Wild places Worth saving

Charleston Gazette Editorial           May 15, 2008

A PROPOSAL before Congress would designate another 47,000 acres of the Monongahela National Forest with special "wilderness" protection.

The different areas have been researched, adjusted, subject to public comment and negotiation. There has been input from state and federal forestry officials, hikers, hunters, fishers and local economic development groups during the last two years. Congress could not ask for a more reasoned and vetted proposal.

The Wild Monongahela Act now before the House and Senate would be the first piece of legislation to add wilderness protection to an area of the state in 25 years. The proposal has the support of environmental groups, local governments, churches and more.

Areas just north and south of the existing Dolly Sods Wilderness area are included. So is a tiny expansion for the Otter Creek Wilderness near Elkins. Farther south, there is an expansion proposed in the southern tip of Webster County that would add to the Cranberry Wilderness area that is mostly in Pocahontas County. The plan would also add the small areas of Big Draft and Spice Run between Lewisburg and Marlinton.

All of the areas are already part of the Monongahela National Forest and are currently managed by the U.S. Forest Service. A "wilderness" designation would give the areas a more thorough and permanent level of protection, subject to change only by an act of Congress.

Original proposals involved 15 areas and 143,000 acres. During the last two years, various groups have negotiated the amount down to 47,000 acres. They were chosen based on how various groups prefer to use the forest. Some of the boundaries of the proposed wilderness areas were even adjusted to preserve truck access for the state to lime streams for improved trout habitat.

People may still hunt, fish and hike in wilderness areas. They may enter on foot or horseback, but the areas are off limits to vehicles. While the rest of a national forest is managed for all kinds of uses, including mining and timbering, wilderness areas are not.

The long list of supporters for this effort reflects West Virginians' esteem for their natural surroundings. It is worth saving some of those wild places for future generations. Congress should pass the Wild Monongahela Act.

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