VWC Newsletter - September 2004
Happy Birthday - Wilderness Act
On September 3rd, 2004 the Wilderness Act turned 40. If any of you are feeling downhearted on the slow progress of our current bills, take heart. In 1964 only three Wilderness Areas had been designated in the east, none in Virginia. Since that time our steady drive has added 17 areas in the National Forests totaling about 100,000 acres plus an additional 80,000 in the Shenandoah National Park. Nationally there are now 662 Wilderness Areas ranging in size from 5 acres (Pelican Island, FL) to over 9 million acres (Wrangell-Saint Elias, AK). Wilderness may be found in all but six states in the Union.
Walkin' Jim is Back
Those of you who have heard Walkin’ Jim Stoltz singing for wilderness will be happy to hear that he is scheduled to return. Lynn Cameron’s house church and the Folk Arts Revival Society are sponsoring a performance by the noted folksinger at 7:00 pm on the 17th of October in the Court Square Theater in Harrisonburg. That’s in the same building as Calhoun’s Restaurant at the junction of Routes 33 and 11. Walkin’ Jim’s Forever Wild Show features live music and beautiful slides in celebration of Wilderness.
Admission is $10.00 in advance or at the door. Call 540-433-9189 for reserved seating. Proceeds will go to benefit the Virginia Wilderness Committee.
Annual Meeting Report
July 10th saw the faithful assembled for the Annual Meeting of the VWC. Held in the pleasant shade of the Wests’ garden in Blacksburg, the meeting reviewed progress over the past year and planned for the next. We regretfully said goodbye to our old VP John Rice, who has emigrated to Idaho, and installed Mark Miller in his place. Laura Neale was welcomed as the new Secretary. The group heard reports from Washington by Larry Romans, from the Jeff by Mark Miller, and from the GW by Don Giecek. Don also outlined the work that he has been doing with the Virginia Wind Energy Collaborative. Don has been instrumental in mapping resources that need protection, such as National Parks, Wildernesses, Inventoried Roadless Areas, etc.
Bills in Congress
After the glorious high induced by seeing our wilderness bills (HR 4202 and S2342) introduced into the Congress, progress has been glacially slow. Much of the time Congress has been in recess and has been focused on other things – intelligence oversight, spending bills, and even the upcoming election. While some hope remains for this session, and our friends in Washington continue to press for hearings, time is definitely running out. As the old saying goes, the situation is hopeless but not serious. If we miss the deadline, we will be back. Mr. Boucher has assured us that he will try again in the next Congress, and who knows, we may have an even better new bill next time. Remember, we did not manage to include all the areas we wanted in the current bill. So keep working on your local folks, and talk up wilderness.
Hope for the Roadless Rule
The Bush administration may just be wavering in their assault on the Roadless Rule. Due to the outpouring of support for the rule as originally drafted, the comment period has been extended to November 15th. Even if you have already written, write again (Content Analysis Team, USDA Forest Service, P.O. Box 221090, Salt Lake City, UT 84122) to request that the original Roadless Rule be retained to protect 313,028 of Virginia’s IRA’s.
Finally, check the date stamp on your label. It shows the date of your latest contribution. Are you up to date?
OfficersPresident: Jim Murray, 1601 Bentivar Farm Rd., Charlottesville, VA 22911 (434-973-6693)
Vice-Pres: Mark Miller, 62 Big Hill Rd., Lexington, VA 24450 (540-464-3110)
Treasurer: Juliana Simpson, 11 E. Monmouth, Winchester, VA 22601 (540-662-7043)
Secretary: Laura Neale, 423 Sheep Creek Lane, Fairfield, VA 24435
Field organizer: Don Giecek, 19484 Running Cedar Ln., Maidens, VA 23229 (804-749-1992)
On September 3rd, 2004 the Wilderness Act turned 40. If any of you are feeling downhearted on the slow progress of our current bills, take heart. In 1964 only three Wilderness Areas had been designated in the east, none in Virginia. Since that time our steady drive has added 17 areas in the National Forests totaling about 100,000 acres plus an additional 80,000 in the Shenandoah National Park. Nationally there are now 662 Wilderness Areas ranging in size from 5 acres (Pelican Island, FL) to over 9 million acres (Wrangell-Saint Elias, AK). Wilderness may be found in all but six states in the Union.
Walkin' Jim is Back
Those of you who have heard Walkin’ Jim Stoltz singing for wilderness will be happy to hear that he is scheduled to return. Lynn Cameron’s house church and the Folk Arts Revival Society are sponsoring a performance by the noted folksinger at 7:00 pm on the 17th of October in the Court Square Theater in Harrisonburg. That’s in the same building as Calhoun’s Restaurant at the junction of Routes 33 and 11. Walkin’ Jim’s Forever Wild Show features live music and beautiful slides in celebration of Wilderness.
Admission is $10.00 in advance or at the door. Call 540-433-9189 for reserved seating. Proceeds will go to benefit the Virginia Wilderness Committee.
Annual Meeting Report
July 10th saw the faithful assembled for the Annual Meeting of the VWC. Held in the pleasant shade of the Wests’ garden in Blacksburg, the meeting reviewed progress over the past year and planned for the next. We regretfully said goodbye to our old VP John Rice, who has emigrated to Idaho, and installed Mark Miller in his place. Laura Neale was welcomed as the new Secretary. The group heard reports from Washington by Larry Romans, from the Jeff by Mark Miller, and from the GW by Don Giecek. Don also outlined the work that he has been doing with the Virginia Wind Energy Collaborative. Don has been instrumental in mapping resources that need protection, such as National Parks, Wildernesses, Inventoried Roadless Areas, etc.
Bills in Congress
After the glorious high induced by seeing our wilderness bills (HR 4202 and S2342) introduced into the Congress, progress has been glacially slow. Much of the time Congress has been in recess and has been focused on other things – intelligence oversight, spending bills, and even the upcoming election. While some hope remains for this session, and our friends in Washington continue to press for hearings, time is definitely running out. As the old saying goes, the situation is hopeless but not serious. If we miss the deadline, we will be back. Mr. Boucher has assured us that he will try again in the next Congress, and who knows, we may have an even better new bill next time. Remember, we did not manage to include all the areas we wanted in the current bill. So keep working on your local folks, and talk up wilderness.
Hope for the Roadless Rule
The Bush administration may just be wavering in their assault on the Roadless Rule. Due to the outpouring of support for the rule as originally drafted, the comment period has been extended to November 15th. Even if you have already written, write again (Content Analysis Team, USDA Forest Service, P.O. Box 221090, Salt Lake City, UT 84122) to request that the original Roadless Rule be retained to protect 313,028 of Virginia’s IRA’s.
Finally, check the date stamp on your label. It shows the date of your latest contribution. Are you up to date?
OfficersPresident: Jim Murray, 1601 Bentivar Farm Rd., Charlottesville, VA 22911 (434-973-6693)
Vice-Pres: Mark Miller, 62 Big Hill Rd., Lexington, VA 24450 (540-464-3110)
Treasurer: Juliana Simpson, 11 E. Monmouth, Winchester, VA 22601 (540-662-7043)
Secretary: Laura Neale, 423 Sheep Creek Lane, Fairfield, VA 24435
Field organizer: Don Giecek, 19484 Running Cedar Ln., Maidens, VA 23229 (804-749-1992)