FEBRUARY 2017 NEWSLETTER
Lower Cowpasture Update
The Forest Service (FS) has begun fully implementing the Lower Cowpasture Restoration and Management Project (LC). This is the first large landscape scale project undertaken by the FS since the newly Revised Management Plan for the George Washington National Forest was signed. The project incorporates active management activities, such as timber harvesting and prescribed fire, to achieve its management and restoration objectives. The project also includes stream restoration and culvert repairs and removal, as well as American Chestnut restoration. In December, the Virginia Wilderness Committee (VWC) assisted in planting six hundred American Chestnuts on a progeny test site. One of the unique aspects of this project has been its open and collaborative nature. The Stakeholder Collaborative, of which VWC is a founding member, has been an integral partner in the development of the LC. VWC’s interest in the LC is centered on the additions to the Rich Hole Wilderness (4,500 acres) and the Rough Mountain Wilderness (1,000 acres); with these additions, both Wilderness Areas would exceed 10,000 acres. Now that implementation has begun, VWC will be entering into discussions with members of the Stakeholder Collaborative about congressional legislation for these additions.
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North Shenandoah Mountain Update
The long-awaited, long-stalled North Shenandoah Mountain Restoration and Management Project (NSM) has finally taken off! The Forest Service (FS) has held a series of public meetings on topics including active manage-ment, recreation, and terrestrial and aquatic species. They have also held three field trips to the project area. The FS expects to release a Scoping Notice for the project in February. The NSM is located in northwestern Rockingham County, and it is expected to take up to two years to complete the necessary analysis. The Stakeholder Collaborative, of which VWC is a founding member, is actively seeking a more integrated set of management objectives across the project’s analysis area. VWC is interested in the NSM project because the designated Beech Lick Knob Wilderness Study Area is located within the project boundary. The 5,200-acre Beech Lick Knob contains the upper drainages of Root Run and Marshall Run. Both are designated cold water streams capable of supporting native Brook Trout. VWC expects to see support from nontraditional conservation allies for the proposed Beech Lick Knob Wilderness Study Area as the project moves forward.
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Atlantic Coast Pipeline: Action to Support our National Forest
We are joining with other Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance members to ask your help to protect one of the wildest, most intact forests in the East. Dominion’s proposed 600-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline would cross 21 miles of the George Washington and Monongahela National Forests. It is critical that the Forest Service (FS) stay committed to the process and professional standards it upholds as stewards of our public lands. The FS must utilize the time that the law allows to meet these standards. We are asking you to voice your support for the FS’s commitment to its requirements for a careful, thorough review of the pipeline application.
Send statements of support to: Forest Service Chief, Thomas Tidwell, [email protected], and
Regional Foresters, Kathleen Atkinson, [email protected], and Tony Tooke, [email protected].
Copies should also be submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to be included in the administrative record. Submissions can be made through www.ferc.gov. The docket number is CP15-554.
Click on Documents and Filings and use the eComment feature, or send by mail to:
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr., Deputy Secretary, FERC,
888 First Street NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.
Additionally, comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) are due on April 6, 2017. Links to the DEIS and other pertinent information can be found at www.vawilderness.org/dominion-pipeline.html.
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Send statements of support to: Forest Service Chief, Thomas Tidwell, [email protected], and
Regional Foresters, Kathleen Atkinson, [email protected], and Tony Tooke, [email protected].
Copies should also be submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to be included in the administrative record. Submissions can be made through www.ferc.gov. The docket number is CP15-554.
Click on Documents and Filings and use the eComment feature, or send by mail to:
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr., Deputy Secretary, FERC,
888 First Street NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.
Additionally, comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) are due on April 6, 2017. Links to the DEIS and other pertinent information can be found at www.vawilderness.org/dominion-pipeline.html.
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This American Land film on Shenandoah Mountain now available!
The much anticipated This American Land film on the Shenandoah Mountain National Scenic Area Proposal is now available online. The segment on Shenandoah Mountain is the third segment in Episode #602 and is available on our website, www.vawilderness.org. It features local friends and neighbors talking about protecting this special place. Season Six will be available to public television stations across the country soon. You can see Episode #602 in its entirety at www.thisamericanland.org/Episodes/season-six.