VWC Newsletter - October 2013
NEWS FLASH ON GWNF PLAN & FRACKING:
No News... The release of the final land management plan for the George Washington National Forest, originally expected last year and awaited with bated breath for its decision on fracking, is now expected later this fall. Over the summer, VWC board members and staff joined other Valley conservationists in efforts to inform agency officials, VA’s Senators, and the media about the special values of the GWNF and the local support for prohibiting fracking there. Thousands of acres of private lands are available for gas leasing, while the GWNF contributes outdoor recreational amenities that support a multi-million dollar tourism industry. In response to these efforts and to numerous comments from constituents, each senator wrote to Tom Vilsack, Sec. of Agriculture, urging him to consider the views of the many citizens and local governments who oppose fracking on the GWNF.
If you want to help keep highly disruptive and widespread industrial operations, night lights, noise, gas flaring, new roads and pipelines, heavy truck traffic 24/7, accidents and spills out of the GWNF, please tell that to:
Sec. of Agriculture Tom Vilsack
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave., S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20250
[email protected]
Please send thank yous to:
Senator Mark Warner
475 Russell Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-2023
Senator Tim Kaine
388 Russell Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: 202-224-4024
VWC Annual Meeting Summary
Nearly 30 people gathered June 29 to discuss VWC’s continuing mission to protect wildlands. We were graced by the presence of experienced Wilderness Warrior, Bart Koehler, who updated us on nation-wide Wilderness activities. We also welcomed the affable Forest Service ranger for Wilderness, Pete Irvine, who led a discussion about the 50th Anniversary of The Wilderness Act in 2014 – see below. VWC’s only employee, Mark Miller, reported on grants applied for, rejected, or won. Treasurer Karen Waterman put it all together in the context of our ongoing, tenuous financial situation. We depend greatly on contributions to help us accomplish our goal of land protection so please donate using the button below, or send a check to Karen Waterman, VWC Treas., 229 Cranberry Drive, Stuarts Draft, VA 24477-3047.
Mark further reported on Stakeholders discussions including a Rich Hole cell tower and Beech Lick Knob protection. Lynn Cameron reported on the Shenandoah Mountain Proposal – see below. Nominations for officers were unanimously accepted: Laura Neale, Pres., Jeremy Boggs, VP, Pete Bsumek, Sec., and Karen Waterman, Treas. Lunch and guitar playing followed to alleviate the gravitas of trying to save the world.
Welcome to New VWC Volunteers
The VWC board is delighted (to put it mildly) to welcome new volunteers Rita Gentile and Sheila Newman. Rita will maintain our membership database, and Sheila will format the newsletter. Both volunteers bring considerable computer skills to VWC, for which we are extremely grateful!
News from Friends of Shenandoah Mountain
In July, Sarah Elson, President of the Shenandoah Valley Travel Association (SVTA) wrote to the Forest Service to endorse VWC’s Shenandoah Mountain Proposal, which calls for Congressional designation of 90,000 acres in GWNF as a National Scenic Area with several core Wilderness Areas. “Recreational lands are one of the most important assets in attracting visitors to the region," she wrote. "The scenic beauty that is so essential to promoting tourism in the region requires management and protection." The number of endorsements from businesses, faith groups, community organizations, and others is approaching 200, thanks to many presentations given to community groups.
The 1964 Wilderness Act: Possibly the Greatest Law Ever Passed!
VWC officers and members are fully engaged with the 50th Anniversary National Wilderness Planning Team. This growing coalition of federal agencies, non-profits, academic institutions, hikers, horseback riders, hunters and other wilderness users is planning 300-400 community events. As we know only too well, not many in the general public understand the many benefits and values of Wilderness, and this is an opportunity to show them.Lower
Cowpasture River Restoration Project
This summer, VWC representatives attended several public meetings & field trips organized by District Ranger Pat Sheridan in eastern Allegheny/Bath Counties. These were part of the first project involving the Stakeholders group that VWC staff Mark Miller helped to establish to provide a forum in which opposing views of forest management could be discussed and reconciled, to avoid the traditional opposition to Wilderness designation. Stakeholders include representatives from state agencies as well as timber, hunting, and recreational interests. Discussions centered on resolving difficult ecological problems, such as a collapsing stream bank, burned areas, invasives, and balancing wildlife habitat between mature forest and early successional habitat. Additions to the Rich Hole and Rough Mtn. Wilderness Areas have been included in and supported by the Stakeholder process, which is proving to be a promising avenue of cooperation.
Our Resilient Landscape - Can we keep it that way?
Last year, The Nature Conservancy released a study of 156 million acres of “ecological neighborhoods” from FL to eastern Canada. Areas with the most diverse topographies, geologies and elevation ranges are estimated to offer the greatest potential for plant and animal species to move as climate change makes their traditional neighborhoods less habitable. Local connectivity, including the absence of roads that fragment habitats, is also considered critical.
The Appalachian Mountain chain that runs through PA, WV, MD, VA, NC, TN, and GA was found to be especially important for helping species survive climate impacts.
VWC’s work to permanently protect Wilderness Areas and to promote corridors among them contributes significantly to preserving the greatest climatic options for the greatest number of species – including ourselves. Read about TNC’s study here.
Editor's Note: Barefoot Forestry in Germany by Chris Bolgiano
This summer I returned to visit forester friends in former East Germany (travel story to come at www.chrisbolgiano.com). A major goal of German foresters today is connecting with children; like us, they fear Nature Deficit Disorder among their screen-stuck young. When I saw this Barefoot Garden in a forest-themed playground for kids at summer camp in a nearby castle, I couldn’t help but recall the two legendarily barefoot men in my life:
Top: “Barefoot Garden” includes various textures found on a forest walk.
Bottom left: Mark Miller of VWC at the annual meeting this June.
Bottom right: Chip Chase, owner of White Grass Nordic Ski Center in WV and a leader in establishing the Canaan Valley Natl. Wildlife Refuge, hiking in Dolly Sods.
Officers:
President: Laura Neale, Fairfield, VA
Vice President: Jeremy Boggs, Charlottesville, VA
Secretary: Pete Bsumek, Harrisonburg, VA
Treasurer: Karen Waterman, Stuarts Draft, VA
No News... The release of the final land management plan for the George Washington National Forest, originally expected last year and awaited with bated breath for its decision on fracking, is now expected later this fall. Over the summer, VWC board members and staff joined other Valley conservationists in efforts to inform agency officials, VA’s Senators, and the media about the special values of the GWNF and the local support for prohibiting fracking there. Thousands of acres of private lands are available for gas leasing, while the GWNF contributes outdoor recreational amenities that support a multi-million dollar tourism industry. In response to these efforts and to numerous comments from constituents, each senator wrote to Tom Vilsack, Sec. of Agriculture, urging him to consider the views of the many citizens and local governments who oppose fracking on the GWNF.
If you want to help keep highly disruptive and widespread industrial operations, night lights, noise, gas flaring, new roads and pipelines, heavy truck traffic 24/7, accidents and spills out of the GWNF, please tell that to:
Sec. of Agriculture Tom Vilsack
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave., S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20250
[email protected]
Please send thank yous to:
Senator Mark Warner
475 Russell Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-2023
Senator Tim Kaine
388 Russell Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: 202-224-4024
VWC Annual Meeting Summary
Nearly 30 people gathered June 29 to discuss VWC’s continuing mission to protect wildlands. We were graced by the presence of experienced Wilderness Warrior, Bart Koehler, who updated us on nation-wide Wilderness activities. We also welcomed the affable Forest Service ranger for Wilderness, Pete Irvine, who led a discussion about the 50th Anniversary of The Wilderness Act in 2014 – see below. VWC’s only employee, Mark Miller, reported on grants applied for, rejected, or won. Treasurer Karen Waterman put it all together in the context of our ongoing, tenuous financial situation. We depend greatly on contributions to help us accomplish our goal of land protection so please donate using the button below, or send a check to Karen Waterman, VWC Treas., 229 Cranberry Drive, Stuarts Draft, VA 24477-3047.
Mark further reported on Stakeholders discussions including a Rich Hole cell tower and Beech Lick Knob protection. Lynn Cameron reported on the Shenandoah Mountain Proposal – see below. Nominations for officers were unanimously accepted: Laura Neale, Pres., Jeremy Boggs, VP, Pete Bsumek, Sec., and Karen Waterman, Treas. Lunch and guitar playing followed to alleviate the gravitas of trying to save the world.
Welcome to New VWC Volunteers
The VWC board is delighted (to put it mildly) to welcome new volunteers Rita Gentile and Sheila Newman. Rita will maintain our membership database, and Sheila will format the newsletter. Both volunteers bring considerable computer skills to VWC, for which we are extremely grateful!
News from Friends of Shenandoah Mountain
In July, Sarah Elson, President of the Shenandoah Valley Travel Association (SVTA) wrote to the Forest Service to endorse VWC’s Shenandoah Mountain Proposal, which calls for Congressional designation of 90,000 acres in GWNF as a National Scenic Area with several core Wilderness Areas. “Recreational lands are one of the most important assets in attracting visitors to the region," she wrote. "The scenic beauty that is so essential to promoting tourism in the region requires management and protection." The number of endorsements from businesses, faith groups, community organizations, and others is approaching 200, thanks to many presentations given to community groups.
The 1964 Wilderness Act: Possibly the Greatest Law Ever Passed!
VWC officers and members are fully engaged with the 50th Anniversary National Wilderness Planning Team. This growing coalition of federal agencies, non-profits, academic institutions, hikers, horseback riders, hunters and other wilderness users is planning 300-400 community events. As we know only too well, not many in the general public understand the many benefits and values of Wilderness, and this is an opportunity to show them.Lower
Cowpasture River Restoration Project
This summer, VWC representatives attended several public meetings & field trips organized by District Ranger Pat Sheridan in eastern Allegheny/Bath Counties. These were part of the first project involving the Stakeholders group that VWC staff Mark Miller helped to establish to provide a forum in which opposing views of forest management could be discussed and reconciled, to avoid the traditional opposition to Wilderness designation. Stakeholders include representatives from state agencies as well as timber, hunting, and recreational interests. Discussions centered on resolving difficult ecological problems, such as a collapsing stream bank, burned areas, invasives, and balancing wildlife habitat between mature forest and early successional habitat. Additions to the Rich Hole and Rough Mtn. Wilderness Areas have been included in and supported by the Stakeholder process, which is proving to be a promising avenue of cooperation.
Our Resilient Landscape - Can we keep it that way?
Last year, The Nature Conservancy released a study of 156 million acres of “ecological neighborhoods” from FL to eastern Canada. Areas with the most diverse topographies, geologies and elevation ranges are estimated to offer the greatest potential for plant and animal species to move as climate change makes their traditional neighborhoods less habitable. Local connectivity, including the absence of roads that fragment habitats, is also considered critical.
The Appalachian Mountain chain that runs through PA, WV, MD, VA, NC, TN, and GA was found to be especially important for helping species survive climate impacts.
VWC’s work to permanently protect Wilderness Areas and to promote corridors among them contributes significantly to preserving the greatest climatic options for the greatest number of species – including ourselves. Read about TNC’s study here.
Editor's Note: Barefoot Forestry in Germany by Chris Bolgiano
This summer I returned to visit forester friends in former East Germany (travel story to come at www.chrisbolgiano.com). A major goal of German foresters today is connecting with children; like us, they fear Nature Deficit Disorder among their screen-stuck young. When I saw this Barefoot Garden in a forest-themed playground for kids at summer camp in a nearby castle, I couldn’t help but recall the two legendarily barefoot men in my life:
Top: “Barefoot Garden” includes various textures found on a forest walk.
Bottom left: Mark Miller of VWC at the annual meeting this June.
Bottom right: Chip Chase, owner of White Grass Nordic Ski Center in WV and a leader in establishing the Canaan Valley Natl. Wildlife Refuge, hiking in Dolly Sods.
Officers:
President: Laura Neale, Fairfield, VA
Vice President: Jeremy Boggs, Charlottesville, VA
Secretary: Pete Bsumek, Harrisonburg, VA
Treasurer: Karen Waterman, Stuarts Draft, VA