VWC Newsletter March 2009
Virginia Ridge and Valley - Victory!!!
Well, Folks, with a little bit of help from our friends we have done it. As soon as President Obama signs it, the Virginia Ridge and Valley Act of 2009 will be, at long last, the law of the land. As you all no doubt know by now, the mammoth public lands package that included our bill and 170 others passed the Senate on January 15th. On March 11th our hopes were dashed when the Senate bill failed to get a required 2/3 majority in the House. But there is more than one way to skin a cat. The House having passed HR 146, an uncontroversial bill about battlefield protection, the Omnibus Public Lands measure came back to life as an amendment to HR 146. In this form it sailed through the Senate and returned to the House. This time the House approved the package on a simple majority vote on March 25th.
But enough of these arcane matters. You are all vindicated: the visionaries who crafted the first Virginia's Mountain Treasures, the foot soldiers who endured the long winter of Forest Service hearings, the believers of the Radford Group, the tenacious pursuers of the Boards of Supervisors, and the congressional staffers who crafted and pushed the legislation. A special thanks goes to Mark Miller, who more than anyone else, pulled the whole thing together.
Now is the time for you to enjoy the fruits of victory. Visit Lee County to see the breathtaking views from the Stone Mountain Wilderness. Climb Dickey Knob and follow the round back down Raccoon Branch. Pop out from Blacksburg to sample the solitude of Brush Mountain and Brush Mountain East. And get lost in Garden Mountain and Hunting Camp Creek. Share in the knowledge that all these wonderful places are forever safe from exploitation.
PLANNING ON THE GEORGE WASHINGTON
And that brings us to our next task. The Forest Service has rolled out a preview of the Draft Plan that is scheduled for release this spring. There are some good things to report: an additional 40,000 acres identified as Special Biological Areas and the intention of scrapping any further ATV plans. But for wilderness advocates, however, the news is dismal. In the whole of the GW, the Forest Service was able to identify only ONE new, stand-alone wilderness candidate - Little River. Little River has, of course, been a top priority of the VWC for the past 40 years, but where are Laurel Fork, Three High Heads, Beech Lick Knob, Skidmore Fork, etc., etc. There are proposed additions to St. Marys Wilderness (only one of three possible ones), Ramsey's Draft, and Rich Hole, but the whole program looks meager in the extreme.
Indeed, for those of you who have followed the developments in the Ridge and Valley Campaign, the whole procedure is eerily familiar. Wilderness advocates work hard, attend all the endless public hearings, generate lots of public input favorable to wilderness designation, and all to little effect. Remember that only three wilderness recommendations came out of the planning on the Jefferson. It took years of patient negotiation to reach the final legislation that has established six new wilderness areas, six major additions to existing wildernesses, and two National Scenic Areas.
Stand by to review the Draft Plan for the George Washington National Forest when it comes out this spring. We will need all of you to rally round if we are to turn what is likely to be a disappointment into the triumph that we see in the passage of Virginia Ridge and Valley.
WWW.VAWILDERNESS.ORGVisit the fresh, new VWC web-site. New information, enhanced graphics, the latest on the Friends of Shenandoah - a wonderful way to keep in touch instantaneously. Kudos to Carol Lena for her expertise and drive.
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Check the date stamp on your label. It shows the date of your latest contribution. Are you up to date? Checks to VWC, 1625 Bentivar Farm Rd. Charlottesville, VA 22911.
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: Juliana Simpson, c/o Jim Murray, 1625 Bentivar Farm Rd., Charlottesville, VA 22911.
Secretary: Pete Bsumek, 485 W. Bruce St., Harrisonburg, VA 22801 (540-421-4105)
Wilderness Coordinator: Carol Lena Miller, 4939 Ottobine Rd., Dayton, VA 22821 (540-879-2127)
Well, Folks, with a little bit of help from our friends we have done it. As soon as President Obama signs it, the Virginia Ridge and Valley Act of 2009 will be, at long last, the law of the land. As you all no doubt know by now, the mammoth public lands package that included our bill and 170 others passed the Senate on January 15th. On March 11th our hopes were dashed when the Senate bill failed to get a required 2/3 majority in the House. But there is more than one way to skin a cat. The House having passed HR 146, an uncontroversial bill about battlefield protection, the Omnibus Public Lands measure came back to life as an amendment to HR 146. In this form it sailed through the Senate and returned to the House. This time the House approved the package on a simple majority vote on March 25th.
But enough of these arcane matters. You are all vindicated: the visionaries who crafted the first Virginia's Mountain Treasures, the foot soldiers who endured the long winter of Forest Service hearings, the believers of the Radford Group, the tenacious pursuers of the Boards of Supervisors, and the congressional staffers who crafted and pushed the legislation. A special thanks goes to Mark Miller, who more than anyone else, pulled the whole thing together.
Now is the time for you to enjoy the fruits of victory. Visit Lee County to see the breathtaking views from the Stone Mountain Wilderness. Climb Dickey Knob and follow the round back down Raccoon Branch. Pop out from Blacksburg to sample the solitude of Brush Mountain and Brush Mountain East. And get lost in Garden Mountain and Hunting Camp Creek. Share in the knowledge that all these wonderful places are forever safe from exploitation.
PLANNING ON THE GEORGE WASHINGTON
And that brings us to our next task. The Forest Service has rolled out a preview of the Draft Plan that is scheduled for release this spring. There are some good things to report: an additional 40,000 acres identified as Special Biological Areas and the intention of scrapping any further ATV plans. But for wilderness advocates, however, the news is dismal. In the whole of the GW, the Forest Service was able to identify only ONE new, stand-alone wilderness candidate - Little River. Little River has, of course, been a top priority of the VWC for the past 40 years, but where are Laurel Fork, Three High Heads, Beech Lick Knob, Skidmore Fork, etc., etc. There are proposed additions to St. Marys Wilderness (only one of three possible ones), Ramsey's Draft, and Rich Hole, but the whole program looks meager in the extreme.
Indeed, for those of you who have followed the developments in the Ridge and Valley Campaign, the whole procedure is eerily familiar. Wilderness advocates work hard, attend all the endless public hearings, generate lots of public input favorable to wilderness designation, and all to little effect. Remember that only three wilderness recommendations came out of the planning on the Jefferson. It took years of patient negotiation to reach the final legislation that has established six new wilderness areas, six major additions to existing wildernesses, and two National Scenic Areas.
Stand by to review the Draft Plan for the George Washington National Forest when it comes out this spring. We will need all of you to rally round if we are to turn what is likely to be a disappointment into the triumph that we see in the passage of Virginia Ridge and Valley.
WWW.VAWILDERNESS.ORGVisit the fresh, new VWC web-site. New information, enhanced graphics, the latest on the Friends of Shenandoah - a wonderful way to keep in touch instantaneously. Kudos to Carol Lena for her expertise and drive.
*************************************
Check the date stamp on your label. It shows the date of your latest contribution. Are you up to date? Checks to VWC, 1625 Bentivar Farm Rd. Charlottesville, VA 22911.
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: Juliana Simpson, c/o Jim Murray, 1625 Bentivar Farm Rd., Charlottesville, VA 22911.
Secretary: Pete Bsumek, 485 W. Bruce St., Harrisonburg, VA 22801 (540-421-4105)
Wilderness Coordinator: Carol Lena Miller, 4939 Ottobine Rd., Dayton, VA 22821 (540-879-2127)