January 2024 newsletter
From the President
We are a fortunate bunch of people here at the Virginia Wilderness Committee (VWC). We have long benefitted from the leadership of Mark Miller as our Executive Director. Now Mark has moved over to become Field Director so he can spend less time in the office and more time in the forests he knows and loves so well, as well as coddling his new grandchild. Mark understands federal public lands in Virginia, especially our National Forests, as well or better than anyone else inside or outside the Forest Service. He is about the smartest person I have had an opportunity with whom to work.
We are thrilled to announce that Ellen Stuart-Haentjens, a self-described “research ecologist (biogeochemist) and natural ecosystems advocate,” has succeeded Mark in the Executive Director’s chair. Ellen has come to us from the U.S. Geological Survey and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). Her research has involved ecosystem function and carbon cycling resilience following disturbance, which she has translated for me to mean the relative effectiveness of younger and mature forests in capturing and storing carbon to combat climate change, among other topics.
Ellen is comfortable navigating the legislative process having met with Virginia’s U.S. senators and members of Congress on behalf of science-focused legislative priorities and provided research instrumental in drafting the conservation pillar of President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. She has presented to regional, national, and international conferences; participated in donor fundraising events for the VCU Rice Rivers Center; taught university courses; and given seminars and talks on forest and wetland ecology at VCU, the Science Museum of Virginia, and to the Virginia Outdoor Writers Association. She has engaged in policy and public engagement workshops and authored articles in science journals and public platforms alike (gaining national and international attention). We are anticipating great things as she guides VWC into this next chapter.
If it sounds like I am bragging on Ellen and Mark, I guess I am. Then there are the significant contributions of Lacey Dean, VWC’s Education and Outreach Coordinator. We are, indeed, fortunate here at VWC. I just hope they will all stick around for a while. So please be nice when you meet them, especially the new kid. And thank you for all you do in support of VWC.
Sincerely,
John D. Hutchinson V, VWC President
We are thrilled to announce that Ellen Stuart-Haentjens, a self-described “research ecologist (biogeochemist) and natural ecosystems advocate,” has succeeded Mark in the Executive Director’s chair. Ellen has come to us from the U.S. Geological Survey and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). Her research has involved ecosystem function and carbon cycling resilience following disturbance, which she has translated for me to mean the relative effectiveness of younger and mature forests in capturing and storing carbon to combat climate change, among other topics.
Ellen is comfortable navigating the legislative process having met with Virginia’s U.S. senators and members of Congress on behalf of science-focused legislative priorities and provided research instrumental in drafting the conservation pillar of President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. She has presented to regional, national, and international conferences; participated in donor fundraising events for the VCU Rice Rivers Center; taught university courses; and given seminars and talks on forest and wetland ecology at VCU, the Science Museum of Virginia, and to the Virginia Outdoor Writers Association. She has engaged in policy and public engagement workshops and authored articles in science journals and public platforms alike (gaining national and international attention). We are anticipating great things as she guides VWC into this next chapter.
If it sounds like I am bragging on Ellen and Mark, I guess I am. Then there are the significant contributions of Lacey Dean, VWC’s Education and Outreach Coordinator. We are, indeed, fortunate here at VWC. I just hope they will all stick around for a while. So please be nice when you meet them, especially the new kid. And thank you for all you do in support of VWC.
Sincerely,
John D. Hutchinson V, VWC President
VWC Celebrating 55 years of Protecting Virginia Public Lands
In May of this year, the Virginia Wilderness Committee (VWC) will reach a milestone, celebrating 55 years of advocacy for the establishment of Wilderness Areas and National Scenic Areas in Virginia. 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 action in prospect was the wilderness proposal put forward by Shenandoah National Park (SNP). The Park Service had produced a plan for 62,000 acres of Wilderness, whereas the Wilderness Society hoped for much more. VWC responded with boots on the ground and achieved its first success with the addition of Turk Mountain and Matthews Arm to the final proposal for a total of about 80,000 acres.
While this campaign was in progress, an even more important development was taking place in our National Forests. The Forest Service had decided that the best way to discourage enthusiasm for wilderness designation on eastern forests was to introduce a system of “Wild Areas” with lower standards for inclusion and greater opportunities for management activities. This provoked a strong backlash to protect the unique nature of the Wilderness Act and to establish true wilderness in the eastern forests. Together with other areas in other states, the principle of wilderness in the East was firmly established with the Eastern Wilderness Areas Act. By a quirk of Congress, the James River Face on the Jefferson National Forest became the first Wilderness in the Commonwealth in 1975 with the passage of this bill, and then Shenandoah Wilderness in SNP following along in 1976.
Since then, we have had many opportunities to celebrate. VWC has helped to move six Wilderness bills through Congress, protecting a total of over 215,000 acres. We have helped to protect over 19,000 acres as congressionally designated National Scenic Areas. By taking measured steps, we have amassed a strong record of success. This year, our 55th, we hope to finally see the passage of two bills, adding a 92,000 acres National Scenic Area on Shenandoah Mountain and nearly 34,000 acres to the Wilderness Preservation System on the George Washington National Forest. As we near our anniversary in May, we will share more of our successes and challenges of the past 55 years working to protect the best of the Commonwealth’s wild places.
While this campaign was in progress, an even more important development was taking place in our National Forests. The Forest Service had decided that the best way to discourage enthusiasm for wilderness designation on eastern forests was to introduce a system of “Wild Areas” with lower standards for inclusion and greater opportunities for management activities. This provoked a strong backlash to protect the unique nature of the Wilderness Act and to establish true wilderness in the eastern forests. Together with other areas in other states, the principle of wilderness in the East was firmly established with the Eastern Wilderness Areas Act. By a quirk of Congress, the James River Face on the Jefferson National Forest became the first Wilderness in the Commonwealth in 1975 with the passage of this bill, and then Shenandoah Wilderness in SNP following along in 1976.
Since then, we have had many opportunities to celebrate. VWC has helped to move six Wilderness bills through Congress, protecting a total of over 215,000 acres. We have helped to protect over 19,000 acres as congressionally designated National Scenic Areas. By taking measured steps, we have amassed a strong record of success. This year, our 55th, we hope to finally see the passage of two bills, adding a 92,000 acres National Scenic Area on Shenandoah Mountain and nearly 34,000 acres to the Wilderness Preservation System on the George Washington National Forest. As we near our anniversary in May, we will share more of our successes and challenges of the past 55 years working to protect the best of the Commonwealth’s wild places.
VWC’s First Success!
The James River Face Wilderness is in Rockbridge and Bedford Counties on the Jefferson National Forest. Established in 1975 under the Eastern Wilderness Areas Act, this 8,907-acre wilderness is considered the “Grandfather of Virginia’s Wilderness” because it was the first wilderness established in Virginia.
The northeast portion of the wilderness is bounded by the James River. Here the James River cuts through the Blue Ridge Mountains creating a gorge over nine miles long with an elevation change of just over 2,400 feet from the river (650 feet) to the summit of Highcock Knob (3,073 feet). The James River tumbles over Balcony Falls and other fast flowing rapids as it passes through the gorge.
James River Face Wilderness is drained by numerous creeks which are all tributaries of the James River. Of these both Sulphur Springs and Belfast Creek are designated cold water streams. The creeks all descend rapidly through the wilderness and include many small, unnamed waterfalls.
One of those waterfalls is adjacent to the Devil’s Marbleyard. This eight-acre boulder field is a popular hiking destination. It is made of boulders that have sheared off the face of a small cliff near the crest of the ridge, some the size of a large van, which have tumbled pell-mell down the slope creating a boulder mosaic that is a fun and challenging scramble.
The James River Face ecosystem consists of stands of southern hardwoods on its lower slopes with Chestnut Oak and various types of yellow pine with an understory of Mountain Laurel and Huckleberry growing on the long ridges. Near the crest of Highcock Knob are small stands of Northern Red Oak and Hickory. In sheltered coves tall White Oak, Basswood, and Tulip Poplar thrive in the canopy, while thick stands of Rhododendron clog up the understory.
In 2019, 1,620 acres of the James River Face Wilderness became part of the Old Growth Forest Network. Some of the trees including tall straight Northern Red Oak and Tulip Poplar found in the sheltered coves and gnarly Chestnut Oak up on the exposed ridge crests date back to the mid-1880s.
In late 2023, the Matts Creek Fire, when finally contained, burned over 11,000 acres of forest. Most of this fire occurred in the Wilderness. While the fire was big, its intensity was limited. It appears that there was little damage to the forest canopy.
Recreational opportunities abound in the James River Face Wilderness. There are nearly thirty-two miles of hiking trails including eleven miles of the Appalachian Trail. Some of these trails when combined with the Glenwood Horse Trail create long loop hikes. The Matts Creek Shelter, one of the many AT trail shelters, is located in the James River Face Wilderness. All trails in the wilderness are maintained through the hard work and dedication of volunteers with the Natural Bridge Appalachian Trail Club (NBATC), the Southern Appalachian Wilderness Stewards (SAWS), and the Golden Horseshoe Backcountry Horsemen. For more information and trail maps of James River Face Wilderness, check out www.vawilderness.org.
The northeast portion of the wilderness is bounded by the James River. Here the James River cuts through the Blue Ridge Mountains creating a gorge over nine miles long with an elevation change of just over 2,400 feet from the river (650 feet) to the summit of Highcock Knob (3,073 feet). The James River tumbles over Balcony Falls and other fast flowing rapids as it passes through the gorge.
James River Face Wilderness is drained by numerous creeks which are all tributaries of the James River. Of these both Sulphur Springs and Belfast Creek are designated cold water streams. The creeks all descend rapidly through the wilderness and include many small, unnamed waterfalls.
One of those waterfalls is adjacent to the Devil’s Marbleyard. This eight-acre boulder field is a popular hiking destination. It is made of boulders that have sheared off the face of a small cliff near the crest of the ridge, some the size of a large van, which have tumbled pell-mell down the slope creating a boulder mosaic that is a fun and challenging scramble.
The James River Face ecosystem consists of stands of southern hardwoods on its lower slopes with Chestnut Oak and various types of yellow pine with an understory of Mountain Laurel and Huckleberry growing on the long ridges. Near the crest of Highcock Knob are small stands of Northern Red Oak and Hickory. In sheltered coves tall White Oak, Basswood, and Tulip Poplar thrive in the canopy, while thick stands of Rhododendron clog up the understory.
In 2019, 1,620 acres of the James River Face Wilderness became part of the Old Growth Forest Network. Some of the trees including tall straight Northern Red Oak and Tulip Poplar found in the sheltered coves and gnarly Chestnut Oak up on the exposed ridge crests date back to the mid-1880s.
In late 2023, the Matts Creek Fire, when finally contained, burned over 11,000 acres of forest. Most of this fire occurred in the Wilderness. While the fire was big, its intensity was limited. It appears that there was little damage to the forest canopy.
Recreational opportunities abound in the James River Face Wilderness. There are nearly thirty-two miles of hiking trails including eleven miles of the Appalachian Trail. Some of these trails when combined with the Glenwood Horse Trail create long loop hikes. The Matts Creek Shelter, one of the many AT trail shelters, is located in the James River Face Wilderness. All trails in the wilderness are maintained through the hard work and dedication of volunteers with the Natural Bridge Appalachian Trail Club (NBATC), the Southern Appalachian Wilderness Stewards (SAWS), and the Golden Horseshoe Backcountry Horsemen. For more information and trail maps of James River Face Wilderness, check out www.vawilderness.org.
