Happy 50th Anniversary, VWC!
The Virginia Wilderness Committee's Semicentennial
By Jim Murray, Past President
 Jim and Bess Murray
On the 25th of May this year, the Virginia Wilderness Committee will reach a milestone: a half-century of advocacy for the establishment of Wilderness Areas in Virginia. On that day in 1969, a group of interested people was assembled by the Wilderness Society to discuss the five-year-old Wilderness Act of 1964 and its relevance for Virginia. The immediate task at hand was the improvement of the wilderness proposal put forward by the Shenandoah Park, a meager 62,000 acres of wilderness. By the end of the day, it was clear that the nascent VWC was going to become a major player in the fight to extend wilderness protection to prime areas such as Turk Mountain.
While this campaign was in progress, an important development was taking place in our National Forests. The Forest Service decided that the best way to fight wilderness designation on eastern forests was to introduce a system of “Wild Areas” with lower standards and greater opportunities for management activities, such as logging. This provoked a strong backlash to protect the unique nature of the Wilderness Act and to establish true wilderness in the eastern forests. By this time, the Jefferson National Forest had a new forward-looking Supervisor, Mike Penfold, who recommended four areas for wilderness designation as Virginia’s contribution to an omnibus wilderness bill. In the end, only one, the James River Face Wilderness, survived the legislative process, but together with other areas in other states, the principle of wilderness in the East was firmly established. By a quirk of Congress, the James River Face became the first Wilderness in the Commonwealth in 1975, with the Shenandoah Wilderness following along in 1976. After these initial successes, the next achievement was a nearly a decade later following the election of 1983, which brought Jim Olin into the 6thDistrict and Rick Boucher into the 9th. Also, by this time, our spiritual leader Ernie Dickerman had retired from the Wilderness Society and was turning his full attention to Virginia. After intense negotiations with the Forest Service and with local governments and businesses, Congress passed the Virginia Wilderness Act of 1984 establishing ten new Wilderness Areas, additions to the James River Face, and four Wilderness Study Areas. After further delicate negotiations, all four of the Study Areas subsequently became full wilderness in 1988. In retrospect, one detects an almost decennial pattern in the passage of wilderness legislation for Virginia. Had the pattern continued, 1998 should have been the next year; instead, that year brought tragedy with the death of Ernie Dickerman, veteran of thirty years ofservice to the cause of wilderness in Virginia. However, it was not long thereafter that the VWC, with strong support from the Southern Environmental Law Center, and local activists, persuaded Congressman Virgil Goode to introduce legislation which resulted in the designation of Three Ridges and the Priest Wilderness Areas in 2000. (cont’d) The next opportunity for wilderness legislation followed the completion in 2003 of a new management plan for the Jefferson National Forest. The plan recommended only a paltry offering of wilderness recommendations. Congressman Rick Boucher agreed to consider introducing another wilderness bill, providing that the VWC could produce endorsements from the relevant counties. Most of this work was carried out by Mark Miller, soon to become a staff member of the VWC. Legislation was first introduced by Mr. Boucher and Senator Warner in 2004 and followed a convoluted path through Congress to a final passage in 2009. It established six new Wilderness Areas and two National Scenic Areas. Meanwhile the VWC was pursuing several new initiatives. First was a proposal for a National ScenicArea on the large block of national forest land on Shenandoah Mountain between U.S. 250 and U.S. 33. Hard bargaining with the mountain biking community produced consensus on which uses were appropriate for which parcels in this great mountain mass. A somewhat similar proposal was incorporated into the recent land use plan prepared by the Forest Service. Lynn Cameron continues to lead the development of this proposal. A second major initiative, led by Mark Miller, was the formation of a Stakeholder Group, which sought to avoid the conflict that formerly characterized the interaction between groups with different interests. After a series of meetings to establish trust and good faith, a sweeping document listing land-use recommendations for specific areas was signed in 2011 by representatives of twenty organizations of hunters, fishermen, hikers, loggers, conservationists, bicyclists, and horseback riders. The unlikely result has been that the VWC can be seen to advocate logging in certain places, while the timber industry goes to Washington to support wilderness designation. In the first effort of this sort, a bill to extend into close proximity the Rich Hole and Rough Mountain Wildernesses almost made it through Congress in 2018 and will be back again later this year. As the VWC moves into its second half-century, prospects for new additions to the National Wilderness Preservation System are bright, and the VWC perseveres as the principal wilderness advocate in Virginia. |
Presidents of the Virginia Wilderness Committee 1969 John McKnight
1970 Jim Murray 1971 Carl Holcomb 1972 Jon Soest 1973 Sally Soest 1974 Bob Schaefer 1975 Eddie Nance 1976 – 1978 Ernie Dickerman 1979 – 1986 Ed Clark 1987 – 1989 Charles Pierce 1990 – 1991 Sarah Faulconer 1992 – 1996 Lynn Cameron 1997 – 2007 Jim Murray 2008 – 2013 Laura Neale 2014 Jeremy Boggs 2015 Chris Bolgiano 2015 – 2017 Bud Watson 2018 – John Hutchinson Current Executive Committee
President – John Hutchinson
Vice President – Steve Johnson Treasurer – Larry Evans Secretary – Pete Bsumek |
Thirty Years in Retrospect
By Lynn Cameron, Past President
Lynn Cameron in Three Ridges Wilderness
Soon after I met Ernie Dickerman in the mid-1980s, he asked me to develop a Wilderness exhibit for Harrisonburg’s first Earth Day. I was a neophyte then, but, in Ernie, I had the very best teacher. The more I learned, the more I liked Wilderness. This new interest fit with my favorite activities – hiking and backpacking in wild places. I soon joined the VWC fold and started working toward Wilderness protection for Virginia’s most outstanding natural areas.
In the late 1980s, the George Washington National Forest initiated a Roadless Area Review & Evaluation (RARE II) to assess the Wilderness potential of roadless areas in conjunction with developing a new management plan. Seeing RARE II as an opportunity, VWC worked closely with the Forest Service to identify roadless areas, draw boundaries, and write descriptions of each. Ernie put Jim Murray, me, and several other VWC members to work on this gargantuan task. After all, the GW is the largest national forest in the East and has the largest roadless areas and the greatest number of roadless areas.
My assignment was to scout several areas on Shenandoah Mountain: Ramseys Draft Addition, Little River, and Skidmore Fork. This assignment appealed to my sense of adventure--it meant hiking all the trails in and around those areas and checking out roads and potential boundaries. As I explored these areas, I grew to love them.
Up until 2001, VWC met only once a year, but we stayed busy working for Wilderness all year long. We had by-laws, officers, and a newsletter editor, but no board or staff. Everything was done by active volunteers like Ernie Dickerman, Jim and Bess Murray, Charlie Pierce, Chris Bolgiano, Sarah Faulconer, Marilyn and Pat Lockhart, Jack Gentile, and others. Our field research enabled us to make a list of worthy Wilderness candidates and set priorities. At the top of the list were Laurel Fork, Little River, Ramseys Draft Addition, Three Ridges, The Priest, Mt. Pleasant, Kelley Mountain/Big Levels, and Skidmore Fork. (cont’d)
We developed maps and written proposals and presented them to Congressman Jim Olin, who had been our Wilderness champion in 1984 and 1988. We made a slide show and gave presentations to build support across the 6thDistrict. Congressman Olin and his wife Phyllis wanted to see the areas, so we took them on field trips where Bess would provide deviled eggs and home-baked goods for the journey. We took the Olins to a scenic viewpoint in Little River where Congressman Olin said, “Now thisis wilderness!” We also bushwacked from Flagpole Knob to the old growth hemlock in Skidmore Fork, which also impressed him. Despite our best efforts, however, Congressman. Olin never did introduce another bill for areas in the 6th District. He retired in 1993 and was replacedby Congressman Bob Goodlatte, who was opposed to any Wilderness designation from the outset. This was not our only obstacle. Hunters and local governments were also opposed, based largely on misconceptions. It’s true we’ve had a long dry spell in the 6th District since Mt. Pleasant NSA was designated in 1994, but we were successful in getting Three Ridges and The Priest (9th District) as Wilderness in 2000. When Cong. Goodlatte introduced the Mt. Pleasant NSA bill in the House, one of my duties as president was to testify before a House Committee. Thankfully, when we went to “the Hill,” Bart Koehler and Larry Romans of The Wilderness Society were often there to help us.
Our history has not all been about getting legislation. Sometimes we had to fend off development that would mar the wild character of the special places we were trying to protect. In the mid-90s, VWC joined forces with the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) and Sierra Club to fight a 32-mile Thornwood Gas pipeline that could have opened up Laurel Fork, our top Wilderness candidate, for gas development. After a multi-year fight, SELC’s David Carr was able to negotiate an agreement where Thornwood transferred its gas leases to The Nature Conservancy. They have since expired, and the Forest Service made most of Laurel Fork a Special Biological Area that is off limits to energy development. This was an important victory. We also fought off timber sales the Forest Service attempted in our Wilderness proposals with the intent to hold our ground until the time was right for legislation.
Another high point for VWC came when President Bill Clinton announced his Roadless Area Rule on top of Reddish Knob on Oct. 13, 1999, a year after Ernie’s death. Charlie, Chris, Sarah, and I attended this mountaintop event that set into motion an executive order that would go a long way toward protecting roadless areas across the country.
Now, over 30 years have passed, and I’m still working to protect some of the same areas we identified in the RARE II effort: Little River, Ramseys Draft Addition, and Skidmore Fork, plus surrounding lands, all of which are a part of the 90,000-acre Shenandoah Mountain National Scenic Area proposal. VWC now frequently collaborates with a variety of forest user groups, which has led to significant success, and has, in fact, become necessary to make real progress.
Would I do it all again? You bet! Wilderness advocacy is worth doing, and it has given my life purpose and meaning. I will say, however, that it is not for those who need immediate gratification.
The Lure of Wilderness
By Laura Neale, Past President
Laura Neale using hand tools for Wilderness trail maintenance
I was smitten at some unremembered age by all of the lures that Wilderness represented and by the prospect of enduring and “untrammeled” landscapes. It was a starry-eyed conception of Wilderness, and it has persisted in spite of man’s alarming impact on all natural processes and places. In the mid-90’s, I was thrilled to learn that if I sent a copy of comments to a public official supporting Wilderness, I could become a member of the Virginia Wilderness Committee! My first Annual Meeting was a huge gathering of people whom I did not know. I found myself a shy newcomer, sitting in a large circle of folks beside none other than Bart Kohler! I left that meeting as besotted by Wilderness as when I had arrived. I had an abundance to learn.
When I received a phone call from Mark Miller inviting me to serve as VWC Secretary, I was honored, but felt unqualified. I accepted and started the learning curve of Wilderness fundamentals. A few years later, somebody had to step up to the plate to serve as President--an intimidating prospect for an introvert who was at home in the mountains, but who felt entirely unfit for politicking and schmoozing. Accepting the role was an act of suppression of ego in the name of service to Wilderness. I can’t believe I served for 6 years! There were plenty of highlights—among them the efforts of years of work predating my involvement, succeeded by the passage of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 and 43,000 acres of Wilderness added to the Jefferson.
VWC reached a challenging low point in the years following the 2008 recession. A number of other organizations also suffered from the recession, including The Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition and The Wilderness Society. Karen Waterman and I put in many hours applying for 501(c)(3) status. Without an official “articles of incorporation” document, we submitted a handwritten note on VWC letterhead stating that a group of people had come together in 1969 to form VWC. To our surprise and delight, it was accepted! We could now apply for grant money with our new nonprofit tax status, and, much to our relief, Mark Miller became VWC’s first employee.
The most remarkable development during my years was the creation of The Stakeholders Group. After attending an interminable number of public meetings during the George Washington plan revision process, we were thrilled and optimistic when Mark and John Hancock realized that we could work together. Recognition that the many forest users all loved our National Forest helped us appreciate that compromise and support of one another’s goals was a way for “everybody to get some of what they want and nobody to get all of what they want.” We spent many long days looking at maps and making painful and exciting lines. The support of the Forest Service was both fundamental and gratifying, and a letter of recommendations with a diverse set of signatories was submitted.
Ranger Sheridan of the Warm Springs District initiated the first landscape level project-- the Lower Cowpasture Project-- and held a series of meetings and field trips. The resulting VWC plum is the addition of 5600 acres to the Rich Hole and Rough Mountain Wildernesses, and we all look forward to Congressional designation.
It has been a privilege to be a part of VWC, and I remain in awe of the Herculean tenacity of these folks, my heroes and heroines, who never give it up, and thank you to all of VWC’s newer officers and board members for stepping up to the plate.
When I received a phone call from Mark Miller inviting me to serve as VWC Secretary, I was honored, but felt unqualified. I accepted and started the learning curve of Wilderness fundamentals. A few years later, somebody had to step up to the plate to serve as President--an intimidating prospect for an introvert who was at home in the mountains, but who felt entirely unfit for politicking and schmoozing. Accepting the role was an act of suppression of ego in the name of service to Wilderness. I can’t believe I served for 6 years! There were plenty of highlights—among them the efforts of years of work predating my involvement, succeeded by the passage of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 and 43,000 acres of Wilderness added to the Jefferson.
VWC reached a challenging low point in the years following the 2008 recession. A number of other organizations also suffered from the recession, including The Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition and The Wilderness Society. Karen Waterman and I put in many hours applying for 501(c)(3) status. Without an official “articles of incorporation” document, we submitted a handwritten note on VWC letterhead stating that a group of people had come together in 1969 to form VWC. To our surprise and delight, it was accepted! We could now apply for grant money with our new nonprofit tax status, and, much to our relief, Mark Miller became VWC’s first employee.
The most remarkable development during my years was the creation of The Stakeholders Group. After attending an interminable number of public meetings during the George Washington plan revision process, we were thrilled and optimistic when Mark and John Hancock realized that we could work together. Recognition that the many forest users all loved our National Forest helped us appreciate that compromise and support of one another’s goals was a way for “everybody to get some of what they want and nobody to get all of what they want.” We spent many long days looking at maps and making painful and exciting lines. The support of the Forest Service was both fundamental and gratifying, and a letter of recommendations with a diverse set of signatories was submitted.
Ranger Sheridan of the Warm Springs District initiated the first landscape level project-- the Lower Cowpasture Project-- and held a series of meetings and field trips. The resulting VWC plum is the addition of 5600 acres to the Rich Hole and Rough Mountain Wildernesses, and we all look forward to Congressional designation.
It has been a privilege to be a part of VWC, and I remain in awe of the Herculean tenacity of these folks, my heroes and heroines, who never give it up, and thank you to all of VWC’s newer officers and board members for stepping up to the plate.
Meeting Ernie
By Mark Miller, Executive Director
In the early 90’s, my family was invited to the annual Fourth of July celebration at the south end of Rockbridge County. A group of families were hosting a traditional celebration, similar to those in years past. Little did I know that that particular Fourth of July would become a marked and unforgettable day for me in years to come.
On that fateful day, I decided that since it was a traditional celebration, I would walk there following the crest of North Mountain in Rockbridge County. The distance was close to twenty miles following several old roads, two Forest Service roads, the North Mountain Trail, and several miles of hard bushwhacking. I was dropped off at the top of Big Hill Road and followed some old logging roads to the Forest Service Road on the crest of the ridge. I followed the North Mountain Trail to the point where it turns west into Alleghany County. At one time near this location, though now long gone, there was a sign that marked the boundary of the two forests.
This is where the fun began. I had traveled about two miles along the crest when I heard someone approaching me. This in and of itself was absolutely amazing; in all the years I have been bushwhacking, (and it probably adds up to a few thousand miles), I had never once met another person. When we finally met, I was even more surprised, as the gentleman I met was quite elderly. We chatted for a few minutes, and I was about to take my leave when he pulled out a pad of paper and asked me my name and where I parked my car. When I asked why, he replied that in the event that something happened to me, he could notify the authorities of a possible location. Needless to say, I was amused. I figured this fellow was in the later part of his seventh decade, but to humor him, I gave him my name and my address. I then asked him for his name, explaining that in the event that something should happen to him, I could notify the authorities. I genuinely had serious concerns that he might not make it out of the woods. He smiled and said that it was not necessary, as he always made it out of the woods. We said our goodbyes and went on our separate ways. A few hours later, I was recounting my chance encounter with this elderly man to others at the party.
Some years later, shortly after Ernie Dickerman’s passing, I joined VWC and served as the Secretary. Board Members would talk about Ernie and comment that it was a shame that I had never met him. To many on the VWC Board and to hundreds of forest activists, the name Ernie was spoken with great reverence. He was nothing short of a hero to so many people that worked on Forest issues.
As fate would have it, at a subsequent gathering at “Ernie’s” farm, I was looking at photographs on the refrigerator. There, I noticed a particular picture of a man wearing clothing very similar to the gentleman I had met on North Mountain many years earlier. His resemblance to the man I had met on the mountain was striking. I asked Bob Dickerman, Ernie’s nephew, who the man was. He told me it was Ernie. Based on the stories I had heard about Ernie, I guess I was not completely surprised that I met him on the crest of North Mountain while bushwhacking.
In 2001, I was hired by the Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition to work on a bill for the Ninth Congressional District, and about six years ago, I was hired as the Executive Director for VWC. I have been working on Wilderness and National Forest issues for the Virginia Wilderness Committee for over eighteen years. Was that a chance meeting in the Forest? Who knows? All I know is on that bushwhack, I met the man whose footsteps I have been following ever since.
As a part of my job, I often find myself in the middle of some Rhododendron thicket or--even worse-- a Mountain laurel thicket. I sometimes think about that chance meeting on North Mountain, while at the same time questioning my own sanity. I have never met another person crazy enough to venture into one of these mazes, and perhaps I never will. I can say that long ago I met an elderly gentleman in a thicket. I believe that somehow that chance meeting changed the course of my life, and, for that, I will be forever grateful.
On that fateful day, I decided that since it was a traditional celebration, I would walk there following the crest of North Mountain in Rockbridge County. The distance was close to twenty miles following several old roads, two Forest Service roads, the North Mountain Trail, and several miles of hard bushwhacking. I was dropped off at the top of Big Hill Road and followed some old logging roads to the Forest Service Road on the crest of the ridge. I followed the North Mountain Trail to the point where it turns west into Alleghany County. At one time near this location, though now long gone, there was a sign that marked the boundary of the two forests.
This is where the fun began. I had traveled about two miles along the crest when I heard someone approaching me. This in and of itself was absolutely amazing; in all the years I have been bushwhacking, (and it probably adds up to a few thousand miles), I had never once met another person. When we finally met, I was even more surprised, as the gentleman I met was quite elderly. We chatted for a few minutes, and I was about to take my leave when he pulled out a pad of paper and asked me my name and where I parked my car. When I asked why, he replied that in the event that something happened to me, he could notify the authorities of a possible location. Needless to say, I was amused. I figured this fellow was in the later part of his seventh decade, but to humor him, I gave him my name and my address. I then asked him for his name, explaining that in the event that something should happen to him, I could notify the authorities. I genuinely had serious concerns that he might not make it out of the woods. He smiled and said that it was not necessary, as he always made it out of the woods. We said our goodbyes and went on our separate ways. A few hours later, I was recounting my chance encounter with this elderly man to others at the party.
Some years later, shortly after Ernie Dickerman’s passing, I joined VWC and served as the Secretary. Board Members would talk about Ernie and comment that it was a shame that I had never met him. To many on the VWC Board and to hundreds of forest activists, the name Ernie was spoken with great reverence. He was nothing short of a hero to so many people that worked on Forest issues.
As fate would have it, at a subsequent gathering at “Ernie’s” farm, I was looking at photographs on the refrigerator. There, I noticed a particular picture of a man wearing clothing very similar to the gentleman I had met on North Mountain many years earlier. His resemblance to the man I had met on the mountain was striking. I asked Bob Dickerman, Ernie’s nephew, who the man was. He told me it was Ernie. Based on the stories I had heard about Ernie, I guess I was not completely surprised that I met him on the crest of North Mountain while bushwhacking.
In 2001, I was hired by the Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition to work on a bill for the Ninth Congressional District, and about six years ago, I was hired as the Executive Director for VWC. I have been working on Wilderness and National Forest issues for the Virginia Wilderness Committee for over eighteen years. Was that a chance meeting in the Forest? Who knows? All I know is on that bushwhack, I met the man whose footsteps I have been following ever since.
As a part of my job, I often find myself in the middle of some Rhododendron thicket or--even worse-- a Mountain laurel thicket. I sometimes think about that chance meeting on North Mountain, while at the same time questioning my own sanity. I have never met another person crazy enough to venture into one of these mazes, and perhaps I never will. I can say that long ago I met an elderly gentleman in a thicket. I believe that somehow that chance meeting changed the course of my life, and, for that, I will be forever grateful.
Mark Miller in Rich Hole Wilderness
A Note from the President
By John Hutchinson
I began serving as the President for the Virginia Wilderness Committee a little over two years ago. In that capacity, I quickly learned that I have some big shoes to fill. There are very few non-profit organizations that have the steadfastness to endure for fifty years. Due to the dedication of Forest activities throughout the last five decades, the Virginia Wilderness Committee is celebrating its FiftiethAnniversary! In fifty years, we have had many opportunities to celebrate; we have helped to move six Wilderness bills through Congress, protecting a total of over 217,000 acres, and we have helped to protect over 19,000 acres as congressionally designated National Scenic Areas.
VWC is constantly looking for special places that we believe would benefit from permanent protection. We continuously strive to achieve these goals by reducing or eliminating user conflicts that frequently arise with Wilderness legislation. The George Washington National Forest Stakeholder Collaborative (SC) is a recent example of this effort and the accomplishments that can be achieved through collaboration. VWC was a founding member of the SC, which has worked to reduce potential conflicts regarding the forest by creating a forum for users to discuss and resolve issues that have plagued management decisions in the past. The SC was instrumental in pushing for additional Wilderness and a large National Scenic Area that were both included in the Revised Management Plan for the George Washington National Forest. Members of the Collaborative have agreed to support increases in active management activities, while also supporting Wilderness. The true test came in 2017, when timber and game managers agreed to support and continue to support the Virginia Wilderness Additions Act—many for the first time.
This act is only the first. With an eye to the future, VWC hopes to see legislation introduced to protect the Beech Lick Knob Wilderness Study Area and Shenandoah Mountain National Scenic Area. Wilderness and National Scenic Area designations are only two means to protect our public land. VWC is also exploring a Rural Historic District designation as a means of adding another layer of protection to parts of our National Forest in Virginia.
In the past, VWC has worked almost exclusively on the Wilderness and National Scenic Area designations on George Washington and Jefferson National Forests and the Shenandoah National Park. However, Virginia is also blessed with federal lands that are under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In this vein, VWC has begun to look at our National Wildlife Refuge system for special areas to provide additional layers of protection.
Our last fifty years were filled with much success and some failure, both of which taught us significant lessons that we can use as the tools necessary to build coalitions for further attainments in the future. Currently, the Virginia Wilderness Additions Act is a work in progress, as is the legislation to protect Beech Lick Knob and the Shenandoah Mountain. By taking small steps moving forward and learning lessons as we progress, we pledge to continue our efforts and to dedicate ourselves to enhanced protection of these remarkable places.
Here’s to the next fifty years!
VWC is constantly looking for special places that we believe would benefit from permanent protection. We continuously strive to achieve these goals by reducing or eliminating user conflicts that frequently arise with Wilderness legislation. The George Washington National Forest Stakeholder Collaborative (SC) is a recent example of this effort and the accomplishments that can be achieved through collaboration. VWC was a founding member of the SC, which has worked to reduce potential conflicts regarding the forest by creating a forum for users to discuss and resolve issues that have plagued management decisions in the past. The SC was instrumental in pushing for additional Wilderness and a large National Scenic Area that were both included in the Revised Management Plan for the George Washington National Forest. Members of the Collaborative have agreed to support increases in active management activities, while also supporting Wilderness. The true test came in 2017, when timber and game managers agreed to support and continue to support the Virginia Wilderness Additions Act—many for the first time.
This act is only the first. With an eye to the future, VWC hopes to see legislation introduced to protect the Beech Lick Knob Wilderness Study Area and Shenandoah Mountain National Scenic Area. Wilderness and National Scenic Area designations are only two means to protect our public land. VWC is also exploring a Rural Historic District designation as a means of adding another layer of protection to parts of our National Forest in Virginia.
In the past, VWC has worked almost exclusively on the Wilderness and National Scenic Area designations on George Washington and Jefferson National Forests and the Shenandoah National Park. However, Virginia is also blessed with federal lands that are under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In this vein, VWC has begun to look at our National Wildlife Refuge system for special areas to provide additional layers of protection.
Our last fifty years were filled with much success and some failure, both of which taught us significant lessons that we can use as the tools necessary to build coalitions for further attainments in the future. Currently, the Virginia Wilderness Additions Act is a work in progress, as is the legislation to protect Beech Lick Knob and the Shenandoah Mountain. By taking small steps moving forward and learning lessons as we progress, we pledge to continue our efforts and to dedicate ourselves to enhanced protection of these remarkable places.
Here’s to the next fifty years!
Lower Cowpasture Wilderness Addition
Photo credit: The Pew Charitable Trusts