Place: Monongahela National Forest (West Virginia)
Threat: Logging
 The Monongahela National Forest
in West Virginia is a unique oasis of
woods, water, and wildlife in the
increasingly populated and
developed eastern United States.
The
"Mon," as it is affectionately called
by those who travel its trails and
streams, encompasses over 918,000
acres, spanning more than 6 percent
of West Virginia’s 15.5 million
acres.Within a day’s drive of a third
of the U.S. population, the
Monongahela attracts 3 million
visitors annually.
Like West Virginia itself, the Monongahela is a unique borderland resting along the spine
of the Appalachian Mountains. It is both southern and northern, or neither, depending on
whom you ask. Known as "the birthplace of rivers," the Potomac, Greenbrier, Elk,
Gauley, and Monongahela Rivers all originate within the Monongahela’s boundaries.
More than 78 species of fish swim in these streams.
During the Ice Age, the area that is now the Mon was spared the impact of the great
glaciers just to the north. The mountains have been forested for as long as forests have
existed in North America, creating conditions for ecological diversity. As the glaciers
receded, the Mon became home to northern species in their southernmost habitats, and
southern species in their most northern habitats, resulting in many rare plant and animal
communities. But despite its unique ecological character, less than 9 percent of the Mon
is permanently protected.
The Bush administration has been opening up millions of acres of public lands across
America to allow big corporations to mine, drill and log more of our forests, meadows
and mountains. Now the Forest Service is in the process of revising the plan that will
decide how the Monongahela will be managed for the next 15 years. The current plan
restricts logging and motorized access on nearly 25 percent of the forest, but as has
happened in National Forest plans across the country under the Bush administration’s
watch, these protections may be weakened.
In addition, the Forest Service has already taken advantage of a Bush administration
loophole that limits public input into logging projects on the Monongahela. For nearly 30
years, law has required the Forest Service to inform citizens about logging projects and
their environmental impacts before they are authorized. In 2003, the Bush
Administration implemented a new rule that bypassed many of these requirements. Now,
the Forest Service asks citizens to give input on logging in the Mon without telling them
anything about the possible harm to the environment.
The current forest plan in the Mon was developed with extensive public input in the
1980s. "Our involvement secured protection for many of the Monongahela’s
backcountry areas," says Sierra Club volunteer Mary Wimmer. "It is now up to us to
preserve these gains to ensure continued protection of the state’s most special wild
places. We can reverse the current national trends with our participation."
There is a better way. We can protect the Monongahela’s unique wild forests and
streams, defend the integrity of the decades-old process for public involvement, and
support recreation opportunities to strengthen West Virginia’s tourism economy.
Sierra Club Contact:
Anna Sale, West Virginia: (304) 342-3182
Additional Info:
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