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Forest planning process has resumed.
Help protect and preserve the Natural Wonders and
Ecological Integrity of the George Washington National Forest.
The George Washington National Forest is a key source of drinking
water for Virginians, it is where we recreate, and it provides us
with an enduring connection to our natural heritage.
Please attend one of these
meetings and let the Forest Service know that you care about the
future of the George Washington National Forest.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010 (7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.)
Fairfax County Government Center
12000 Government Center Parkway
Conference Rooms 9 and 10 (on the lobby level, which is the 2nd
floor; go left after walking into the front of the Government
Center).
Fairfax, VA 22035
Wednesday, April 28, 2010 (6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.)
Woodstock National Guard Armory
541 Hoover Road
Woodstock, VA 22664
Thursday, April 29, 2010 (6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.)
Augusta County Government Center
19 Government Lane
Verona, VA 24482
If you cannot attend one of these meetings, please submit
written comments. Instructions are provided below.
Background:
At 1.1 million acres Virginia’s George Washington National
Forest is the largest National Forest in the eastern United
States. The GW stretches along both sides of the Shenandoah
Valley, and is a short drive from cities and towns across
Virginia.
A healthy George Washington National Forest is vital to the
health of our state, our people and our environment.
· The GW provides high quality drinking water for
communities throughout Virginia.
· The GW is home to a vast array of wildlife such as
neo-tropical songbirds, black bear, native trout and a
number of threatened and endangered species.
· The GW provides Virginian’s with exceptional
recreational opportunities such as camping, hiking,
hunting, fishing, mountain biking, rock climbing and bird
watching.
· More importantly, some of the largest remaining
unfragmented “roadless areas” and ecosystems in
the eastern United States are located in the George
Washington National Forest.
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For over three years now the conservation community has been
working diligently to make sure that the new forest plan for the
George Washington National Forest is environmentally sound.
The U. S. Forest Service recently announced a new series of
public meetings on the revision of the management plan for the
George Washington National Forest. Work on this revision began in
2007 under a set of planning rules put forward by the Bush
administration. Unfortunately, those rules were flawed in many
ways. Most notably, they did not require the Forest Service to
provide an Environmental Impact Statement.
Last spring citizens from around the state encouraged the Forest
Service to provide an Environmental Impact Statement for the new
plan. With our encouragement and after two victories in federal
court, which invalidated the Bush era rules, the Forest Service
wisely has reinstated the prior regulations, and agreed to
provide an Environmental Impact Statement for the GW plan
revision.
Now the Forest Service needs to hear from us again!
Today there are many threats to the ecological integrity of the
George Washington National Forest including: road building,
non-sustainable logging, off road vehicle use, and most notably,
oil and gas development. In the past year we have seen a
significant increase in proposals for energy development on the
National Forest. The new emphasis on energy development in the
forest poses a serious and substantial risk our drinking water,
the quality of our recreational opportunities and the ecological
integrity of the forest.
Unfortunately, energy development proposals come at a time when
our forest managers should be working to restore and reinvigorate
the integrity and resilience of our forest ecology. If we are
going to ensure that wildlife will be able to withstand the
threats of climate change we must protect and preserve all
remaining roadless areas, reduce forest fragmentation and
decrease and eliminate non-climate habitat stresses such as the
pollution, road building and destruction that follow in the wake
of energy development.
Please let the Forest Planning Team know that you care
about our national forest, and that you expect the new plan to
protect the ecological integrity of the forest. Please ask the
planners to:
· Protect all areas identified in the Virginia’s
Mountain Treasures publication by designating them as
unsuitable for timber harvest, new roadbuilding, and
surface-occupying oil and gas drilling
· Plan for climate change by protecting core wilderness
areas, reducing forest fragmentation and decreasing and
eliminating non-climate stresses such as logging, road
building and oil and gas leasing
· Identify all qualified roadless areas and protect all
roadless areas, whether previously inventoried or
recently identified, consistent with the provisions of
the 2001 Roadless Rule
· Protect the Shenandoah Mountain Area for its unique
ecological and recreational attributes by endorsing the
proposal for a National Scenic Area on Shenandoah
Mountain as described on the Friends of Shenandoah
Mountain Website:
http://www.friendsofshenandoahmountain.org/
· Protect all existing Old Growth forest
· Protect all watersheds especially those that directly
supply drinking water
· Protect and buffer all “Special Biological Areas”
· Protect sufficient habitat for all endangered,
threatened and rare species—especially the Wood
Turtle, the Cow Knob Salamander, Cerulean Warbler, and
Indiana Bat
· Recommend substantially more areas for wilderness and
for national scenic area designation than the small
increase in wilderness the Forest Service has suggested
so far.
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If you cannot make the meeting, please submit written
comments. Comments must be received by May 7, 2010.
Comments can be submitted at the following:
http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/gwj/forestplan/revision/contact.shtml
Email Comments:
You may email your comments to us at: comments-southern-georgewashington-jefferson@fs.fed.us.
Please write "Comment on George Washington Plan
Revision" in the subject line of your post.
Mail Comments to:
George Washington Plan Revision
George Washington & Jefferson National Forests
5162 Valleypointe Parkway
Roanoke, VA 24019
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