From the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC)
Current Conditions 10/3/2024, Updated at 2:42 PM. 
National Forest lands in North Carolina, Tennessee, and southwest Virginia that the A.T. passes through are closed. The states of North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia have declared a state of emergency. The entire Blue Ridge Parkway is closed (the parkway provides A.T. access in several places in central Virginia).

The ATC and National Park Service (NPS) recommends that hikers should postpone their trips to the southern A.T. until further notice (Georgia to Rockfish Gap, VA; NOBO miles 0.0 to 864.6). Although not all areas in this section are officially closed, there is still a risk of landslides in many areas, much of the A.T. in the south is inaccessible due to road closures, and emergency responders are at max capacity. There also may be dangers on the Trail from the storm like downed trees, severe erosion, washed out bridges, and swollen creeks and streams. Many devastated towns along the A.T. also have emergency orders in place excluding visitors so they can prioritize recovery.  

The ATC is a private nonprofit and does not have the authority to close sections of the A.T. However, for the reasons above, we are urging hikers to avoid the entire A.T. from Springer Mountain to Rockfish Gap (NOBO miles 0.0 to 864.6), regardless of formal closures.  

Please postpone your A.T. hike until the situation improves and damage can be assessed. 

Update for SOBOs, Flip Floppers, and section hikers: We have received reports that shuttles around Rockfish Gap are booked or unavailable, and that some roads nearby are closed. Hikers heading southbound (SOBO) who are planning to exit the Trail should consider leaving at Front Royal, VA instead (at the northern end of Shenandoah National Park).

Please note that the ATC has received confirmation from federal partners that areas listed as closed in the link below are officially closed. Updates to agency websites may be delayed because agency staff are either themselves in disaster zones or are focused on recovery. 

More updated information can be found at this link:
GA-VA – Hurricane Helene UPDATED 10/3/24 | Appalachian Trail Conservancy

Wednesday, October 16 
Shenandoah Mountain Nature Walk
10 a.m.  - Meet at Confederate Breastworks on Rt. 250.
We will hike along the crest of Shenandoah Mountain, in and out along the Shenandoah Mountain Trail. Easy round trip of four miles. Space limited. 
Click here to Register


Wednesday, November 20 
Shenandoah Mountain Hike
10 a.m. - Meet at Confederate Breastworks on Rt. 250
We will hike along the crest of Shenandoah Mountain, along the Shenandoah Mountain Trail, then follow Jerry's Run Trail into Ramseys Draft Wilderness, to the Sexton Shelter site, then turn around. Round trip of six miles. Space limited.
​Click here to Register

Photos by Steven David Johnson

All are welcome to the VWC Annual Meeting at Braley Pond Recreation Area on the George Washington National Forest on Saturday, August 24 at 10a. 

Attendees are asked to consider and vote on the following proposed amendments and one addition to the VWC By-Laws.  The Board of Directors recommends adoption of these changes. Click here.

Launching Saturday, June 1!
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Calling all amateur shutterbugs! Are you a casual camera person, part-time paparazzi, self-taught snapper? Have an awe-inspiring photo taken in Virginia Wilderness? The Virginia Wilderness Committee wants your submissions of Virginia Wilderness for the 2025 VWC Calendar Contest.

The VWC Calendar Contest launches June 1 and photograph submissions will be accepted through July 15. Contest entries will be judged by experts in the visual arts, who will select at least 15 photographs to feature in the inaugural 2025 VWC Calendar.

Winners of this contest will be notified by August 1, 2024. They will be featured in the 2025 VWC Calendar and will receive a free copy of the calendar. Our calendar will be sent in gratitude to all Sustaining Members (and above) of VWC. They can be purchased individually for $35.
           
Enter your photos today!
 
Contest Rules
No Purchase, Payment, or Entry Fee Necessary to Enter or to Win. Follow the Steps below for entry.
 
Step 1: Make sure your photos qualify
- Photo must be taken in or related in some way to a designated VA Wilderness
- Photos must be in digital JPEG or TIFF format
- Photo must be at least 13 inches on the shorter dimension
- Resolution of no less than 300dpi, low-resolution JPEGs will not be considered.
            - To find out an image’s DPI in Windows, right-click on the file name and select Properties > Details.
You’ll see the DPI in the Image section, labeled Horizontal Resolution and Vertical Resolution. On a
Mac, you need to open the image in Preview and select Tools > Adjust Size. It’s labeled Resolution.
- If people are pictured in the photos, they must be candid (posed shots will not be considered).
 
Step 2: Submit your photo (one entry per form)
- Fill out this Google form.
- Submit your photo by July 15.
***If submitting multiple photos, submit the form for each entry separately.
 
Note: By entering the contest, you are giving VWC permission to use the photos for publicity and promotion of Virginia Wilderness.

PRESS RELEASE | MAY 1, 2024
WASHINGTON D.C. — On Wednesday, leadership in the U.S. Senate released a framework for the 2024 Farm Bill. The bill’s Forestry Title includes measures that increase forest resilience in the face of climate change and would permanently protect more than 100,000 acres of public lands by creating new National Scenic Areas, National Recreation Areas, and Wilderness Areas.

“From a historic investment in the South’s public lands to climate smart forest policy, this framework has something for everyone to applaud, no matter how they enjoy our National Forests,” Anders Reynolds, Federal Legislative Director for the Southern Environmental Law Center, said. “Senator Stabenow and her staff have drafted a bipartisan bill that all our elected officials can get behind.”

Included in the draft are additions to Virginia’s Rough Mountain and Rich Hole Wilderness Areas and the creation of the Shenandoah Mountain National Scenic Area, which would protect more than 92,000 acres of the George Washington National Forest in Virginia. National Scenic Areas strike a balance between preservation and recreation, ensuring that hikers, cyclists, anglers, hunters, and other visitors can continue to enjoy this exceptional area while prohibiting logging and industrial development.

“The Shenandoah Mountain National Scenic Area proposal is the product of more than two decades of work and has broad public support from hundreds of local businesses, community organizations, and faith groups,” Southern Environmental Law Center Senior Attorney Kristin Davis said. “This designation would permanently protect one of the largest stretches of undeveloped land east of the Mississippi River and preserve the majestic forests, spectacular vistas, and rugged trails on the edge of the Shenandoah Valley.”

​Forests provide a key climate solution by capturing and storing billions of tons of carbon. Protecting carbon-rich forests on public lands from logging, mining, and other destructive practices is a straightforward and cost-effective way to fight climate change. Other climate-smart provisions in the Senate’s Farm Bill framework include enhancing reforestation efforts and improving forest carbon data monitoring. 

                                                                                          ###

The Southern Environmental Law Center is one of the nation’s most powerful defenders of the environment, rooted in the South. With a long track record, SELC takes on the toughest environmental challenges in court, in government, and in our communities to protect our region’s air, water, climate, wildlife, lands, and people.

Nonprofit and nonpartisan, the organization has a staff of 200, including more than 120 legal and policy experts, and is headquartered in Charlottesville, Va., with offices in Asheville, Atlanta, Birmingham, Chapel Hill, Charleston, Nashville, Richmond, and Washington, D.C. 
southernenvironment.org ​

The Senate Democrats have released a draft of the Farm Bill and the Shenandoah Mountain Act and the Virginia Wilderness Additions Act are both in the base text, as well as several other land preservation bills across the country. This is great news! It is what we expected but reassuring to see in print.

Thank you, Senator Kaine and Senator Warner, for continually championing land preservation in Virginia! 
To thank Senator Kaine, contact him here.
To thank Senator Warner, contact him here

Unfortunately, the invasive Garlic mustard plant is moving into the Hone Quarry area and threatening special wildflowers, like bloodroot, hepatica, and trilliums, that generations of people have come to Hone Quarry to enjoy. This invasive plant out-competes our native plants — both by growing vigorously and by poisoning the soil.
Fortunately, pulling Garlic mustard is easy and effective, especially in the Spring, before it flowers or produces seed.

Conservation groups, including: Friends of Shenandoah Mountain, PATC's Southern Shenandoah Valley Chapter and Shenandoah Mountain Trail Crew; Virginia Native Plant Society, Shenandoah Chapter; Virginia Master Naturalists - Headwaters Chapter; and the Virginia Wilderness Committee are joining to rid Hone Quarry of this destructive invasive plant and protect the native biodiversity of this special place.
 
Please come and help us out and taste some Garlic mustard pesto.  

What to bring:  Bring daypack with water, snacks, sun hat, sunscreen, raincoat, mosquito repellant, and garden gloves. 

What to expect: Our goal for this worktrip is to pull Garlic mustard in several key areas and have fun while we are doing it.​  We will start by dividing into small groups (each trained and led by a naturalist), to pull in these areas:

• Hone Quarry Picnic Area (easy access and short distance, includes area around restroom)
• Hone Quarry Campground (walk through the campground and pull)
• Forest Road 62 from the low water bridge to the Reservoir (good wildflowers here, too)
• Forest Road 62 and Slate Springs Trail from Hone Quarry Reservoir to Hone Quarry Falls (4.3 miles round trip with a wide variety of wildflowers)

After we pull, everyone will have an opportunity to sample some Garlic mustard pesto, made by Judy Bartlett, at the Hone Quarry Picnic Area.  Here's a recipe in case you want to make your own:  www.phipps.conservatory.org/blog/detail/garlic-mustard-pesto
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​Questions? Contact Jean Stephens at [email protected] or 443-986-5649.​

We are thrilled to announce that Ellen Stuart-Haentjens, Ph.D., a self-described “research ecologist (biogeochemist) and natural ecosystems advocate,” has succeeded Mark Miller 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.

Mark has moved over to become Field Director for VWC so he can spend less time in the office and more time in the forests he knows and loves so well.