The
The Forest Service should choose Alternative 3, a balanced proposal that would permanently protect the Mon’s wildest places and the recreational opportunities they contain.
Your comments on the draft Monongahela Forest Plan are needed to make sure that clean water, wildlife, backcountry recreation, and wilderness come first, and that the Monongahela National Forest will be protected for generations to come.
Make Your Comments Count!
The Forest Service requires substantive comments on the draft forest plan. In your letter, please address specific things you want to see in the forest plan, and your reasons why. This is necessary to ensure that your comments are appropriately counted by the U.S. Forest Service. Please also mention the names of places that you want to see protected as wilderness and, if possible, base your comments on personal experiences as a paddler and outdoor recreationist.
Please send your comments to the Forest Service by
· Protecting wilderness and wild areas should be top priority. Wilderness designation will protect watersheds, safeguard fish and wildlife habitat, protect backcountry recreation opportunities, and enhance economic opportunities. Alternative 3 is a great start, recommending two additions to existing wilderness areas and designation of nine new wilderness areas, including the well loved Seneca Creek, Spice Run, Big Draft, and East Fork of Greenbrier. These areas would protect existing whitewater runs and protect headwaters of many others.
· Streams and rivers must be protected. The Mon provides drinking water to thousands, sustains over 90 percent of the state’s 576 miles of trout streams and provides whitewater boating opportunities for
· The Forest Service should recommend all of the 15 special wild areas identified by the West Virginia Wilderness Coalition. The agency should choose Alternative 3 and amend it to expand the Dolly Sods Wilderness and make new wilderness recommendations for
· Alternative 3 protects backcountry areas (6.2 areas). These areas are essential to protecting wildlife and recreational opportunities vital to local economies.
· Logging and clearcutting should not be increased. Alternative 2 would triple the amount of timber cutting allowed on the Mon and open protected areas to logging. Alternative 2 would double the amount of clearcutting and raise the maximum size of each clearcut from 25 to 40 acres. Clearcutting poses the greatest threats to drinking water, fisheries, and wildlife.
Mail your letter to:
Attn:
Or, e-mail to: comments-eastern-monongahela@fs.fed.us
please send a copy to info@wvwild.org or hard copy to:
For more information, please visit www.wvwild.org
Read the Forest Management Plan at: http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/mnf/plan_revision/Information/00_Draft_Plan_Complete.pdf
Visit the Monongahela National Forest plan revision page: http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/mnf/plan_revision/plan_revision.htm