WVEC Action Alert

March 27, 2005

URGENT – New ATTACK on Wilderness in West Virginia’s Monongahela National Forest!

Tell WV State Senators to Oppose SCR 67

YOUR ACTION IS NEEDED NOW: Contact your State Senator, and ALL members of the Senate Natural Resources Committee, via email now and with phone calls Monday morning and urge them to oppose SCR 67.

ALSO: This resolution will be considered in the Senate Natural Resources Committee, which will meet Monday afternoon at 1:00 PM.   If it is at all possible for you, please attend this meeting to show your opposition. The Committee will meet in Room 208-W which is located in the Senate wing of the Capitol Building.

Late Friday we learned that another controversial anti-wilderness resolution (SCR 67) has been introduced in the West Virginia State Senate. This resolution is similar to the House resolution (HCR 49), and just as bad for the future of additional wilderness designation in the Monongahela National Forest.

This resolution is filled with bogus information about the impacts of wilderness, and opposes designating additional wilderness protections for special areas in the Monongahela National Forest.

SCR 67 comes on the heels of a similar resolution in the House, HCR 49 that was introduced earlier last week. Both resolutions are filled with blatant inaccuracies about wilderness, and fly in the face of the majority of West Virginians who want to keep our last remaining wild country “Wild and Wonderful.”

Let your senator know that wilderness is simply a way to keep well-loved wild places in the Monongahela National Forest just the way they are, and that SCR 67 would unfairly restrict our ability to conserve West Virginia’s spectacular wild country.

In addition, you can let your senator know that:

• The text of SCR 67 is filled with inaccurate and misleading information about wilderness, and its passage would be an embarrassment to the West Virginia State Legislature.
• Wilderness designation will NOT affect private lands. Wilderness will not require any land purchases and will not impact the private lands available for logging.
• Wilderness designation would have NO impact on payments to counties from the federal government or revenue from county property taxes.
• Wilderness designation would continue to allow the WV Division of Natural Resources to manage fish and wildlife resources in the Monongahela National Forest.
• Wilderness areas on our federal lands are great places to hunt, fish, hike, camp, horseback ride, bird watch, and enjoy other outdoor recreational opportunities.
• Protection of our wild areas makes good economic sense. West Virginia’s wild areas bring in valuable tourism dollars from the entire mid-Atlantic region.
• Wilderness allows us to keep special wild places just the way they are. It would be unfair to take the option of wilderness protection for places in the Monongahela National Forest off the table.

Background – Keeping West Virginia Wild & Wonderful:

Wilderness designation is an important tool for keeping West Virginia’s well-loved natural areas just the way they are. In the face of increasing development in West Virginia, we shouldn’t be limiting our options for protecting our outstanding wild country in the Monongahela National Forest.

Wilderness areas on our federal lands provide unparalleled primitive and traditional outdoor recreation opportunities, such as hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, horseback riding, bird watching, whitewater rafting, kayaking, skiing, snowshoeing, and much more.

Additionally, protection of our wild areas makes good, plain economic sense. Protecting wild areas on our national forests helps diversify economies by attracting and retaining new businesses, residents, and a local workforce, in addition to generating tourism revenue.

According to a new study released this month by researchers at West Virginia University, the tourism and travel industry's role in West Virginia's economy has grown steadily in recent years while the roles of mining and other traditional industries have declined.

The Outdoor Industry Foundation estimates nearly 1.4 million West Virginia residents participate in wilderness-related activities each year – that’s more than 77% of the state’s population. West Virginia’s wild and wonderful outdoor areas, including wilderness, are recognized as a recreational hub for the entire mid-Atlantic region, and an additional 25,000,000 people from states surrounding West Virginia also participate in these activities.

SCR 67 And HCR 49 Make Bogus Anti-Wilderness Claims:

Among the resolutions’ outlandish claims against wilderness protection, they state that “wilderness would diminish the biological diversity of the Monongahela National Forests wildlife habitat types” and wilderness would “deprive West Virginians and the nonresident visiting public of nearly all economically productive uses and reasonable access to recreational opportunities in the Monongahela National Forest.” They’ve gotta be kidding!

• Wilderness provides the strongest protection for important forest habitats that conserve fish and wildlife populations.
• Wilderness protects a wide variety of popular forest uses for the future, including hunting, fishing, hiking and camping.
• The Monongahela National Forest already has over 6,000 miles of federal highways, state and county roads and Forest Service managed roads that crisscross the forest. Of these thousands of miles, no roads open to the public will be affected by new wilderness.

Read HCR 49 for yourself at: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/bill_text_html/2005_sessions/rs/numsrchHCR.cfm?input=49.

And read SCR 67 at: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Text_HTML/2005_SESSIONS/rs/bills/scr67%20intr.htm

Limiting our ability to conserve our wild areas in the Monongahela National Forest by opposing future wilderness designation simply does not make sense. Please call your senators today and urge them to oppose SCR 67, and keep our options open so that we have an opportunity to keep our Wild and Wonderful West Virginia wild country just the way it is.

So please call your Senators and all Senate Natural Resources Committee members first thing Monday morning and urge them to vote against the SCR 67.

Members of the Natural Resources Committee are:   Fanning (chair), White (vice-chair), Bowman, Dempsey, Helmick, Love, McCabe, Plymale, Prezioso, Barnes, Caruth, Deem, Facemyer, and Minear.

The toll-free number to reach Delegates’ and Senators’ offices is 1-877-565-3447. Or you can find your legislator’s direct capitol number at the web site www.legis.state.wv.us .

This Action Alert was prepared by the WV Wilderness Campaign Coalition and WVEC. For more information contact Don Garvin at either DSGJR@aol.com or (304) 533-2969.