VWC Newsletter - July 1997
Liming in St. Marys Wilderness
by Ernie Dickerman
To be or not be? To be limed or not to be limed, that is the question.
The St. Marys River, which with its tributaries flows through the St. Marys Wilderness (in Augusta County on the George Washington National Forest), was for many, many years considered to be one of the finest trout fishing streams in the Blue Ridge. In the last twenty years, more or less, with the coming of increasing air pollution brought from industry and electricity generation in the Midwest on eastward blowing winds, acid precipitation has slowly, steadily depleted life in St. Marys River, not only the fish but all forms of aquatic life, including salamanders, frogs, crawdads, all sorts of insects, even microscopic life. This is the same sad phenomena, occurring likewise in Shenandoah National Park.
Responding to this destructive situation, the Forest Service is seriously considering "liming" St. Marys River-putting piles of ground limestone rock in the headwaters, in the tributaries of St. Marys River. Liming would neutralize the acidic condition of the water, restoring a normal pH condition and thereby, hopefully and optimistically, permitting the natural recovery of aquatic life in the river. To what extent this natural recovery would occur is admittedly uncertain given the present low state of aquatic life. However, it would seem to be an experiment worth trying.
On Monday June 30, at the Pedlar District Ranger Office in Buena Vista, Forest Supervisor Bill Damon, District Ranger James Hunt and Asst. District Ranger Pat Egan met with Virginia Wilderness Committee President Jim Murray, Vice President Bess Murray, Secretary Lynn Cameron, and Ernie Dickerman to freely discuss possible liming of St. Marys River. All angles were brought up. Because St. Marys is part of the National Wilderness System, the subject is especially sensitive; for in statutory wilderness the processes of nature are not to be interfered with by mankind. However, the Wilderness Act specifically provides that the managing agency (here the Forest Service) "may control fire, insects and disease". We all agreed that this acid precipitation condition is a disease and therefore legally may be controlled. The direct cause of trouble due to acid precipitation is aluminum toxicity released by the drop in pH.
The Forest Service is continuing its study of this likely project, with many details yet to be resolved. While under the federal Clean Air Act, the intensity of this air pollution can be expected slowly to be reduced, it will occur only over many years; hence, probably fresh deposits of ground limestone will be needed once every few or several years for some time; likewise quantities are not known yet. Deposits almost certainly will be by helicopter at an open spot on each tributary-certainly not by motor vehicle. Before the Forest Service makes any final decision as to what it will do, the usual Scoping Notice will be prepared and circulated for public comment.
As of now the Virginia Wilderness Committee is not taking a position for or against liming of St. Mary's River. Some such action is needed if there is to be any hope of restoring the once abundant life-sustaining condition of the river. For the present our official position is neutral. We will certainly stay in close touch with Supervisor Bill Damon and the George Washington Forest on this matter.
Meet Bill Damon, Forest Supervisor
The Sierra Club Shenandoah Group has extended an invitation to VWC members to attend a picnic meeting where Bill Damon, supervisor of the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, will talk about forest management. The event will take place on Saturday, July 26, at the Elizabeth Furnace Recreation area in the G. W. Forest. We will meet at 9:30 a. m. in the day camp area of the Elizabeth Furnace (look for parked green U. S. Forest Service vehicle). We will then take a tour of a nearby forest area where timber has been cut. Guiding the tour will be Lee District Ranger John Coleman and Forest Supervisor Damon.
The picnic will begin at 12:30 p.m. at the Pavilion in the day camp area. Bring your own food and drink. Bill Damon will speak after lunch. After Damon's talk everyone will be free to hike nearby trails or check other harvested areas.
Directions: Travel to Va. Highway 55, which connects Front Royal and Strasburg. Halfway between these 2 towns (about 5 miles) is Rt. 678 at the one-store community of Waterlick. The entrance to Rt. 678 is flanked by a cemetery on one side and the store on the other. Drive 4.8 miles on Rt. 678 to Elizabeth Furnace. For further information, contact Charles Pierce at (540) 667-3184.
Virginia Wilderness Campaign Launched
by Ernie Dickerman
On Saturday, May 10, 1997, the new Virginia wilderness campaign was launched at a meeting at Newport, Va. (10 miles SW of Blacksburg) to promote wilderness proposals on the Jefferson National Forest in southwest Virginia (Congressman Rick Boucher's 9th District). Represented at the meeting were Virginia Wilderness Committee (by Pres. Jim Murray, Vice-Pres. Bess Murray, and Ernie Dickerman), Virginia Chapter/Sierra Club (by Jay Kardan, Conservation Chair), Southern Environmental Law Center of Charlottesville, Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition, The Wilderness Society, Appalachian Trail Conference, plus a few southwest Virginia organizations. This new wilderness campaign will tie in with the development of a new management plan for the Jefferson Forest, in which there is already substantial, active citizen participation.
Immediately two targets are being pushed: to induce the Forest Service to designate as many as possible (perhaps 30 or so) roadless areas on the Jefferson, and to seriously consider for wilderness recommendation as many as 20 or so wilderness proposals on the forest. A Roadless Area is identified by the Forest Service as an area of substantial size with no more than ½ miles of road per 1000 acres. Preliminary lists of wilderness proposals (not necessarily identical) have been submitted to the Forest Service by the VWC, the Appalachian Trail Conference, and a consensus of those groups and individuals present at the May 10 meeting at Newport.
Because of the deficiencies in character of the current 105th Congress, no effort will be made to introduce any Virginia wilderness bill in this Congress (1997-98); nor is Rep. Boucher willing to file any such bill in this Congress. Optimistically we do expect to have introduced a Virginia wilderness bill in the next Congress (the 106th, 1999-2000). Meanwhile we will be refining our wilderness proposals re boundaries and descriptions, deciding on a final selection of wilderness proposals to be urged on the Forest Service, and building local public support for the individual wilderness proposals.
Because of the persistent refusal by Congressman Bob Goodlatte (6th District, which covers most of the George Washington Forest) to file any Wilderness bill, no attempt will be made now to promote any wilderness proposals on the George Washington, regrettably. Sure, some fine day!
Action at this time by folks living outside southwest Virginia is not encouraged, but certainly will be later. We will let you know when the time comes!
Annual VWC Meeting
The annual VWC meeting was held on June 7 at the Murray home on Bentivar Farm near Charlottesville. The agenda included reports on:
Membership:
Membership in the VWC is open to anyone who believes in the need for preservation of wilderness. To join, send a copy of a recent letter supporting wilderness written to a public official, OR send $5.00 or more per year to the VWC Treasurer, address below. The date opposite your name on the mailing label indicates when (month & year) you last made a contribution to VWC. Please check it and if the date is more than one year old, a new contribution from you will be warmly welcomed.
Officers:
PRESIDENT Jim Murray 1601 Bentivar Farm Rd., Charlottesville, VA 22901 (804) 973-6693
VICE PRES Elizabeth Murray 1601 Bentivar Farm Rd., Charlottesville, VA 22901 (804) 973-6693
TREASURER Julie Simpson P.O. 11 E Monmouth, Winchester, VA 22601 (703) 662-7043
SECRETARY Lynn Cameron 95 Hope St., Harrisonburg, VA 22801 (703) 434-1318
by Ernie Dickerman
To be or not be? To be limed or not to be limed, that is the question.
The St. Marys River, which with its tributaries flows through the St. Marys Wilderness (in Augusta County on the George Washington National Forest), was for many, many years considered to be one of the finest trout fishing streams in the Blue Ridge. In the last twenty years, more or less, with the coming of increasing air pollution brought from industry and electricity generation in the Midwest on eastward blowing winds, acid precipitation has slowly, steadily depleted life in St. Marys River, not only the fish but all forms of aquatic life, including salamanders, frogs, crawdads, all sorts of insects, even microscopic life. This is the same sad phenomena, occurring likewise in Shenandoah National Park.
Responding to this destructive situation, the Forest Service is seriously considering "liming" St. Marys River-putting piles of ground limestone rock in the headwaters, in the tributaries of St. Marys River. Liming would neutralize the acidic condition of the water, restoring a normal pH condition and thereby, hopefully and optimistically, permitting the natural recovery of aquatic life in the river. To what extent this natural recovery would occur is admittedly uncertain given the present low state of aquatic life. However, it would seem to be an experiment worth trying.
On Monday June 30, at the Pedlar District Ranger Office in Buena Vista, Forest Supervisor Bill Damon, District Ranger James Hunt and Asst. District Ranger Pat Egan met with Virginia Wilderness Committee President Jim Murray, Vice President Bess Murray, Secretary Lynn Cameron, and Ernie Dickerman to freely discuss possible liming of St. Marys River. All angles were brought up. Because St. Marys is part of the National Wilderness System, the subject is especially sensitive; for in statutory wilderness the processes of nature are not to be interfered with by mankind. However, the Wilderness Act specifically provides that the managing agency (here the Forest Service) "may control fire, insects and disease". We all agreed that this acid precipitation condition is a disease and therefore legally may be controlled. The direct cause of trouble due to acid precipitation is aluminum toxicity released by the drop in pH.
The Forest Service is continuing its study of this likely project, with many details yet to be resolved. While under the federal Clean Air Act, the intensity of this air pollution can be expected slowly to be reduced, it will occur only over many years; hence, probably fresh deposits of ground limestone will be needed once every few or several years for some time; likewise quantities are not known yet. Deposits almost certainly will be by helicopter at an open spot on each tributary-certainly not by motor vehicle. Before the Forest Service makes any final decision as to what it will do, the usual Scoping Notice will be prepared and circulated for public comment.
As of now the Virginia Wilderness Committee is not taking a position for or against liming of St. Mary's River. Some such action is needed if there is to be any hope of restoring the once abundant life-sustaining condition of the river. For the present our official position is neutral. We will certainly stay in close touch with Supervisor Bill Damon and the George Washington Forest on this matter.
Meet Bill Damon, Forest Supervisor
The Sierra Club Shenandoah Group has extended an invitation to VWC members to attend a picnic meeting where Bill Damon, supervisor of the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, will talk about forest management. The event will take place on Saturday, July 26, at the Elizabeth Furnace Recreation area in the G. W. Forest. We will meet at 9:30 a. m. in the day camp area of the Elizabeth Furnace (look for parked green U. S. Forest Service vehicle). We will then take a tour of a nearby forest area where timber has been cut. Guiding the tour will be Lee District Ranger John Coleman and Forest Supervisor Damon.
The picnic will begin at 12:30 p.m. at the Pavilion in the day camp area. Bring your own food and drink. Bill Damon will speak after lunch. After Damon's talk everyone will be free to hike nearby trails or check other harvested areas.
Directions: Travel to Va. Highway 55, which connects Front Royal and Strasburg. Halfway between these 2 towns (about 5 miles) is Rt. 678 at the one-store community of Waterlick. The entrance to Rt. 678 is flanked by a cemetery on one side and the store on the other. Drive 4.8 miles on Rt. 678 to Elizabeth Furnace. For further information, contact Charles Pierce at (540) 667-3184.
Virginia Wilderness Campaign Launched
by Ernie Dickerman
On Saturday, May 10, 1997, the new Virginia wilderness campaign was launched at a meeting at Newport, Va. (10 miles SW of Blacksburg) to promote wilderness proposals on the Jefferson National Forest in southwest Virginia (Congressman Rick Boucher's 9th District). Represented at the meeting were Virginia Wilderness Committee (by Pres. Jim Murray, Vice-Pres. Bess Murray, and Ernie Dickerman), Virginia Chapter/Sierra Club (by Jay Kardan, Conservation Chair), Southern Environmental Law Center of Charlottesville, Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition, The Wilderness Society, Appalachian Trail Conference, plus a few southwest Virginia organizations. This new wilderness campaign will tie in with the development of a new management plan for the Jefferson Forest, in which there is already substantial, active citizen participation.
Immediately two targets are being pushed: to induce the Forest Service to designate as many as possible (perhaps 30 or so) roadless areas on the Jefferson, and to seriously consider for wilderness recommendation as many as 20 or so wilderness proposals on the forest. A Roadless Area is identified by the Forest Service as an area of substantial size with no more than ½ miles of road per 1000 acres. Preliminary lists of wilderness proposals (not necessarily identical) have been submitted to the Forest Service by the VWC, the Appalachian Trail Conference, and a consensus of those groups and individuals present at the May 10 meeting at Newport.
Because of the deficiencies in character of the current 105th Congress, no effort will be made to introduce any Virginia wilderness bill in this Congress (1997-98); nor is Rep. Boucher willing to file any such bill in this Congress. Optimistically we do expect to have introduced a Virginia wilderness bill in the next Congress (the 106th, 1999-2000). Meanwhile we will be refining our wilderness proposals re boundaries and descriptions, deciding on a final selection of wilderness proposals to be urged on the Forest Service, and building local public support for the individual wilderness proposals.
Because of the persistent refusal by Congressman Bob Goodlatte (6th District, which covers most of the George Washington Forest) to file any Wilderness bill, no attempt will be made now to promote any wilderness proposals on the George Washington, regrettably. Sure, some fine day!
Action at this time by folks living outside southwest Virginia is not encouraged, but certainly will be later. We will let you know when the time comes!
Annual VWC Meeting
The annual VWC meeting was held on June 7 at the Murray home on Bentivar Farm near Charlottesville. The agenda included reports on:
- Jefferson management plan, roadless areas and wilderness proposals - Both Ernie Dickerman and the Murrays are participating in the development of the new Forest Plan by attending meetings and providing input. See Ernie's article on Va. Wilderness campaign.
- Forest Watch program - We have several victories to celebrate (no gas development in Laurel Fork and no helicopter logging in Little River roadless areas). VWC will continue this program.
- Wilderness management issues - see Ernie Dickerman's article on liming in St. Marys. VWC voted to join Wilderness Watch, a group dedicated to making sure agencies manage Wilderness according to the law.
Membership:
Membership in the VWC is open to anyone who believes in the need for preservation of wilderness. To join, send a copy of a recent letter supporting wilderness written to a public official, OR send $5.00 or more per year to the VWC Treasurer, address below. The date opposite your name on the mailing label indicates when (month & year) you last made a contribution to VWC. Please check it and if the date is more than one year old, a new contribution from you will be warmly welcomed.
Officers:
PRESIDENT Jim Murray 1601 Bentivar Farm Rd., Charlottesville, VA 22901 (804) 973-6693
VICE PRES Elizabeth Murray 1601 Bentivar Farm Rd., Charlottesville, VA 22901 (804) 973-6693
TREASURER Julie Simpson P.O. 11 E Monmouth, Winchester, VA 22601 (703) 662-7043
SECRETARY Lynn Cameron 95 Hope St., Harrisonburg, VA 22801 (703) 434-1318