Scribe: Lynn Cameron Convener: Lynn Cameron Location: Artful Dodger – outside Time: 11:00am
Attendees: Laura Dent, Dan Downey, Anne Nielsen, Bruce Lundeen, Lynn Cameron
We talked about how important national forest land on Shenandoah Mountain is to the City of Harrisonburg and to us individually. Shenandoah Mountain is the mountain west of the Shenandoah Valley.
Laura mentioned that she was married in the forest near Dry River just last year and expressed interest in protecting the area.
Dan is interested in protecting water quality and has a particular concern for trout streams, especially the Dry River.
Anne wants to see Shenandoah Mountain protected because of all the many plant and animal species that live in the area. Some are threatened, endangered, or rare. She also appreciates the value of mature forests in absorbing carbon and purifying our air.
Lynn hikes on Shenandoah Mountain and serves as co-chair of Friends of Shenandoah Mountain (www.friendsofshenandoahmountain.org).
The group talked about what is special about Shenandoah Mountain:
• It is one of the largest tracts of wild land left in the Eastern United States.
• Provides high quality drinking water for Shenandoah Valley residents, including Harrisonburg, Staunton and several other towns. Skidmore Fork is the watershed for Switzer Dam, from which Harrisonburg gets a large portion of its water.
• Encompasses 5 National Forest roadless areas and Ramsey’s Draft Wilderness
• Is noted for its exceptional scenery and outstanding opportunities for solitude
• Has a large, substantially unfragmented forest ecosystem teeming with wildlife. Home to neo-tropical songbirds, black bear, native trout, and rare species
• Provides abundant recreational opportunities, including primitive and developed camping, hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, fishing, hunting, rock-climbing, and birding
• Includes High Knob, Flagpole Knob, Reddish Knob, Hone Quarry, Todd Lake, Confederate Breastworks, Staunton Dam, and more
• Has a network of 150 miles of trails, including the Wild Oak National Recreation Trail and a portion of the Great Eastern Trail. The historic Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built many of the trails.
• Has one of the best trout streams in the region.
• Purifies our air
• Supports our tourism-based local economy
Lynn described a Friends of Shenandoah Mountain proposal to seek Congressional designation of the portion of Shenandoah Mountain between Rt. 33 and Rt. 250 as a National Scenic Area with core areas receiving the stronger protection of Wilderness designation. Here is the proposal in a nutshell:
Shenandoah Mountain National Scenic Area – approx 115,000 acres, Augusta, Rockingham, and Highland Counties, between Rt. 33 and Rt. 250.
Includes the following proposed Wilderness areas:
• Skidmore Fork Wilderness – 5,228 acres, Rockingham County (This is the watershed for the Harrisonburg municipal water supply.)
• Little River Wilderness – 12,490 acres, Augusta County
• Lynn Hollow Wilderness – 6,168 acres, Highland County
• Bald Ridge Addition to Ramseys Draft Wilderness – 6,550 acres, Augusta County
All private land is excluded from the Proposal, and current roads would remain open for access.
A National Scenic Area established by an act of Congress would permanently protect scenic, cultural, historic, recreational and natural resources of this special place. Logging, mining, additional roads and permanent structures would not be allowed, but hunting, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, and camping would be permitted, as well as mountain biking and scenic driving. A Shenandoah Mountain National Scenic Area would be great for the local economy and would safeguard Harrisonburg’s drinking water.
Wilderness designation by Congress provides the strongest permanent protection for roadless areas, like Skidmore Fork and Little River that have outstanding natural characteristics. In Wilderness areas the forces of nature are dominant. These are places where we humans can get away from the hectic pace of our lives and enjoy the natural world. You can hunt, fish, hike, camp, and ride horses in Wilderness.
In summary, a Shenandoah Mountain National Scenic Area with core Wilderness areas would contribute to sustainability in numerous ways. It would support a high quality of life for Valley residents, provide clean drinking water, support tourism-based economic development, provide an array of recreational opportunities, and would support a healthy forest that is home to a wide variety of plant and animal species, some found no where else on earth. It would ensure that the area continues to meet our needs today and would protect the area in a way that would meet the needs of future generations as well.
A National Scenic Area would complement efforts by the City of Harrisonburg to protect water quality on its land along Dry River.
