While VWC would like to see all the roadless areas and potential wilderness areas, and in fact, all of the Virginia Mountain Treasures, permanently protected, we have always been pragmatic about what is possible to protect through Congressional legislation, given other forest users' interests and opinions. During the past year we have been meeting with a large group of diverse GWNF stakeholders. The stakeholders include representatives from various recreation, hunting, and fishing groups, conservation organizations, as well as timber and game managers (both private groups and state agencies).
Meeting with other stakeholders has been a valuable experience in helping us understand their concerns and interests. We have evaluated all of the areas under wilderness consideration for their natural characteristics with an eye toward their potential for broad support among diverse user groups. We have prioritized the areas that we would like to see recommended for Wilderness, National Scenic Area, and National Recreation Area; these are also supported by the broad stakeholder group unless otherwise noted below.
Shenandoah Mountain Proposal
Our top priority is the Shenandoah Mountain Proposal because of its outstanding natural characteristics, its contribution to public water supplies, its many recreational opportunities, and its broad public support for protection.
The original Shenandoah Mountain Proposal, as defined by Virginia Wilderness Committee and Friends of Shenandoah Mountain, was revised as part of the stakeholder negotiations; we now ask the Forest Service to support protection of Shenandoah Mountain as proposed by the stakeholder agreement.
The stakeholder-proposed Shenandoah Mountain National Scenic Area (NSA) enjoys very broad support from the community. We have adjusted the boundaries of the NSA to satisfy concerns expressed in the stakeholders meetings.
Of course, we support wilderness designation for Little River and Ramseys Draft Addition. (The Draft Plan already includes these recommendations.)
In addition to the Draft Plan's recommendations, we also request wilderness designation for Lynn Hollow (with boundaries adjusted by stakeholder's group) and Skidmore Fork (aka High Knob).
Although the stakeholders did not agree to a Wilderness recommendation for Laurel Fork, VWC and others agreed to disagree. Laurel Fork has been one of our top candidates for Wilderness designation for over 40 years, and we still consider Laurel Fork to be a high priority area in terms of its uniqueness and natural characteristics. We remain concerned about increased pressure for future energy development, and request a wilderness recommendation for Laurel Fork.
Beech Lick Knob The stakeholder group agrees: the core of this large PWA should be wilderness. Lacking "inventoried roadless area" status, this large, wild, unroaded area needs protection from potential energy development. The stakeholders hope to conduct the first "project" in this area to show that a variety of uses can be planned, one of which is Wilderness designation for the core area, approximately 5,500 acres.
Wilderness additions. We support all of the Wilderness additions recommended in the Draft Plan, including additions to Rich Hole, Rough Mountain, Three Ridges, and the western addition to Saint Mary's.
Big Schloss National Scenic Area with Three High Heads Wilderness This area remains a high priority for us, just as it is for the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. Big Schloss is a very popular recreation destination for mountain bikers, hikers, and hunters from the northern end of the state. The Three High Heads Wilderness will provide the strongest protection for this core area, and create the only wilderness area in the Lee Ranger District.
Little Allegheny Mountain Along the backbone of Virginia in Bath County, this area is a strong candidate for Wilderness. The area is very remote and inherently rugged, offering outstanding opportunities for primitive recreation.
Three Sisters While the stakeholders did not achieve unanimous support for this area, there is broad agreement for wilderness. Three Sisters is ruggedly beautiful and gives rise to numerous small streams that drain into the Maury River. While our suggested boundary excludes the Appalachian Trail and private mineral rights, the area still contains more than 6,300 acres.
Northern Massanutten National Recreation Area. This area is appropriate for NRA recommendation. It has outstanding recreational value, and is very popular with people from the Northern Virginia/DC metropolitan area. The Potomac Appalachian Trail Club strongly supports permanent protection of this area.
Historically, VWC has championed all of the Congressional legislation that has been enacted for areas in Virginia's national forests. The stakes are higher now than they ever have been. We hear localities wanting their watersheds protected and wanting the national forest to help them build strong economies based on tourism. We also hear them express a desire to maintain a high quality of life in our area for residents to enjoy and to attract new businesses. Natural gas and wind development are moving to our area. The permanent protections we are seeking will prevent such activities from marring the natural character of our most outstanding places and destroying their many values. As time goes by and pressures increase, protecting these areas will be more difficult. We strongly encourage protection for all of these top priority areas. We are committed to doing the hard work it takes to gain permanent protection of these wild places, and we are also committed to working with other stakeholders as we move through the process.
Contact the US Forest Service now (before Sept. 1) and encourage protection for these high-priority wild areas.
Link to more information about these recommended areas for protection.