Our Mission:

Virginia Forest Watch (VAFW) is a grass-roots based coalition of individuals and environmental groups organizing throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. Our mission is "to maintain and restore the natural ecology and biodiversity of woodlands across Virginia through education and citizen participation."

Virginia Forest Watch supports an end to commercial logging on Public Lands. Because of VAFW's commitment to maintaining and restoring the natural ecology and biodiversity of Virginia's forests, we believe that resource-extraction, including logging, mining, grazing, etc. is not appropriate on National Forests. Our support for ending commercial logging in no way limits VAFW's advocacy of intermediate protections, particularly Wilderness, or support for the activities of organizations which do not necessarily endorse an end to commercial logging. VAFW likewise remains committed to engaging with the U.S. Forest Service in developing management plans and implementing decisions which are responsive to our position of forest and habitat protection.

On Private Lands, VAFW takes a different approach. We respect that some landowners wish to actively manage their forests for financial benefit, to improve forest health, or to create varied habitat conditions. We also respect that some landowners seek to allow nature to guide the lifespan of their forests, and leave them alone. VAFW supports creating conditions on private land that benefit biodiversity and wildlife mobility, as well as safeguard water quality and riparian and old-growth forests. VAFW's goals on private land are to educate landowners in methods of forest conservation and sustainable/restorative forestry, to advocate for better regulation of forestry by the state, and to teach Virginia's conservation community about the importance of forest protection state-wide.