all the costs onto their captive utility ratepayers. 

​                                   Virginia Congressional Delegation—Contact Information 
U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D) 
Abingdon Office
121 Russell Road, Suite 2 Abingdon, VA 24210 Phone: (276) 525-4790 Fax: (276) 525-4792 
Danville Office
308 Craghead Street, Suite 102A Danville, VA 24541
Phone: (434) 792-0976
Fax: (434) 792-0978 
Manassas Office
9408 Grant Avenue, Suite 202 Manassas, VA 20110
Phone: (703) 361-3192
Fax: (703) 361-3198 
Richmond Office
919 East Main Street, Suite 970 Richmond, VA 23219
Phone: (804) 771-2221
Fax: (804) 771-8313 
Roanoke Office
611 S. Jefferson Street, Suite 5B Roanoke, VA 24011
Phone: (540) 682-5693
Fax: (540) 682-5697 
Virginia Beach Office
222 Central Park Avenue, Suite 120 Virginia Beach, VA 23462
Phone: (757) 518-1674
Fax: (757) 518-1679 
Washington, DC Office
231 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: (202) 224-4024
Fax: (202) 228-6363 
 
U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D) 
Abingdon Office
180 West Main Street, Room 235 Abingdon, VA 24210
Phone: 276-628-8158 
Norfolk Office
101 W. Main Street, Suite 7771 Norfolk, VA 23510
Phone: 757-441-3079 
Richmond Office
919 E. Main Street, Suite 630 Richmond, VA 23219
Phone: 804-775-2314 
Roanoke Office
110 Kirk Avenue, SW Roanoke, VA 24011 Phone: 540-857-2676 
Vienna Office
8000 Towers Crescent Drive, Suite 200 Vienna, Virginia 22182
Phone: 703-442-0670 
Washington, DC Office
703 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510
Toll Free: 1-877-676-2759
(VA residents only)
Phone: 202-224-2023 
 
District 1: Rep. Rob Wittman (R) 
Hanover Office
6501 Mechanicsville Turnpike, # 102 Mechanicsville, VA 23111
Phone: (804) 730-6595
Fax: (804) 730-6597 
Stafford Office
95 Dunn Drive, # 201 Stafford, Virginia 22556 Phone: (540) 659-2734 Fax: (540) 659-2737 
Tappahannock Office
508 Church Lane
P.O. Box 3106 Tappahannock, VA 22560 Phone: (804) 443-0668 Fax: (804) 443-0671 
Washington, DC Office
2055 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-4261
Fax: (202) 225-4382 
 
District 2: Rep. Elaine Luria (D) 
Eastern Shore Office
25020 Shore Parkway, Suite 1B Onley, VA 23418
Phone: (757) 364-7631 
Virginia Beach Office
283 Constitution Drive
One Columbus Center, Suite 900 Virginia Beach, VA 23462 Phone: (757) 364-7650
Fax: (757) 687-8298 
Washington, DC Office 534 Cannon HOB Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-4215 
 
District 3: Rep. Bobby Scott (D) 
District Office
2600 Washington Ave., # 1010 Newport News, VA 23607 Phone: (757) 380-1000
Fax: (757) 928-6694 
Washington, D.C. Office
1201 Longworth House Office Bldg Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-8351
Fax: (202) 225-8354 
 
District 4: Rep. Donald McEachin 
Central Virginia Office
110 North Robinson St, # 403 Richmond, VA 23220
Phone: 804-486-1840
Fax: 804-269-4139 
Hampton Roads Office
131 N. Saratoga St, Suite B Suffolk, VA 23434
Phone: 757-942-6050 
Washington, DC Office
314 Cannon House Office Building Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-6365
Fax: 202-226-1170 
 
District 5: Rep. Denver Riggleman (R) 
Charlottesville Office
686 Berkmar Circle Charlottesville, VA 22901 Phone: (434) 973-9631 
Danville Office
308 Craghead St, Suite 102-D Danville, VA 24541
Phone: (434) 791-2596 
Washington, DC Office 1022 Longworth HOB Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-4711 
 
District 6: Rep. Ben Cline (R) 
Harrisonburg Office
70 N Mason St, Suite 110 Harrisonburg, VA 22802 Phone: (540) 432-2391 Fax: (540) 432-6593 
Lynchburg Office
916 Main St, Suite 300 Lynchburg, VA 24504 Phone: (434) 845-8306 Fax: (434) 845-8245 
Roanoke Office
10 Franklin Rd SE, Suite 510 Roanoke, VA 24011
Phone: (540) 857-2672
Fax: (540) 857-2675 
Staunton Office
117 S Lewis St, Suite 215 Staunton, VA 24401 Phone: (540) 885-3861 Fax: (540) 885-3930 
Washington Office
1009 Longworth House Office Building Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-5431
Fax: (202) 225-9681 
 
District 7: Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D) 
Glen Allen Office
4201 Dominion Blvd, # 110 Glen Allen, VA 23060 Phone: (804) 401-4110 
Spotsylvania Office
9104 Courthouse Rd
Room 249
Spotsylvania, VA 22553 Phone: Coming soon.
Call (202) 225-2815 for now 
Washington, DC Office 1239 Longworth HOB Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-2815 
District 8: Rep. Don Beyer (D) 
District Office
1901 N. Moore St., # 1108 Arlington, VA 22209
P: (703) 658-5403
F: (703) 658-5408 
Washington, DC Office 1119 Longworth HOB Washington, DC 20515 P: (202) 225-4376 
F: (202) 225-0017 
 
District 9: Rep. Morgan Griffith (R) 
Abingdon District Office 323 West Main Street Abingdon, VA 24210
T (276) 525-1405 
F (276) 525-1444 
Christiansburg District Office 17 West Main Street Christiansburg, VA 24073
T (540) 381-5671 
F (540) 381-5675 
Big Stone Gap Office Federal Courthouse
Big Stone Gap, VA 24219 T (276) 525-1405
By Appointment Only 
Washington, DC Office 2202 Rayburn HOB Washington, D.C. 20515 T (202) 225-3861 
F (202) 225-0076 
 
District 10: Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D) 
Sterling Office
21351 Gentry Drive, # 140 Sterling, VA 20166 Phone: (703) 234-3800 
Washington, DC Office 1217 Longworth HOB Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-5136 Fax: 202-225-0437 
 
District 11: Rep. Gerry Connolly (D) 
Annandale Office
4115 Annandale Road, Ste. 103 Annandale, VA 22003
Phone: (703) 256-3071
Fax: (703) 354-1284 
Prince William Office 2241-D Tacketts Mill Drive Woodbridge, VA 22192 Phone: (571) 408-4407 Fax: (571) 408-4708 
Washington, DC Office 2238 Rayburn HOB Washington, D.C. 20515 Phone: (202) 225-1492 
 

VWC has continuously fought against the ACP and we are asking you to help us. 

It is time to call or write your Congressperson and Senators to tell them to reject Dominion Energy's attempts to have Congress change laws and undo rulings so that the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) would be authorized to cross the Appalachian National Scenic Trail (AT).

Tell them to oppose this legislation because:
• The ACP would cross the AT at a scenic location, heavily used by thousands of hikers annually, impacting the scenic viewsheds, and degrading the experience on this National Scenic Trail. 
• Construction traffic would interrupt usage of the AT, Blue Ridge Parkway, and nearby trails, as well as Sherando Lake Recreation area, for more than a year while the ACP is drilled through the Blue Ridge Mountains.
• Other alternative crossing locations have not been fully evaluated by FERC, the U.S. Forest Service, or any other agency.
• It has been shown that the pipeline is not needed to meet current or future electricity and gas demands. 
• The ACP would result in the same amount of greenhouse gas pollution as 20 coal-fired power plants.

​Thank you for taking time to contact our members of Congress! We do not want to see federal laws changed to make way for this unnecessary and destructive pipeline.

The contact info for Virginia’s members of Congress:

Senator Mark R. Warner
warner.senate.gov
(202) 224-2023

Senator Tim Kaine
kaine.senate.gov
(202) 224-4024

Congressman Rob Wittman (1st District)
wittman.house.gov
(202) 225-4261 

Congresswoman Elaine Luria (2nd District)
luria.house.gov
(202) 225-4215

​Congressman Bobby Scott (3rd District)
bobbyscott.house.gov
(202) 225-8351

Congressman Donald McEachin (4th District)
mceachin.house.gov
(202) 225-6365

Congressman Denver Riggleman (5th District)
riggleman.house.gov
(202) 225-4711

Congressman Ben Cline (6th District)
cline.house.gov
(202) 225-5431

Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger (7th District)
spanberger.house.gov
(202) 225-2815

Congressman Don Beyer (8th District)
beyer.house.gov
(202) 225-4376

Congressman Morgan Griffith (9th District)
morgangriffith.house.gov
(202) 225-3861

Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton (10th District)
wexton.house.gov
(202) 225-5136

Congressman Gerald Connolly (11th District)
connolly.house.gov
(202) 225-1492

In case you forgot to sign up to be a VWC member and missed receiving the Winter 2018 newsletter, you can find it now on the website.  Remember, if you would like to receive it in your mailbox or inbox, sign up here.

Photo by Steven David Johnson