VWC Newsletter - January 2012
HARD TIMES FOR THE VWC
As most of you know the economic downturn has been rough on organizations that depend on voluntary support from the public. Some long-established ones such as the Wilderness Society have seen contributions decline sharply. Others have had to suspend their programs completely. The shoestring operation that is the Virginia Wilderness Committee is no exception. In recent years we have relied heavily on staff support from the Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition, which is sunsetting this year, and from the Wilderness Society, which seems to be moving its support to other states. In some sense we are the victims of our own success. The argument would seem to be that since we have managed to get seven bills through Congress in the last thirty-five years, others may need more help.
The nub of the matter is that we desperately need your help in the short run as we seek to reorganize our work and search for major donors and grant support. Our fund raising efforts have heretofore been very modest, but right now we need to pull out all the stops. So, please, dig deep and help to tide us over this difficult period to keep the VWC as a strong voice for wilderness in the months and years ahead. Checks to the VWC Treasurer, Karen Waterman, 229 Cranberry Drive, Stuarts Draft, VA 24477-3047.
THE WILDERNESS ACT IS ABOUT TO TURN 50
In these days it is hard to think back to a time before there was a Wilderness Act. Then, wilderness was thought of as a concept that applied only to the West. In the whole of the eastern forests there were only three small parcels of administratively designated wilderness. There was no real understanding of the value of wilderness and no established vehicle whereby the average citizen might pursue the goal of permanent wilderness designation.
All that changed with the stroke of a pen when President Johnson signed into law the legislation entitled the Wilderness Act of 1964. Again, most of the immediate impact was in the West, but the Wilderness Act placed in our hands the tools necessary for the long campaign that has brought more than 214,00 acres of Virginia land under the protection of the National Wilderness Preservation System.
In just two years time the fiftieth anniversary of this historic legislation will be celebrated all over America by national organizations like the Wilderness Society and the Sierra Club, but especially in Virginia, where so much has been accomplished. The VWC will be taking part both nationally and locally. We would love to have your suggestions for appropriate ways of marking this momentous anniversary.
Go WILD PROGRAM TAKES OFF
The VWC has received a generous donation in memory of former Board member Juliana Mulqueen. The gift was made specifically to fund educational programs about wilderness for young people, and the result is our Go WILD (Wilderness in Learning Development) grant program. The awards allow young people to have first-hand experience in a designated Wilderness Area or a candidate wilderness area in the GWNF. Students also learn the benefits and regulations associated with Wilderness Areas.
For this first year of the grant program, Dr. Joseph Murray of the Blue Ridge Community College and Dr. Timothy Kreps of Bridgewater College were awarded grant funding. Dr. Murray, a professor in BRCC's Appalachian Environmental Studies Learning Community, took students to Ramsey's Draft and St. Mary's Wilderness Areas to observe and study geology, water quality, invasive plants, air quality, and historical cultural impacts. Their survey of lichens provides a direct index of air quality to be compared with a similar survey from the Shenandoah National Park. Dr. Kreps and Dr. Gavin Lawson from Bridgewater College are conducting research in the Skidmore Fork proposed wilderness area that will monitor and compare salamander and snake populations along roads and trails. Dr. Kreps was also awarded funding for service-learning trips doing trail maintenance in St. Mary's.
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Virginia Wilderness Committee: www.vawilderness.org
President: Laura Neale, 423 Sheep Creek Lane, Fairfield, VA 24435 (540-261-1909)
Vice-Pres: Mark Miller, 62 Big Hill Rd., Lexington, VA 24450 (540-464-3110)
Treasurer: Karen Waterman, 229 Cranberry Drive, Stuarts Draft, VA 24477-3047
Secretary: Pete Bsumek, 485 W. Bruce St., Harrisonburg, VA 22801 (540-421-4105)
Wilderness Coordinator: Carol Lena Miller, 460 Ohio Ave., Harrisonburg, VA 22801 (540-578-0275)
As most of you know the economic downturn has been rough on organizations that depend on voluntary support from the public. Some long-established ones such as the Wilderness Society have seen contributions decline sharply. Others have had to suspend their programs completely. The shoestring operation that is the Virginia Wilderness Committee is no exception. In recent years we have relied heavily on staff support from the Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition, which is sunsetting this year, and from the Wilderness Society, which seems to be moving its support to other states. In some sense we are the victims of our own success. The argument would seem to be that since we have managed to get seven bills through Congress in the last thirty-five years, others may need more help.
The nub of the matter is that we desperately need your help in the short run as we seek to reorganize our work and search for major donors and grant support. Our fund raising efforts have heretofore been very modest, but right now we need to pull out all the stops. So, please, dig deep and help to tide us over this difficult period to keep the VWC as a strong voice for wilderness in the months and years ahead. Checks to the VWC Treasurer, Karen Waterman, 229 Cranberry Drive, Stuarts Draft, VA 24477-3047.
THE WILDERNESS ACT IS ABOUT TO TURN 50
In these days it is hard to think back to a time before there was a Wilderness Act. Then, wilderness was thought of as a concept that applied only to the West. In the whole of the eastern forests there were only three small parcels of administratively designated wilderness. There was no real understanding of the value of wilderness and no established vehicle whereby the average citizen might pursue the goal of permanent wilderness designation.
All that changed with the stroke of a pen when President Johnson signed into law the legislation entitled the Wilderness Act of 1964. Again, most of the immediate impact was in the West, but the Wilderness Act placed in our hands the tools necessary for the long campaign that has brought more than 214,00 acres of Virginia land under the protection of the National Wilderness Preservation System.
In just two years time the fiftieth anniversary of this historic legislation will be celebrated all over America by national organizations like the Wilderness Society and the Sierra Club, but especially in Virginia, where so much has been accomplished. The VWC will be taking part both nationally and locally. We would love to have your suggestions for appropriate ways of marking this momentous anniversary.
Go WILD PROGRAM TAKES OFF
The VWC has received a generous donation in memory of former Board member Juliana Mulqueen. The gift was made specifically to fund educational programs about wilderness for young people, and the result is our Go WILD (Wilderness in Learning Development) grant program. The awards allow young people to have first-hand experience in a designated Wilderness Area or a candidate wilderness area in the GWNF. Students also learn the benefits and regulations associated with Wilderness Areas.
For this first year of the grant program, Dr. Joseph Murray of the Blue Ridge Community College and Dr. Timothy Kreps of Bridgewater College were awarded grant funding. Dr. Murray, a professor in BRCC's Appalachian Environmental Studies Learning Community, took students to Ramsey's Draft and St. Mary's Wilderness Areas to observe and study geology, water quality, invasive plants, air quality, and historical cultural impacts. Their survey of lichens provides a direct index of air quality to be compared with a similar survey from the Shenandoah National Park. Dr. Kreps and Dr. Gavin Lawson from Bridgewater College are conducting research in the Skidmore Fork proposed wilderness area that will monitor and compare salamander and snake populations along roads and trails. Dr. Kreps was also awarded funding for service-learning trips doing trail maintenance in St. Mary's.
*************************************
Virginia Wilderness Committee: www.vawilderness.org
President: Laura Neale, 423 Sheep Creek Lane, Fairfield, VA 24435 (540-261-1909)
Vice-Pres: Mark Miller, 62 Big Hill Rd., Lexington, VA 24450 (540-464-3110)
Treasurer: Karen Waterman, 229 Cranberry Drive, Stuarts Draft, VA 24477-3047
Secretary: Pete Bsumek, 485 W. Bruce St., Harrisonburg, VA 22801 (540-421-4105)
Wilderness Coordinator: Carol Lena Miller, 460 Ohio Ave., Harrisonburg, VA 22801 (540-578-0275)