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WARM SPRINGS RANGER DISTRICT
Patrick Sheridan District Ranger
Rt. 1, Box 30
Hot Springs, Va. 24445
ph (540) 839-2521.
http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/gwj/warmsprings/
updated February 8, 2007
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View of Little Alleghany Roadless Area from east
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CURRENT AND UPCOMING
Cubville Timber Sale - Proposed 193 acres of
logging, 1080 acres of prescribed burning, and construction of 3
miles of roads and firelines southwest of Burnsville, Virginia.
The project is located near the Warm Springs Mountain and Bear
Rock Trails, some of the premier trails of this area, and may
impact part of the Warm Springs Mountain Virginia Mountain
Treasure Area. Three rare or listed aquatic species are found in
the watersheds of this project area and nearby. The project is
one of many projects in a 91,000 acre management prescription
area where logging is emphasized over most other uses. The
project area also encompasses part of a “Mosaics for
Wildlife Habitat” and “Remote Habitat for Wildlife”
prescription area. Call or write Patrick Sheridan District
Ranger, Rt. 1, Box 30, Hot Springs, Va. 24445, ph (540) 839-2521
to express your concern.
Big Cobbler Prescribed Burn - 450 acres of
prescribed burning in the Hidden Valley area.
Roadside herbicide application – spraying
herbicides on roadsides throughout the ranger district.
Muddy Run fisheries improvement – would
increase large woody debris in stream to enhance fish habitat.
Poor Farm stream habitat improvement –
repair eroding banks, place boulder barriers, and put gravel on
fish stocking road.
Muddy Run Trail – extend the Muddy Run
Trail to Rt. 220.
RECENT
Robinson Lane Timber Sale - This 505-acre timber
sale was approved in the upper reaches of the Jackson River - an
area with bald eagle habitat, caves for endangered bats, habitat
for numerous other rare species, and sensitive karst geological
areas nearby. After one failed attempt, the Forest Service sold
this timber sale only after dropping the minimum acceptable bid
by $155,134 (68%), selling it for less than half the amount it
had originally asked.
Pads Creek and Bluegrass Hollow salvage sales -
Citizens have visited the site and are concerned about (1.)
logging in riparian areas, (2.) logging in two stands that are
183 years old, and other old age stands, and (3.) approved
skidding over long distances and down steep slopes.
Open Trail Timber Sale - This project is a 212
acre timber sale with an associated 3.2 mi. of road
reconstruction in a popular resort and outdoor
recreation-oriented portion of Bath Co. The project would impact
black bears, cerulean warblers, and numerous other species. The
FS's roads analysis revealed that there is already a whopping 19
mi. of open roads, closed roads, user-created roads, skid roads
and other types of roads in the project area, yet even more
construction is planned. Virginia Forest Watch joined a Wildlaw
appeal against this project in April 2003.
Alleghany Highlands Trail System - see http://www.virginiaforestwatch.org/jamesriver.shtml
(James River Ranger District in this National Forest Monitoring
section of the VAFW website)
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