[House Hearing, 110 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
H.R. 5151, WILD MONONGAHELA
ACT: A NATIONAL LEGACY FOR
WEST VIRGINIA'S SPECIAL PLACES
=======================================================================
LEGISLATIVE HEARING
before the
SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL PARKS, FORESTS
AND PUBLIC LANDS
of the
COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
__________
Serial No. 110-59
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Natural Resources
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/
index.html
or
Committee address: http://resourcescommittee.house.gov
----------
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COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
NICK J. RAHALL, II, West Virginia, Chairman
DON YOUNG, Alaska, Ranking Republican Member
Dale E. Kildee, Michigan Jim Saxton, New Jersey
Eni F.H. Faleomavaega, American Elton Gallegly, California
Samoa John J. Duncan, Jr., Tennessee
Neil Abercrombie, Hawaii Wayne T. Gilchrest, Maryland
Solomon P. Ortiz, Texas Chris Cannon, Utah
Frank Pallone, Jr., New Jersey Thomas G. Tancredo, Colorado
Donna M. Christensen, Virgin Jeff Flake, Arizona
Islands Stevan Pearce, New Mexico
Grace F. Napolitano, California Henry E. Brown, Jr., South
Rush D. Holt, New Jersey Carolina
Raul M. Grijalva, Arizona Luis G. Fortuno, Puerto Rico
Madeleine Z. Bordallo, Guam Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Washington
Jim Costa, California Louie Gohmert, Texas
Dan Boren, Oklahoma Tom Cole, Oklahoma
John P. Sarbanes, Maryland Rob Bishop, Utah
George Miller, California Bill Shuster, Pennsylvania
Edward J. Markey, Massachusetts Bill Sali, Idaho
Peter A. DeFazio, Oregon Doug Lamborn, Colorado
Maurice D. Hinchey, New York Mary Fallin, Oklahoma
Patrick J. Kennedy, Rhode Island Adrian Smith, Nebraska
Ron Kind, Wisconsin Robert J. Wittman, Virginia
Lois Capps, California Steve Scalise, Louisiana
Jay Inslee, Washington
Mark Udall, Colorado
Joe Baca, California
Hilda L. Solis, California
Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, South
Dakota
Heath Shuler, North Carolina
James H. Zoia, Chief of Staff
Rick Healy, Chief Counsel
Christopher N. Fluhr, Republican Staff Director
Lisa Pittman, Republican Chief Counsel
------
SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL PARKS, FORESTS AND PUBLIC LANDS
RAUL M. GRIJALVA, Arizona, Chairman
ROB BISHOP, Utah, Ranking Republican Member
Dale E. Kildee, Michigan John J. Duncan, Jr., Tennessee
Neil Abercrombie, Hawaii Chris Cannon, Utah
Donna M. Christensen, Virgin Thomas G. Tancredo, Colorado
Islands Jeff Flake, Arizona
Rush D. Holt, New Jersey Stevan Pearce, New Mexico
Dan Boren, Oklahoma Henry E. Brown, Jr., South
John P. Sarbanes, Maryland Carolina
Peter A. DeFazio, Oregon Louie Gohmert, Texas
Maurice D. Hinchey, New York Tom Cole, Oklahoma
Ron Kind, Wisconsin Bill Sali, Idaho
Lois Capps, California Doug Lamborn, Colorado
Jay Inslee, Washington Robert J. Wittman, Virginia
Mark Udall, Colorado Don Young, Alaska, ex officio
Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, South
Dakota
Heath Shuler, North Carolina
Nick J. Rahall, II, West Virginia,
ex officio
CONTENTS
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Page
Hearing held on Tuesday, February 26, 2008....................... 1
Statement of Members:
Bishop, Hon. Rob, a Representative in Congress from the State
of Utah.................................................... 4
Prepared statement of.................................... 4
Grijalva, Hon. Raul M., a Representative in Congress from the
State of Arizona........................................... 1
Prepared statement of.................................... 2
Rahall, Hon. Nick J., II, a Representative in Congress from
the State of West Virginia................................. 3
Statement of Witnesses:
Bittner, Robert, Member, Board of Directors, Mountaineer
Chapter of Trout Unlimited................................. 23
Prepared statement of.................................... 25
Holtrop, Joel, Deputy Chief, National Forest System, Forest
Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.................... 5
Prepared statement of.................................... 6
Manchester, Hon. John, Mayor, City of Lewisburg, West
Virginia................................................... 10
Prepared statement of.................................... 12
Price, Michael, President, USW Local 8-89, AFL-CIO........... 19
Prepared statement of.................................... 20
Two Resolutions submitted for the record................. 22
Sparks, Rev. Dennis, Executive Director, West Virginia
Council of Churches........................................ 14
Prepared statement of.................................... 15
Willis, Gil, Owner and Operator, Elk River Touring Center/Elk
River Inn and Restaurant, Slatyfork, West Virginia......... 26
Prepared statement of.................................... 28
LEGISLATIVE HEARING ON H.R. 5151, TO DESIGNATE AS WILDERNESS ADDITIONAL
NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM LANDS IN THE MONONGAHELA NATIONAL FOREST IN THE
STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. (WILD MONONGAHELA ACT:
A NATIONAL LEGACY FOR WEST VIRGINIA'S SPECIAL PLACES)
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Tuesday, February 26, 2008
U.S. House of Representatives
Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands
Committee on Natural Resources
Washington, D.C.
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The Subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10:04 a.m. in
Room 1324, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. Raul M.
Grijalva, [Chairman of the Subcommittee] presiding.
Present: Representatives Grijalva, Bishop and Rahall.
STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE RAUL M. GRIJALVA, A REPRESENTATIVE
IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF ARIZONA
Mr. Grijalva. Let me call the Subcommittee to order. Today
we will be receiving testimony on H.R. 5151, the Wild
Monongahela Act. I would like to thank all our witnesses for
being here today and look forward to their testimony. H.R.
5151, introduced by Chairman Nick Rahall, designates
approximately 40,000 acres of national forest land in West
Virginia as wilderness.
This includes three additions to existing wilderness areas
and four new wilderness areas. H.R. 5151 includes some of the
wildest and most wonderful areas in the wild and wonderful
State of West Virginia, including critical habitats for various
rare and threatened species, key areas of trout and small-mouth
bass fishing, majestic plateaus and valleys, and excellent
opportunities for recreation.
Our full Committee Chairman is to be commended for his fine
work on this measure. Chairman Rahall and I share a strong
commitment to protecting our nation's truly wild places.
Passage of the Wilderness Act and subsequent statutes establish
the preservation of wilderness as one of the fundamental
purposes of Federal land management and one of the most
important areas of jurisdiction of this Subcommittee.
Those who have worked on wilderness bills know that good
wilderness proposals require compromise. Input from the
agencies which manage our Federal lands is important. The
Wilderness Act is very clear. Congress retains sole authority
to designate wilderness. In practice, this means that a
successful wilderness bill will be a consensus proposal, taking
into account input from all relevant stakeholders.
The measure before us today is such a proposal. In
considering this and other wilderness bills, we should be
careful to understand exactly what wilderness means and what it
does not mean. For example, there are those who claim
wilderness designations somehow conflict with the multiple use
mandate of the National Forest System.
In truth, wilderness is a multiple use resource. In fact,
Congress affirmed the Wilderness Act and the Multiple Use
Sustained Yield Act. Uses in wilderness include wildlife and
watershed protection, hunting, fishing, recreation, grazing and
even mining under certain circumstances. Another misconception
is that wilderness somehow hinders fire management.
The fact is the Wilderness Act could not be any more clear.
Federal agencies may take such measures as may be necessary in
the control of fire, insects and disease. Federal agencies are
allowed to use airplanes, helicopters, bulldozers, fire trucks,
chainsaws and other equipment they need to fight fires or to
manage flammable vegetation.
Fire is not a valid excuse for failing to designate
wilderness. In the end, wilderness is not defined by the
absence of certain activities, but rather by the presence of
certain unique and invaluable characteristics. The answer to
the often asked question why do you want this area to be
wilderness is these areas are already wilderness.
We simply want to preserve them as they are and as they
have been for generations. At this point, let me turn to the
Chairman of the Committee and the sponsor of the legislation,
Mr. Rahall, for any statements he may have.
Chairman.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Grijalva follows:]
Statement of The Honorable Raul Grijalva, Chairman,
Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands
The Subcommittee will come to order.
Today we will be receiving testimony on H.R. 5151, the Wild
Monongahela Act. I would like to thank all of our witnesses for being
here today and look forward to their testimony.
H.R. 5151, introduced by Chairman Nick Rahall, designates
approximately 47,000 acres of National Forest land in West Virginia as
wilderness. This includes three additions to existing wilderness areas,
and four new wilderness areas.
H.R. 5151 includes some of the wildest and most wonderful areas in
the wild and wonderful State of West Virginia, including critical
habitat for various rare and threatened species, key areas for trout
and small-mouth bass fishing, majestic plateaus and valleys and
excellent opportunities for recreation.
Our full Committee Chairman is to be commended for his fine work on
this measure. Chairman Rahall and I share a strong commitment to
protecting our nation's truly wild places. Passage of the Wilderness
Act, and subsequent statutes, established preservation of wilderness as
one of the fundamental purposes of federal land management and one of
the most important areas of jurisdiction of this subcommittee.
Those who have worked on wilderness bills know that good wilderness
proposals require compromise. Input from the agencies which manage our
federal lands is important but the Wilderness Act is clear--Congress
retains sole authority to designate wilderness. In practice, this means
that a successful wilderness bill will be a consensus proposal, taking
into account input from all relevant stakeholders. The measure before
us today is such a proposal.
In considering this and other wilderness bills, we should be
careful to understand exactly what wilderness means--and what it does
not mean. For example, there are those who claim wilderness
designations somehow conflict with the multiple use mandate of the
National Forest System. In truth, wilderness is a multiple use
resource--a fact Congress affirmed in the Wilderness Act and the
Multiple Use Sustained Yield Act. Uses in wilderness include wildlife
and watershed protection, hunting, fishing, recreation, grazing, and
even mining, under certain circumstances.
Another misconception is that wilderness somehow hinders fire
management. The fact is, the Wilderness Act could not be more clear:
``Federal agencies may take such measures as may be necessary in the
control of fire, insects, and diseases.'' Federal agencies are allowed
to use airplanes, helicopters, bulldozers, fire trucks, chain saws and
any other equipment they need to fight fires OR to manage flammable
vegetation. Fire is not a valid excuse for failing to designate
wilderness.
In the end, wilderness is not defined by the absence of certain
activities but rather by the presence of certain unique and invaluable
characteristics. The answer to the often-asked question, ``why do you
want this area to be wilderness?'' is, these areas already are
wilderness, we simply want to preserve them as they are and as they
have been for generations.
I'd now like to recognize Chairman Nick Rahall, the sponsor of this
bill, for any statement he may have.
______
STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE NICK J. RAHALL, II, A REPRESENTATIVE
IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA
Mr. Rahall. Thank you, Chairman Grijalva. I appreciate you
and Ranking Member Bishop for reserving some of this important
Subcommittee's valuable time for the purpose of holding a
hearing on legislation to designate new wilderness areas within
the Monongahela National Forest. The Wild Monongahela Act was
introduced in the House by Representatives Mollohan, Capito and
myself, and in the Senate by Senators Byrd and Rockefeller.
This bill is truly about the heart and soul of West
Virginia. As West Virginians, we are intimately connected to
our land. Our roots are planted deeply in our misty hollows and
our majestic mountains.
We know that we will be judged by future generations on our
stewardship of this land that is West Virginia, and so I
believe that it is of paramount importance that we once again
set aside some of God's handiwork in our forests by preserving
these Federal lands in their pristine state.
I want to thank those West Virginians who are with us
today. My good friend, the Mayor of Lewisburg, John Manchester,
is here to discuss how many communities view wilderness as an
engine of economic development. Also with us is The Reverend
Dennis Sparks with the West Virginia Council of Churches.
Reverend Sparks has compiled a wonderful brochure
describing how in wilderness we learn about God, how we
cultivate our communities and how we cleanse our minds and our
spirits. The working men and women of West Virginia are
represented today by Mike Price with the AFL-CIO, which has
endorsed a resolution supporting new wilderness in the State.
Also here today is Bob Bittner, Jr., who is representing
Trout Unlimited and West Virginia's avid anglers. I am also
pleased that Gil Willis is able to join us representing
businesses who depend on outdoor recreation for their
livelihood. There are several other West Virginians who have
traveled to our nation's capital today to attend this hearing,
and I want to thank them as well for all their hard work on
this legislation.
I have hiked with many of them in many parts of this
proposed area--in some parts, not many. It is a very big area,
and I have not done many parts of it, but I have done a small
part. Last, but certainly not least, while he is not a witness,
in the audience is the distinguished and highly capable
supervisor of our Monongahela National Forest, Clyde Thompson.
So I want to thank you, Mr. Chairman, again for having this
hearing, and Ranking Member Bishop, and thank you for
recognizing me.
Mr. Grijalva. Mr. Chairman, let me turn to our Ranking
Member, Mr. Bishop, for any statement he may have.
Sir.
STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE ROB BISHOP, A REPRESENTATIVE IN
CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF UTAH
Mr. Bishop. Thank you, Chairman Grijalva and Chairman
Rahall. I appreciate this opportunity of being here and
listening to the discussion about wild and wonderful West
Virginia. You did not tell which of our Representatives from
West Virginia are wild and which ones are wonderful, but I am
assuming you will do that as time goes on.
If it is OK, I would ask unanimous consent that a full and
complete statement be entered into the record. I will say that
you seem in first blush to have a bill that has the unanimous
support of the House delegation that has been studied by the
Forest Service in the seven areas that are mentioned in this
bill with a few minor adjustments seem to have gone through a
rigorous study.
As long as this bill that we have before us that was
introduced that is unanimously supported seems to have cleared
a lot of the hurdles it could easily be done.
Mr. Grijalva. Thank you, Mr. Bishop. Without objection, the
material is entered into the record.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Bishop follows:]
Statement of The Honorable Rob Bishop, a Representative in Congress
from the State of Utah
My general approach to wilderness bills and other designations that
result in highly restrictive land use policies is that we should first
make sure that we are not foreclosing future access to resources that
may be critically important to our national well-being and second, that
we show some deference to the people who live in the area and are most
affected by these decisions.
Those of us who live in the western public land states know that
Washington politicians and bureaucrats can be very generous in giving
in to the demands of environmental special interest groups at the
expense of local people whose daily lives and whose ability to provide
for their families can be devastated by such federal actions.
Sometimes we enact ``feel good'' bills and only later discover the
unanticipated, real world side-effects. Therefore, I look forward to
hearing today's testimony and I thank the panel members for their
willingness to give us their thoughts on this bill and to answer our
questions.
______
Mr. Grijalva. Let me call our first panelists up if we may.
For this panel, as well as the second set of panelists, your
statement in its entirety will be entered into the record. Any
additional materials you want to add will also be entered into
the record. We have five minutes for your testimony.
With that, let me introduce the Deputy Chief, national
Forest System, Mr. Holtrop, who has been with us before.
Welcome back, sir, and with that, your testimony, sir.
STATEMENT OF JOEL HOLTROP, DEPUTY CHIEF,
NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM, USDA FOREST SERVICE
Mr. Holtrop. Mr. Chairman, thank you. Chairman Rahall,
Chairman Grijalva, Ranking Member Bishop, it is my privilege to
be able to submit my formal testimony for the record, but I
want to sum that up very briefly by making a few key points. I
would like to start off by expressing my personal appreciation
and administration's appreciation to you for this bill because
it allows us to focus on something that we at the Forest
Service care very deeply about and that is wilderness.
The Forest Service has a long history of establishing areas
that should be managed for their wild character. We have a long
history of managing wildernesses that sustain those wilderness
qualities, and we are proud of that long history.
Mr. Chairman, I took an opportunity just a few weeks ago to
visit some of the areas, many of the areas, that are proposed
in this bill. I saw and visited four of the areas of the seven
that are being proposed, and I can tell you that they do have a
special wildness about them that Americans should be able to
enjoy for generations to come.
In 2006, the Monongahela National Forest recommended
wilderness designation for four of these areas: Cheat Mountain,
Cranberry Expansion, Dry Fork Expansion and Roaring Plains
West. These areas have outstanding wilderness attributes, and
the administration strongly supports their wilderness
designation.
We commend the sponsors for including them in this bill. We
also appreciate the wilderness attributes of the other three
areas in this bill: Big Draft, the Dolly Sods Expansion and
Spice Run. The Monongahela National Forest evaluated these
areas as part of its forest plan revision, and we came to the
conclusion that these three areas meet the criteria for
wilderness.
To protect their wilderness attributes while striking a
balance among multiple uses we designated these three areas as
semiprimitive, nonmotorized areas. Semiprimitive, nonmotorized
is one of the most restricted allocations the Forest Service
can give, and we have no objection to designating these three
areas as wilderness.
We do have a few concerns about some of the proposed
wilderness boundaries, but we are confident that they can be
fixed through adjustments that are mostly minor. For example,
we have some campgrounds that should be adjusted away from the
wilderness boundary, power line corridors that we should
provide some buffer between the power line and the wilderness
and perhaps the biggest adjustment might be to the Spice Run
proposed area.
The southwestern corner of Spice Run, a 974 acre area, was
not evaluated for wilderness in the forest plan, and if
motorized access issues were to come up on three parcels of
private land in that portion of the Spice Run area, that would
create some issues for us.
Again, we feel that we have some minor boundary adjustments
that we think are consistent with the spirit of this wilderness
bill that would accomplish a lot of the management concerns
that we have around a few of these minor boundaries. We would
appreciate the opportunity to present those boundary proposals
and to work with the Subcommittee on that issue.
I have been hiking, and camping and climbing in wilderness
for as long as I can remember. My family and my agency are
passionate about wilderness. The Forest Service is charged with
stewardship for 407 wilderness areas, and that is a third of
the national wilderness preservation system. Together with
America's other wilderness stewards we are dedicated to
protecting and managing America's wildest lands.
We strongly support the spirit of this bill, and we are
confident that working together we can arrive at final
wilderness boundaries that are sound and manageable. I am
pleased to be able to represent Forest Supervisor Clyde
Thompson and other members of the staff at the Monongahela
National Forest who are here with us today and all of the
people of West Virginia in looking forward to a good resolution
to this issue.
I am pleased to be able to answer any questions that you
might have at this time.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Holtrop follows:]
Statement of Joel Holtrop, Deputy Chief for the National Forest System,
U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, I appreciate the
opportunity to appear before you today to provide the Administration's
view on the Wild Monongahela Act: A National Legacy for West Virginia's
Special Places.
H.R. 5151 would designate about 47,128 acres of the Monongahela
National Forest as wilderness, adding to three existing wilderness
areas and designating four new ones. The Administration supports
designation of Cheat Mountain, Cranberry Expansion, Dry Fork Expansion,
and Roaring Plains West as wilderness. For all four areas, wilderness
designation would be consistent with recommendations by the Monongahela
National Forest in its 2006 forest plan revision.
We do not object to wilderness designation for the other three
areas proposed by the bill. In the environmental impact statement that
accompanied the 2006 forest plan revision, the Monongahela National
Forest determined that Big Draft, the Dolly Sods Expansion, and Spice
Run are all available for wilderness designation. The Monongahela
National Forest designated all three areas as ``semiprimitive
nonmotorized'' in order to help maintain their roadless attributes over
time while still permitting other established uses.
The Monongahela National Forest has five existing wilderness areas,
all of which offer outstanding wilderness experiences. I have
personally visited some of the seven areas proposed in this bill, and I
believe that all seven areas have outstanding wilderness attributes.
All are rugged forested land minimally affected by outside forces, with
natural processes operating and vestiges of human impacts (such as old
roads and clearcuts) rapidly healing over. Ranging in elevation from
just under 2,000 feet to over 4,000 feet, these landscapes harbor rare
ecosystems (such as high-elevation red spruce) and habitat for
federally listed species.
That is why the Monongahela National Forest recommended four of the
seven areas for wilderness study in its revised forest plan in 2006:
Cheat Mountain, Cranberry Expansion, Dry Fork Expansion, and Roaring
Plains West. These units represent nearly 27,700 acres recommended for
wilderness study. The Administration supports their inclusion in this
bill.
In its forest plan revision, after consulting with the public, the
Monongahela National Forest decided not to include Big Draft, the Dolly
Sods Expansion, and Spice Run among the areas recommended for
wilderness. Instead, we designated all three as semiprimitive
nonmotorized areas, one of the most restrictive allocations that the
Forest Service can give. This management prescription protects their
naturalness while permitting such popular and relatively low-impact
uses as mountain biking. It also allows the manipulation of vegetation
to create wildlife openings.
However, we recognize the wilderness eligibility of all three
areas, and their designation as wilderness would be consistent with
values that the Monongahela National Forest's revised forest plan is
designed to protect. In other locations, the Monongahela National
Forest maintains opportunities for mountain biking and for manipulating
vegetation to improve wildlife habitat. Therefore, the Administration
would not object to including Big Draft, the Dolly Sods Expansion, and
Spice Run in this bill if boundary adjustments and other issues are
addressed.
If all seven areas are designated as wilderness, we would suggest
adjusting some of the proposed boundaries to avoid conflicts and make
the wilderness areas more manageable. Some proposed boundaries appear
to be based on the boundaries of the roadless areas analyzed during the
2006 forest plan revision. Those roadless area boundaries were not
intended to define wilderness boundaries. Adjustments should be made to
account for mapping errors; to provide access to state and private
land; to exclude developed sites and managed wildlife openings; to add
offsets for powerlines and other features inconsistent with wilderness;
and to align the boundaries with existing wilderness boundaries.
The largest boundary question regards the southwestern corner of
the proposed Spice Run unit, an area of 974 acres. This area lies
outside the area that the Monongahela National Forest evaluated for
wilderness in its 2006 forest plan because it did not meet the criteria
for roadless areas. Should it become designated wilderness, motorized
access to three adjacent parcels of private land could become an issue.
We would like to work with the bill's sponsors and the subcommittee
to adjust the boundaries to accommodate these and other concerns. The
Forest Service has prepared a set of proposed boundary adjustments,
taking care to ensure that our proposed adjustments would not detract
from the overall wilderness legislation. We would welcome the
opportunity to provide this information to the subcommittee.
Removing most of the structures incompatible with wilderness would
not be necessary if our proposed boundary adjustments were made. Even
with the adjustments, however, a hiking shelter and about 9 miles of
road would remain within the wilderness boundaries. The shelter would
likely be allowed to deteriorate and then removed. Unless converted to
trails, the roads (currently closed to vehicular traffic) would require
decommissioning to protect water quality and other natural resource
values. The Monongahela National Forest would conduct an analysis to
determine the appropriate management actions and then make the
investments needed, subject to available appropriations, to remove
culverts, construct trail, or contour the land to reduce erosion.
We strongly support the spirit of this legislation, and we confirm
that all seven areas proposed for wilderness designation meet the
criteria for wilderness. Working with the subcommittee, we are
confident that we can remedy boundary deficiencies and establish final
wilderness boundaries that are sound and manageable.
This concludes my prepared statement, and I would be pleased to
answer any questions you might have.
______
Mr. Grijalva. Thank you very much, sir. Thank you for your
positive testimony today. You have mentioned in your testimony
many of these areas were recommended as wilderness under the
forest plan, and the others are currently managed as
semiprimitive, nonmotorized areas. Could you give us a
definition of semiprimitive, nonmotorized areas?
Mr. Holtrop. I can. It is very restrictive allocation of
land in the forest plan. It is an area that is being managed
for disbursed recreation opportunities, back country type
opportunities, and it is an administrative designation as
opposed to a legislative designation, and it does allow some
minimum additional uses such as mountain biking and some of
those types of activities and perhaps some wildlife opening
work.
Those were some of the issues, multiple uses, that we were
looking at that led to that designation in the forest plan.
Mr. Grijalva. Thank you. One last question. You raise the
issue of removing culverts on page 4 of your testimony. Would
the minimum tools policy already in the Wilderness Act allow
you to remove the culverts if necessary in these wilderness
areas?
Mr. Holtrop. Yes, it would. If that is the approach that we
would need to take. If the areas were designated wilderness,
and we had culverts that we felt needed to be removed, we would
do a minimum tools analysis and do whatever was necessary to
protect the resource.
Mr. Grijalva. Thank you. Mr. Bishop.
Mr. Bishop. Mr. Holtrop, appreciate you being here again. I
am looking at a map right now of these proposed areas. Can you
just tell me the names of the four areas that were recommended
by the Forest Service to be wilderness?
Mr. Holtrop. Yes, I can. It is Cheat Mountain, the
Cranberry Expansion, the Dry Fork Expansion and Roaring Plains
West.
Mr. Bishop. And the three areas that you say have some
characteristics but are to be added as well would be the Spice
Run and Big Draft?
Mr. Holtrop. Spice Run, Big Draft and the Dolly Sods North.
Mr. Bishop. OK. Did you do a complete inventory of all the
forest lands that you have in this area?
Mr. Holtrop. Yes, we did.
Mr. Bishop. And you are satisfied that these seven fit
those requirements?
Mr. Holtrop. Yes. Through the forest planning process we
looked at a total of 18 roadless areas, these seven being seven
of those 18, and so I am very satisfied that as we went through
that analysis that these areas do meet the requirements of
wilderness.
Mr. Bishop. I guess if you had recommended four only then
there probably are not a whole lot of others that would be
coming even close to that kind of category, right?
Mr. Holtrop. Of the roadless areas that were analyzed
through the forest planning process many of them had wilderness
characteristics and ended up with a designation in the forest
plan again of the semiprimitive, nonmotorized to protect that
wild nature.
Again, the reasons for not proposing them for wilderness
had more to do with existing uses or opportunities for other
uses that through the public process involved in that forest
plan process it seemed like that was the right place for us to
go.
However, as the testimony mentions, the purposes of the
forest plan are largely met with a wilderness designation in
these three areas, and we would need to find opportunities for
those uses in other areas in the forests, and we would be
committed to doing so.
Mr. Bishop. Well, the original definition of wilderness in
the original act was simply untrampled by human man. Even
though one of those areas does have a shed and a road, that is
close enough for government work, right? Let me ask you a
better question than that one.
Mr. Holtrop. I would appreciate that.
Mr. Bishop. That was rhetorical anyway. Are there any areas
within these proposed wilderness boundaries that have been
acquired or have been improved with funds from duck stamps or
the excise tax on hunting and fishing through acts like
Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson?
Mr. Holtrop. I am sorry.
Mr. Bishop. Are there any areas of the proposed wilderness
boundaries, these seven sections, that were either acquired or
improved from funds that came from duck stamps or the excise
tax on hunting and fishing through bills like the Pittman-
Robertson bill and the Dingell-Johnson bill?
Mr. Holtrop. I don't have the answer to that question. Be
more than happy to get an answer for that for the record.
Mr. Bishop. And if it is not, that is not an issue. If it
is, and those monies were specifically taken for management
purposes, how does that impact if wilderness therefore lacks
the kind of management purposes for which that money was
acquired and which that money--that money is not going to be
used if the management style does not fit into the concept of
wilderness, so would that have an impact on the decision if
indeed any of those lands were acquired through that means of
funding?
Mr. Holtrop. I would have to look into that a little bit
more than I am feeling comfortable in responding to that right
now. There is plenty of hunting opportunities within
wilderness, so I am not absolutely certain that I would say
that would be inconsistent with the purposes of----
Mr. Bishop. Yes, and I don't think it would prohibit any
kind hunting activity. It would be the management activities of
the Forest Service that may have some kind of impact. We have
plenty of time to look at that between now and the bill further
moving through this session, so if you could look at that I
would appreciate it.
Mr. Holtrop. Be happy to do that.
Mr. Bishop. I will yield back or I will yield to you, sure.
Mr. Rahall. Appreciate the gentleman from Utah yielding. In
response to your question, it is my understanding that no funds
from those acts that you mentioned were used for acquisition of
these proposed wilderness areas, but rather the funds were
created by the Weeks Act of 1911, as were most all of the
wilderness areas in the east. I believe that is my
understanding of it.
Mr. Holtrop. The vast majority of the National Forest
System lands in the east were acquired through the Weeks Act.
That is correct.
Mr. Bishop. I appreciate it. That may well be the case and
may be a moot issue, but if you could give me some further
detail on that I would be appreciative. Thank you, sir.
Mr. Grijalva. Thank you, Mr. Bishop. Mr. Chairman, any
questions?
Mr. Rahall. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just one question. I
know the answer to it, but I want to be clear and get it on the
record anyway. I am sure that you are aware that the Governor
of West Virginia now has a proposal to designate about 4,000
acres more of wilderness in what is in the delegations' bill.
The Governor supports five of the seven areas in the
delegations' bill, but he would drop Cheat Mountain and Spice
Run, and he would add three more areas, Roaring Plains East and
North and a portion of Seneca Creek. As I said, I know the
answer to the question but, for the record, were these three
areas considered by the Forest Service as part of the roadless
review for their wilderness potential as part of the planning
process?
Mr. Holtrop. Yes, they were. Those are three of the 18
areas that I referred to earlier. Through the forest plan
designation process each of them were designated for the
semiprimitive, nonmotorized.
Mr. Rahall. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Grijalva. Thank you. If there is no further questions
from my colleagues, thank you very much for your testimony.
Appreciate it.
Mr. Holtrop. Thank you very much.
Mr. Grijalva. Let me call the next panel up. The Honorable
John Manchester, Mayor, City of Lewisburg; Reverend Dennis
Sparks, Executive Director, West Virginia Council of Churches;
Mr. Mike Price, West Virginia AFL-CIO; Mr. Bob Bittner, Jr.,
Mountaineer Chapter of Trout Unlimited; Mr. Gil Willis, Elk
River Inn & Restaurant. Gentlemen.
Mr. Rahall. Mr. Chairman?
Mr. Grijalva. Yes, sir?
Mr. Rahall. If I may just for a moment while they are
taking their seats. These are a few of the West Virginians that
I recognized in my opening comments.
There are many other West Virginians in attendance, I might
add, and I know I still will miss some, but I do want to
recognize Mary Whimer and Beth Whittle, David Seville, Matt
Keller, many of these individuals with whom, including the
Mayor of Lewisburg, I hiked portions of the Big Draft a year or
two ago.
I want to welcome them, as well as those I have missed, to
this Subcommittee hearing this morning. Thank you, Mr.
Chairman.
Mr. Grijalva. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Let me begin with
The Honorable John Manchester for his testimony.
Mayor.
STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE JOHN MANCHESTER,
MAYOR, CITY OF LEWISBURG
Mr. Manchester. Mr. Chairman, Congressman Rahall,
distinguished Members of the Subcommittee, good morning. My
name is John Manchester, and I am Mayor of Lewisburg, West
Virginia, a small city of 3,700 people just a few miles from
the southern end of the Monongahela National Forest in the
southeastern part of the state.
I am speaking in favor of H.R. 5151, the Wild Monongahela
Act, and I appreciate the opportunity to be with you today. As
I am sure you have heard regularly from Congressman Rahall and
the other Members of the West Virginia congressional
delegation, West Virginia is a unique place with unique people.
My city, Lewisburg, is a good example. Founded in 1872, we
are one of the oldest towns in West Virginia and the County
Seat of Greenbrier County. Our lifeblood is tourism, and we
have been careful to preserve our historic downtown, which is
thriving. Our vibrant downtown stands in marked contrast with
many other downtowns throughout West Virginia and across the
country which have not recognized the value of the asset that
an historical downtown represents.
It is something special, something in which we take pride,
something that forms a strong foundation for our local economy
and something we can pass on to those who follow. As an elected
official, I believe it is my charge to maintain assets
entrusted to me and to pass them along in as good or better
condition to my successors.
I feel the same way about the wild areas of the Monongahela
National Forest that would be protected under this legislation.
The wilderness areas described in this bill are special places
to my city, to West Virginia and to the rest of the nation.
They are natural assets that should be valued and protected as
they are, not only for the value they offer us today but for
the even greater value they will have for future generations.
Roadless areas are scarce in the eastern United States, and
if we do not take steps now to recognize their value and
protect them I feel they will disappear year after year in
small increments until they no longer have real value as wild
areas, areas where man truly is a visitor amidst the natural
world and not the dominant feature.
The scarcity of roadless wild areas that would be protected
in this bill create specific value to communities like
Lewisburg which serve as access points to them. Several months
ago I had the pleasure of exploring one of the wild areas
covered in this bill, the area known as Big Draft, with the
Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, Congressman
Rahall, and it was a wonderful day.
Big Draft is located just 14 miles from Lewisburg. The
proposed Spice Run Wilderness Area is about 30 miles away.
Lewisburg is a natural staging area for visitors and residents
alike who seek out designated wilderness areas. Just as having
a well-preserved historic downtown helps our local economy, so,
too, does having designated wilderness areas at our doorstep.
The added economic stimulus to our tourism-based economy is
one reason why both Lewisburg City Council and the Greenbrier
County Convention and Visitors Bureau support additional
wilderness areas in the Monongahela National Forest, especially
those proposed for Greenbrier County, which currently has none
despite having nearly 108,000 acres of national forest within
the county.
Lewisburg also supports the protection of Big Draft and
Spice Run in particular because they are a part of the
headwaters of the Greenbrier River, the source of Lewisburg's
water system, the largest water utility in Greenbrier County,
providing top quality water to over 10,000 people in our
valley.
Lewisburg is not alone in local government support for
additional wilderness areas. The following cities and towns
have passed resolutions in support of designating additional
wilderness areas in the Monongahela National Forest:
Montgomery, Morgantown, Nitro, Nutter Fort, Shepherdstown,
Weston, Renick, Whitehall, Grafton and Matoaka, as well as the
Fayette County Commission.
I submit into the record Lewisburg's wilderness support
resolution, which was attached to my remarks. The other
resolutions are very similar. I think H.R. 5151, the Wild
Monongahela Act, is a very good bill and a great start toward
protecting many of the special places within the National
Forest in West Virginia, and I hope you will support it.
In closing, I wish to express my appreciations to the
Members of this Committee for their interest in the wild areas
in West Virginia, and in particular, I would like to recognize
the leadership of West Virginia Congressman Nick Rahall for
bringing this legislation to this point. Thank you.
Mr. Grijalva. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I will now turn to
Reverend Sparks for your testimony.
Sir.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Manchester follows:]
Statement of The Honorable John Manchester,
Mayor, Lewisburg, West Virginia
Good morning.
My name is John Manchester, and I am mayor of Lewisburg, West
Virginia, a small city of 3700 people, a few miles from the southern
end of the Monongahela National Forest in the southeastern part of the
state. I am speaking in favor of House Bill 5151, The Wild Monongahela
Act. I appreciate the opportunity to be with you today.
As I am sure you have heard regularly from Congressman Rahall and
the other members of the West Virginia Congressional delegation, West
Virginia is a unique place with unique people. My city, Lewisburg, is a
good example. Founded in 1782, we are one of the oldest towns in West
Virginia and the county seat of Greenbrier County. Our lifeblood is
tourism, and we have been careful to preserve our historic downtown
which is thriving. Our vibrant downtown stands in marked contrast with
many other downtowns throughout West Virginia and across the country
which have not recognized the value of the asset that an historical
downtown represents. It is something special, something in which we
take pride, something that forms a strong foundation for our local
economy, and something we can pass on to those who follow. As an
elected official, I believe it is my charge to maintain assets
entrusted to me and to pass them along in as good or better condition
to my successors.
I feel the same way about the wild areas of the Monongahela
National Forest that would be protected under this legislation. The
wilderness areas described in this bill are special places to my city,
to West Virginia and to the rest of the nation. They are natural assets
that should be valued and protected as they are--not only for the value
they offer us today but for the even greater value they will have for
future generations. Roadless areas are scarce in the eastern United
States, and if we do not take steps now to recognize their value and
protect them, I fear they will disappear, year after year in small
increments until they no longer have real value as wild areas--areas
where man truly is a visitor amidst the natural world and not the
dominant feature.
The scarcity of roadless, wild areas that would be protected in
this bill creates specific value to communities like Lewisburg which
serve as access points to them. Several months ago I had the pleasure
of exploring one of the wild areas covered in this bill--the area known
as Big Draft--with the Chairman of the House Natural Resources
Committee, Congressman Rahall. Big Draft is fourteen miles from
Lewisburg. The proposed Spice Run Wilderness Area is about 30 miles
away.
Lewisburg is a natural staging area for visitors and residents
alike who seek out designated wilderness areas. Just as having a well
preserved, historic downtown helps our local economy, so too does
having designated wilderness areas at our doorstep. The added economic
stimulus to our tourism based economy is one reason why both Lewisburg
City Council and the Greenbrier County Convention and Visitors Bureau
support additional wilderness areas in the Monongahela National Forest,
especially those proposed for Greenbrier County, which currently has
none, despite having nearly 108,000 acres of the national forest within
the county.
Lewisburg also supports the protection of Big Draft and Spice Run
in particular because they are part of the headwaters of the Greenbrier
River, the source of Lewisburg's water system, the largest water
utility in Greenbrier County, providing top quality water to over
10,000 people in our valley.
Lewisburg is not alone in local government support for additional
wilderness areas. The following cities and towns have passed
resolutions in support of designating additional wilderness areas in
the Mon--Montgomery, Morgantown, Nitro, Nutter Fork, Shepherdstown,
Weston, Renick, White Hall, Grafton, and Mataoka--as well as the
Fayette County Commission. I submit into the record Lewisburg's
wilderness support resolution. The other resolutions are very similar.
I think House Bill 5151, The Wild Monongahela Act, is a very good
bill and a great start toward protecting many of the special places
within the national forest in West Virginia, and I hope you will
support it.
Thank you.
______
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
STATEMENT OF REVEREND DENNIS SPARKS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,
WEST VIRGINIA COUNCIL OF CHURCHES
Rev. Sparks. Good morning, Mr. Chairman, Members of the
Committee and Chairman Rahall. I am the Reverend Dennis Sparks,
Executive Director of the West Virginia Council of Churches. It
is a privilege for me today to testify in support of the Wild
Monongahela Act, H.R. 5151, and offer in part a theological
justification for the bill.
The West Virginia Council of Churches is one of the oldest
organizations in the state. Our mission is to make more visible
the unity of the church, provide a Christian witness on public
issues and engage in cooperative mission and service for all
West Virginians. The Council of Churches currently includes 14
denominations in the state whose membership rolls approach
600,000.
As an expression of our concern for the environment, the
Council has endorsed the wilderness recommendations of the West
Virginia Coalition. It is our belief that each of the 15
special wild areas identified by the coalition ultimately
deserves to be permanently protected as wilderness by Congress.
In 2006, we expressed this support by cosponsoring the book
God's Gift of the Wild and Wonderful Land: A Christian
Declaration on Spiritual Values of West Virginia's Monongahela
National Forest, the booklet that Congressman Rahall lifted up
earlier. This declaration, which I would like to provide to the
Subcommittee for the hearing record, described the many
spiritual values that wilderness can provide and called for
greater wild land protection for the forest.
Some here today may wonder why our state's faith community
cares about wilderness protection for the Monongahela National
Forest. In fact, many of my fellow West Virginians have long
found inspiration in this beautiful forest. As Bob Marshall
noted in a 2007 column in the Charleston Gazette, a pastor
tells of asking his congregation when have you felt closest to
God, and reports they rarely answer during my sermons.
Like them, many of us in West Virginia find some of our
most profound spiritual experiences in the greatest cathedral
of them all, in solitude beside still waters or in the deep
forest lit by sunlight dappled through the forest canopy. Bob's
article gives an eloquent testimony on behalf of wilderness.
I request, also, that it be part of the hearing record. As
I will explain, the Council of Churches feels that areas in
H.R. 5151 should remain untouched and stand as permanently
protected natural cathedrals. We view preserving such areas as
a form of tithing, setting apart some of the natural bounty
that God has given us as a wild sanctuary.
We base this position on our shared Christian belief that:
1] our wild forests are part of God's creation; and 2]
wilderness, if protected, provides a number of important
spiritual and natural beliefs; and 3] we have a spiritual
responsibility for protecting our forests and wilderness
resources on Earth.
First, God's creation. As Psalm 24:1 proclaims, the Earth
is the Lord's and the fullness thereof the world and all that
dwell in it. In Genesis, God proclaimed the goodness of the
trees and other plant life which God had created and in Romans
says for since the creation of the world is eternal power and
divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood
and seen through things he has made that they are without
excuse.
In our present world, trees and forests are not only
crucial components of a healthy environment, they are living
symbols of the many natural spiritual gifts that God has given
us.
Spiritual values in wilderness. Wilderness provides many
spiritual gifts. God's gift of the wild and wonderful land
explored these wild land faith benefits from a Christian
perspective. Among its key findings the declaration noted that
wilderness teaches humility, that mountains are big and we are
small.
Surrounded by wilderness, we experience God's immense
creation as majestic, yet intricate, into its accountable
details. Today, protected wild forests provide us that precious
and ever more elusive opportunity to be still and know that I
am God.
Finally, stewardship. Before the flood, Noah protected at
least two of every animal species. After the flood, God said to
Noah, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your
seed after you, and with every living creature that is with you
of the birds, of the cattle and of every wild animal of the
Earth with you.
As we read the Bible, we see that our faith calls us to be
good stewards of God's magnificent creation. Finally, we feel
it is our opportunity and duty as people of faith to safeguard
wilderness in the West Virginia mountains, the oldest mountains
in all the world, and we support H.R. 5151 and hope to see it
strengthened with additional protection for other critical
areas that are part of the Wilderness Coalition's proposal.
Thank you for this opportunity.
Mr. Grijalva. Thank you, Reverend. Turning now to Mr.
Price, AFL-CIO.
Sir.
[The prepared statement of Reverend Sparks follows:]
Statement of The Reverend Dennis Sparks, Executive Director,
West Virginia Council of Churches
Chairman Grijalva and Members of the Subcommittee, I am the
Reverend Dennis Sparks, Executive Director of the West Virginia Council
of Churches. I am pleased to testify before you today in support of
H.R. 5151, the ``Wild Monongahela: A National Legacy for West
Virginia's Special Places.'' My task today is to offer a faith
perspective and foundation for the establishment of the Wilderness
classification.
The West Virginia Council of Churches' mission ``is to make more
visible the unity of Christ's church, provide a Christian witness on
public issues, and engage in cooperative mission and service for all
West Virginians.'' As one of the oldest institutions in the State of
West Virginia, we trace our origins to 1880 and our roots to the 1820s.
In the time between 1880 and the present, the work of a few volunteers
has blossomed into a cooperative Christian mission and service for all
West Virginians.
The membership of the Council of Churches currently includes 14
church denominations in the state, whose membership rolls approach
600,000. Respecting the traditions of each denomination--while uniting
to speak with one voice and to act with united hands--we carry the
justice message of faith into the public arena. Over the years, the
West Virginia Council of Churches has been active in areas of social
justice, children's health, economic, environmental and statewide
legislative issues, interfaith dialogue and cooperation, as well as
service programs in disaster recovery. We are currently through our
``Beyond the Yellow Ribbon'' program, organizing support for our
military families.
As an expression of our interest in and concern for the health of
the environment in West Virginia, the Council acted in 2006 to endorse
the Wilderness recommendations of the West Virginia Wilderness
Coalition (WVWC). It is our belief that each of the 15 special wild
areas identified by the WVWC ultimately deserves to be permanently
protected by Congress for the benefit of current and future generations
as part of the National Wilderness Preservation System.
Our support of these Wilderness recommendations has taken many
forms in recent years. We publicly co-sponsored the booklet and later
the DVD, ``God's Gift of a Wild and Wonderful Land, A Christian
Declaration on the Spiritual Values of West Virginia's Monongahela
National Forest,'' which was released to the public in 2006. This
document carefully outlined the many spiritual values and lessons that
wilderness can provide. As Jesus often drew apart to wild places to
pray, we recognize the continuing power and importance to the human
spirit of our remaining wild lands. In recognition of these spiritual
values, ``God's Gift of a Wild and Wonderful Land'' also contained a
clear call by many of West Virginia's Christian faith leaders for
greater care for creation and for the protection of additional
wilderness in our beautiful state. For the Council of Churches this has
been and still is an issue of justice that calls for a balance of the
natural beauty of creation with the responsibility of human dominion
over the earth.
The Council of Churches has also expressed support for wilderness
in correspondence to the Monongahela National Forest during its forest
planning process and in recent statements in the West Virginia press.
Today, as an additional response to our stewardship call to protect
God's creation, I would like to express the support of the West
Virginia Council of Churches for the ``Wild Monongahela'' legislation,
H.R. 5151.
Perhaps some here today are wondering why the West Virginia faith
community would care about wilderness protection for the Monongahela
National Forest. In fact, many of my West Virginia colleagues and
fellow Christians have long found spiritual inspiration in our
beautiful national forest. As co-founder of Christians for the
Mountains, Bob Marshall, noted in a February, 2007 column in the
Charleston Gazette:
``An Arizona pastor tells of asking his congregation, `When
have you felt closest to God?' and reports that they rarely
answer, `During your sermons.' Like them, many of us here in
West Virginia find some of our most profound spiritual
experiences in the greatest cathedral of them all--in solitude
beside the still waters or in a deep forest lit by sunlight
dappled through the forest canopy. Or, here in the Monongahela
National Forest, beside the not-so-still waters of a gloriously
wild, rushing mountain stream.''
Bob Marshall's article provides an eloquent testimony on behalf of
additional wilderness protection for West Virginia's wonderful wild
lands. I have included it at the end of my written statement and
request that it be made part of the official record of this hearing.
The Council of Churches asks that the areas identified in H.R. 5151
should be allowed to remain untouched by development and stand as
permanently protected natural cathedrals. Preserving these special
areas is a form of tithing, setting apart some of the natural bounty
that the Creator has given us as a wild sanctuary and protecting it in
its undefiled natural condition. We are convinced that only permanent,
strong protection afforded by Wilderness designation can ensure that
the solitude and closeness to God's creation in nature will still be
available in West Virginia for all citizens of this great American land
to enjoy. If these areas are not moved into permanent protective
designations, the possibility for future disruption from logging
operations, off-road vehicles and other uses will always be present.
Our support for this legislation, and our underlying support for
Wilderness protection, is based on our shared beliefs that 1) our
forests and wild lands are part of God's creation, 2) Wilderness, if
protected, provides a number of important spiritual and natural
benefits, and 3) we have a stewardship responsibility for protecting
our forests and wilderness resources on Earth.
God's Creation
As Psalm 24:1 proclaims, ``The earth is the Lord's and the fullness
thereof, the world and all that dwell in it.'' In the Biblical story of
creation, trees are the emblem of the living earth and Adam and Eve
first encountered creation through two trees--the tree of knowledge of
good and evil and the tree of life. In Genesis (1:12), God proclaimed
the goodness of trees and other plant life which he had created. You
are invited to capture the moment: ``The earth brought forth
vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind
bearing fruit with seed in it. And God saw that it was good.'' As
Romans (1:20) explains, ``Ever since the creation of the world his
eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been
understood and seen through the things he has made.'' In our present
world, as this passage from Romans reminds us that, trees are not only
crucial components of a healthy environment, they are living symbols of
the many good gifts that God has given us--including clean streams,
fresh air, bountiful fish and wildlife habitats, and sources of
spiritual inspiration.
Spiritual Values of Wilderness
Upon reflection, we see that there are many spiritual values and
lessons that can be gained in the Wilderness. ``God's Gift of a Wild
and Wonderful Land'' explored the faith values provided by protected
wilderness areas and explained why such areas are important from a
Christian perspective. Among the many key aspects of wilderness, the
declaration noted that:
In wilderness we learn about God. When we leave the
crowds of town and city and enter the quiet and peace of wild places,
the deep questions of human life rise to the surface.
Wilderness is God's gift of creation undefiled. Without
wilderness, we lose a reminder of what creation is like in its pristine
condition. The clean air, the cold water, the quiet of trees, the moist
earth and everything in between help us to clarify our thinking so that
we can open to God and the nature of creation.
Wilderness teaches humility. The mountains are big and we
are small. Surrounded by wildness, we experience God's immense creation
as majestic yet intricate in its uncountable details.
In centuries past, people of the Judeo-Christian heritage as well
people of other ancient faiths had a strong understanding of the
spiritual values to be found in the wilderness. In Hebrew tradition
Moses lead the Israelites into the wilderness; from the Christian
experience, Jesus went to the wilderness to prepare for his ministry.
The saints went to the wilderness to find a deeper experience of God.
For many of us today, protected Wilderness areas and other wild forests
provide us that precious--and ever more elusive--opportunity to, ``Be
still, and know that I am God.''
Stewardship
Before the Flood, Noah and his family protected at least two of
every animal species. After the Flood, God said to Noah, ``Behold, I
establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you, and with
every living creature that is with you, of the birds, of the cattle,
and of every wild animal of the earth with you'' (Genesis 9:9). As we
read these and other biblical passages, we see that our religious
heritage calls us to be good stewards of the Creator's magnificent
creation.
With respect to the protection of our forests and our state's
environment, we see that the choices originally presented by two trees
to Adam and Eve are still choices before us today. It is through our
trees of forest that we will choose life and may perhaps know the
difference between good and evil. We can choose to honor the Creator
and respect the creation and the integrity of the good earth, or we can
follow the path of exploitation and loss. As the Reverend Billy Graham
has said, ``It is not right for us to destroy the world that God has
given us...We Christians have a responsibility to take the lead in the
caring for the earth.''
Conclusion
The words of the Psalmist (1:3) compared the pursuit of happiness
as the ``trees planted by streams of living water, which yield their
fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they
do they prosper.'' In short, we believe that it is both our ecological
and economic opportunity and moral duty as people of faith to safeguard
our Wilderness resources and forest wild lands. This safeguard relates
to a now famous line found in President John F. Kennedy's inaugural
address: ``God's work must truly be our own.'' As one author stated in
response to the President, ``More importantly, in an era of heightened
human impact upon the entire planet, our own work must truly be God's''
(Earth Community Earth Ethics, Larry L. Rasmussen, 1996, page 293).
As an area of federal land belonging to all Americans, the
Monongahela National Forest can uniquely provide opportunities for
reflection and inspiration that are becoming ever scarcer in our
rapidly modernizing and developing world. We believe that carefully
protecting this wonderful national forest and its Wilderness-quality
lands not only has a sound biblical foundation, but is also the best
and most practical course of action for safeguarding the beauty,
abundance, and ecological health of the world which we will pass along
to our children's children.
We thank the Chairman and other members of the West Virginia
delegation for their good efforts and share in the West Virginia
Wilderness Coalition's hope to see the bill strengthened before it is
passed with additional protection for other critical areas that are
part of the West Virginia Wilderness Coalition's proposal. Thank you
for considering our testimony today.
the charleston gazette
Wilderness: God's greatest cathedral
2 / 18 / 2007
However much time you and I spend in our churches, my guess is that
like me, you find that a particularly fitting place to commune with
your God is in His own wilderness.
An Arizona pastor tells of asking his congregation, ``When have you
felt closest to God?'' and reports that they rarely answer, ``During
your sermons.'' Like them, many of us here in West Virginia find some
of our most profound spiritual experiences in the greatest cathedral of
them all--in solitude beside the still waters or in a deep forest lit
by sunlight dappled through the forest canopy. Or, here in the
Monongahela National Forest, beside the not-so-still waters of a
gloriously wild, rushing mountain stream such as Seneca Creek.
As a Christian who reads the Bible regularly, I know that the
greatest prophets sought the wildest places in nature for their most
intense spiritual renewal. Moses convened with God on Sinai for ``forty
days and forty nights'' (Exodus 24:18). And Mark tells us that Jesus
sojourned in the wilderness for ``forty days'' (Mark 1:13). In short,
wilderness is part of our Biblical heritage.
The Lord, I believe, did not place us in this earthly garden to see
us despoil every part of it, or to turn every acre to our immediate
needs for food, fiber and money. There is a deep inborn reason that our
hearts respond with a joyous leap to great vistas of unspoiled nature.
His Creation as He created it.
This is why I am working through my organization, Christians for
the Mountains, and religious leaders in our state, including the West
Virginia Council of Churches, to encourage our Members of Congress to
protect additional areas of wilderness. Thanks to the visionary and
bipartisan Wilderness Act that Congress passed in 1964, we have the
means through our democratic process to see that a reasonable sample of
the wilderness solitudes of the Monongahela National Forest will be
preserved for all time to serve many values, not least being our
spiritual needs.
For us, this is an act of humility. Surely it would be immoral for
our generation to deny future generations of West Virginians what the
Wilderness Act terms ``the benefits of an enduring resource of
wilderness.'' Our obligation to them, and to our Creator, runs deeper.
Preserving wilderness areas such as Seneca Creek, Spice Run and the
Dolly Sods Expansion, is a form of tithing, setting apart some of the
natural bounty given to us as a wild sanctuary, protecting it in its
undefiled natural condition for the benefit of generations unborn.
So, we ask our elected officials to take a political action in a
nonpartisan way. We ask them to preserve more of the wilderness of the
Mon. Far into the future our descendents in these mountains will lift
their eyes unto the hills. They will need and treasure these quiet
reserves of God's wild solitudes so much more in their crowded world
than we can even imagine.
The great Republican Teddy Roosevelt spoke of our obligation to the
future, railing against ``the shortsighted men who in their greed and
selfishness will, if permitted, rob our country of half its charm by
their reckless extermination of all useful and beautiful wild things.''
The ``greatest good for the greatest number,'' Roosevelt reminds
us, ``applies to the number within the womb of time, compared to which
those now alive form but an insignificant fraction. Our duty to the
whole, including the unborn generations, bids us restrain'' ourselves
``from wasting the heritage of these unborn generations.'' I personally
want to know that my four grandchildren, and their children, will be
afforded the same opportunity to experience the awe inspiring wild
places we seek to protect.
Today, you and I bear this moral responsibility to those within the
womb of time. Yes, we could develop the remaining unprotected wild
places in our national forest if we chose to; that decision is in our
hands. But in a very real way, all those yet unborn are watching us,
praying (as writer Terry Tempest Williams so eloquently puts it) ``for
us to see beyond our own time. They are kneeling with clasped hands
hoping that we might act with restraint.''
We humans live only by grace, and Williams reminds us that it is
within our legislative powers--held by our elected representatives--to
take care that a good, big, generous sample of God's wilderness lives
on as well. Wilderness areas such as Cranberry Glades and Dolly Sods
that Congress has already protected in this way, offer places to play
in, to be sure, for hunters, fishermen, campers and hikers, young
families, and sturdy mountaineers who remain young at heart.
And, for many of us, wilderness offers the very best places in
which to pray.
[Bob Marshall, of Kenna, is a native West Virginian, avid fly
fisherman, hunter and a practicing veterinarian. He co-founded
Christians for the Mountains, and helps lead the Religious Campaign for
Wilderness. For information about citizen wilderness proposals, visit
www.wvwild.org.]
______
STATEMENT OF MIKE PRICE, WEST VIRGINIA AFL-CIO
Mr. Price. Good morning, Mr. Chairman, Members of the
Committee. I would like to thank you, Mr. Rahall, for
introducing this bill. I am Mike Price of the West Virginia
AFL-CIO. I am a member of the United Steel Workers Local 889. I
have a resolution from the AFL-CIO in support of this that I
would like to put in the record and also one from my local
union.
On October 2, 2007, at the West Virginia AFL-CIO's
Constitutional Convention in Wheeling, West Virginia, over 180
delegates representing different unions unanimously voted to
adopt a resolution to secure permanent protection for the
wilderness forest areas, as proposed by the West Virginia
Wilderness Coalition. This included Seneca Creek and the East
Fork of the Greenbrier.
We did so believing that wilderness designation will
protect one of our state's most valued assets, scenic beauty.
These special wild places encompass the development of rural
communities as people are attracted to or stay in places that
are clean, beautiful and where they have ample opportunity to
connect with nature.
These wilderness areas provide outdoor recreation, such as
hunting, fishing, which improves the quality of life of West
Virginians. Wildlife management to restore native wildlife
populations can continue to occur in wilderness so long as it
maintains the wilderness character of the area. Wilderness
designation is the best way to protective sensitive wildlife
species from development pressures.
Wilderness provides priceless clean water, clean air and a
healthy environment for neighboring communities. Watershed
protection results in protection of clean drinking water, as
well as decreased potential for flooding downstream. West
Virginia's more than 15 million acres are nearly 80 percent
forested.
Ninety-eight percent of this forest land is classified as
timberland or commercial forest land with 98 percent of this
owned by private individuals or corporations. Wilderness
designation would have no impact on these private lands that
produce over 95 percent of West Virginia's commercial harvested
timber.
The wilderness proposal put forth would affect only five-
tenths of a percent of the state's commercial timberland, thus
preserving West Virginia's timber-based economy while providing
the enhancement of a broad array of other forest areas. After
all, the Monongahela National Forest slogan is land of many
uses.
Protecting wilderness helps diversify and stabilize
economies by attracting and retaining businesses, residents and
a local workforce in addition to generating travel and tourism,
one of the fastest growing sections of West Virginia's economy.
The AFL-CIO recognizes that wilderness designation will
attract business, creating many job opportunities. Unions have
always supported legislation which creates jobs and protect a
healthy environment. I am a United Steel Worker affiliated with
the AFL-CIO and also an outings lead with the Sierra Club.
United Steel Workers has a blue/green alliance with the
Sierra Club which works together on environmental issues.
Unions recognize the importance of protecting our special
places, the environment and creating green-based job
opportunities. As an outings lead for the Sierra Club, security
and protection for these special places in Monongahela creates
endless opportunities for leading trips into wild places in our
beautiful state.
The designation of wilderness status to the areas proposed
in Monongahela in no way hurts the economy in West Virginia. It
will enhance the economy and quality of life and ensure that
future generations have unexplored wilderness to enjoy. To
speak specifically about one particular area of importance
included in the Wild Monongahela Act, I will quote Elizabeth
Little of Hillsboro, West Virginian who has likely spent more
time in the area than anyone else alive.
``In the summer of 1995, I spent the day with a Forest
Service team and a group of concerned citizens touring the
Little Fork area, part of what is now the Cranberry Expansion.
This was occasioned by the Forest Service announcement that
they were preparing a management plan for the area.''
``On that field trip and in an ensuing letter, I pointed
out to the Forest Service that the Cranberry wilderness wasn't
big enough. Previously, a Forest Service ranger from the Gauley
District and I had walked the Cranberry and frequented several
hunters and camps along the way. This means the wilderness
provides a minimum range for large wildlife that is intolerant
to disturbance.''
``Since the Cranberry is already the largest wilderness in
the Monon and is bounded by roads on all sides, the Cranberry
Expansion is the only possibility for variety and a larger
undisturbed territory. The elevation in the central ridge in
the Cranberry Expansion is over 4,000 feet and was originally
dominated ridge forest, which the Forest Service has been
actively working to regenerate.''
``The Cranberry Expansion is not a showy attraction for
tourists. There are no specular views or thunderous waterfalls.
It is a place of deep coves, forest folded with mountain
streams. It is a place of abiding peace and quiet, of psychic
renewal for humans, but mostly a place of trees that will only
become magnificent with time.''
So we would recommend that you all pass this. We thank the
Committee and the Chair, and especially you, Representative
Rahall, for introducing this bill. Thank you.
Mr. Grijalva. Thank you, Mr. Price. Now, Mr. Bittner,
Mountaineer Chapter of Trout Unlimited. Your testimony, sir.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Price follows:]
Statement of Michael Price, President, USW Local 8-89, AFL-CIO
On October 2, 2007 at the West Virginia AFL-CIO's Constitutional
Convention in Wheeling, WV over one hundred eighty delegates
representing many different unions unanimously voted to adopt a
resolution to ``Secure Permanent Protection For West Virginia's
Wilderness Forest Areas'' as proposed by the West Virginia Wilderness
Coalition. This included Seneca Creek, all of Roaring Plains and the
East Fork of the Greenbrier in addition to area in H.R. 5151.
The Convention delegates took this action to support Wilderness
legislation believing that protecting one of our states most valued
assets, its scenic beauty, will help enable the development of rural
communities.
People are attracted to, and businesses want to locate or stay in,
places that offer a high quality of life, are clean, beautiful and
where there are ample opportunity to connect with nature.
These Wilderness areas provide outdoor recreation such as hunting,
fishing and hiking which improves the quality of life for West
Virginians.
Wildlife management to restore native wildlife populations can
continue to occur in wilderness areas so long as it maintains the
wilderness character of the area. Wilderness designation is the best
way to protect sensitive wildlife species from development pressures.
Wilderness protects watersheds, provides clean air, and provides a
healthy environment for neighboring communities. Watershed protection
results in protection of clean drinking water sources and the lack of
disturbance decreases potential for flooding downstream.
West Virginia's more than fifteen million acres are nearly 80%
forested. 98% of this forest land is classified as timberland or
``commercial forest land.'' 98% of these commercial forest lands are
owned by private individuals or corporations. Wilderness designation
would have no impact on these private lands that produce over 95% of
West Virginia's commercially harvested timber. The wilderness proposal
put forth would affect only 0.5% of the state's commercial timberland,
thus preserving West Virginia's timber-based economy while providing
for the enhancement of a broad array of other forest uses. After all
the Monongahela National Forest's slogan is ``Land of Many Uses.''
Protecting wilderness helps diversify and stabilize economies by
attracting and retaining business, residents and a local workforce in
addition to generating travel and tourism, one of the fastest growing
sections of West Virginia's economy. The AFL-CIO recognizes that
wilderness designation will attract businesses creating many job
opportunities now and into the future. Union's have always supported
legislation which creates jobs and protects the health and a healthy
environment.
I am a United Steel Worker member affiliated with the AFL-CIO and I
am also an Outings Leader with the Sierra Club. The USW has a ``Blue/
Green Alliance'' with the Sierra Club which works together on
environmental issues.
Union's recognize the importance of protecting our special places,
the environment, and creating ``green based job opportunities.'' As a
Sierra Club Outings Leader, having protected special places in the
Monongahela creates endless opportunities for me to share our state's
beautiful wild places with others.
The designation of wilderness to the areas proposed in the Wild
Monongahela Act will enhance the economy of West Virginia and the
quality of life for West Virginians. It will ensure that future
generations have unspoiled wilderness to enjoy as we do today.
To speak specifically about one particular area of importance
included in the Wild Monongahela Act, I'll quote Elizabeth Little of
Hillsboro, WV who has likely spent more time in this area than any one
else alive:
'In the summer of 1995, I spent the day with a Forest Service team
and a group of concerned citizens touring the Little Fork Area, part of
what is now the Cranberry Expansion. This was occasioned by the Forest
Service announcement that they were preparing a management plan for the
area.
On that field trip and in an ensuing letter, I pointed out to the
Forest Service that the adjacent Cranberry Wilderness wasn't big
enough.
Previously, a Forest Service Ranger from the Gauley District and I
had walked across the Cranberry at a long oblique angle in only six
hours, even though we stopped frequently to converse with several
hunters in camps along the way. This means the existing Wilderness
provides a minimal range for large wildlife that is intolerant of
disturbance. Since the Cranberry is already the largest Wilderness in
the Mon and is bounded by roads on all other sides, the Cranberry
Expansion is the only possibility for providing a larger undisturbed
territory.
Apparently they heard me. When I phoned the next year to find out
how their planning was going, the team leader informed me that they had
tabled the planning because of the wilderness issues raised; and then,
in the recent Forest Plan, the Cranberry Expansion was formally
recommended by the Forest Service for Wilderness designation.
There may have been additional things to influence their
recommendation. The elevation of the central ridge in the Cranberry
Expansion is over 4000 feet and was originally dominated by red spruce
forest, which the Forest Service has been actively working to
regenerate. During the 1995 field trip we learned that the discovery of
threatened and endangered species would change the location of a
proposed road and cause logging in the area to be cancelled. Studies on
the location of northern flying squirrels would continue, and the
presence of goshawk nests indicated that they were returning. With this
uncertainty about where a road could be built, and the fact that the
Little Fork area is at ``the end of the road'' because it is next to
the Cranberry Wilderness, the investment of miles of new road might not
make financial or ecological sense.
The Cranberry Expansion is not a showy attraction for tourist
consumption. There are no spectacular views or thunderous waterfalls.
It is a place of deep cove forest folded with mountain streams. It is
so shady that the automatic flash goes off when you try to take a
picture. It is so moist that even on a sunny summer day your rear gets
wet if you sit on the ground.
It is a place of abiding peace and quiet, of psychic renewal for
humans, but mostly, a place of trees that will only become more
magnificent with time.
______
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILBLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
STATEMENT OF BOB BITTNER, JR., MOUNTAINEER CHAPTER OF TROUT
UNLIMITED
Mr. Bittner. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Members of the
Subcommittee. My name is Robert Bittner, I am a member of the
Board of Directors of Mountaineer Chapter Trout Unlimited. The
mission of Trout Unlimited, both nationally and locally, is to
conserve, protect and restore our cold water fisheries and
their watersheds.
The native and wild trout in these ecosystems represent not
only an unsurpassed recreational opportunity but also connect
us to the natural heritage of our country. For those of us
lucky enough to live in West Virginia, the embodiment of our
heritage is the Eastern Brook Trout. These beautiful, speckled
trout require intact, undisturbed watersheds to flourish.
Because of this, Mountaineer Chapter Trout Unlimited wholly
supports the Wild Monongahela: A National Legacy for West
Virginia's Special Places legislation. The Eastern Brook Trout
is the only native trout for the eastern United States.
This stunning fish, with its flanks splashed in red and
blue spots, creamy white underbelly washed with orange,
pectoral fins striped white, black and orange and its veined
dark olive back, holds a special place in the hearts of West
Virginia's anglers and residents.
Stranded in our mountain streams and rivers after the
retreat of the last glaciation, the trout of the springs,
Salvelinus Fontinalis, symbolizes the wildness and beauty that
was our nation before European settlement. Just like our
special places, the hollows, ridges and cricks of West
Virginia, the Brook Trout faces threats from development, poor
logging and agricultural practices and energy production.
Federal wilderness designation permanently protects
portions of the national trust. It allows these forests and
watersheds to heal and mature. An intact and undisturbed forest
is one of the best management tools for protecting Brook Trout.
Forest floors, free of the compaction of roads and logging
trails, absorb, cool and slowly release rain water to streams.
They help minimize the flooding and subsequent soil erosion
of extreme precipitation events. This keeps the stream bed
gravels clean and free of siltation, which allows the Brook
Trout to successfully reproduce. The mature forest canopy
provides vital thermal protection, shading our streams and
rivers from an increasingly warming climate.
Warming waters above 68 degrees Fahrenheit do not contain
enough oxygen for the trout and the insects, crustaceans and
forage fishes upon which they feed. Federal wilderness
designation will also give the included streams a Tier 3
protection level under the antidegredation rule of the Federal
Clean Water Act.
This is the highest level of water quality protection and
provides citizens and government officials with an important
tool to safeguard the sources of much of our drinking water.
Maintaining high water quality in the headwaters of many of our
larger watersheds may provide flexibility in the regulation of
downstream nonFederal lands development and agricultural
production.
This may become invaluable for residents within the
Chesapeake Bay regulatory watershed. Wilderness is a management
designation that allows fisheries biologists many options to
monitor and improve the health of Brook Trout populations. The
reestablishment of native species is a primary goal in
wilderness. Creel and size limits and their effect on
population dynamics can still be managed.
The opportunity to fully study populations and their
response to environmental changes is unsurpassed in a
wilderness area. Many other states, most notably Montana and
Idaho, constantly monitor and manage their native fish
populations within wilderness areas and use this data as a
baseline for work outside of wilderness areas.
Wilderness also allows for the protection of native fish
from invasive, nonnative species. The protection of native
Brook Trout from introduced nonnative trout species is becoming
an important part of fisheries management. H.R. 5151, the Wild
Monongahela: A National Legacy for West Virginia's Special
Places, will be a large and first step toward conserving and
protecting the Eastern Brook Trout and their watersheds in the
21st Century.
Mountaineer Chapter Trout Unlimited supports and encourages
its passage by Congress and its approval by the President. The
membership of Mountaineer Chapter Trout Unlimited would also
urge the Congress to add two of the finest limestone karst
geology Brook Trout watersheds in West Virginia to the bill.
Seneca Creek and its watershed, listed by Trout Unlimited
National as one of America's top 100 hundred streams, as well
as the East Fork of the Greenbrier River, both support wild
native Brook Trout. These two areas are overdue for the
protection Congress can provide with wilderness designation.
I would like to take this opportunity to also express my
personal support for the Wild Mon legislation. I am a resident
and business owner from Pendleton County, West Virginia. I hold
a Bachelor of Science degree in environmental sciences with a
major in forest and land use management from Stockton State
College in New Jersey.
My business is related to the timber industry. Robert
Bittern Cabinetmaker is a custom design, build proprietorship
specializing in furniture and architectural millwork. Supplies
of quality wood are the lifeblood of my craft. Given that more
than 97 percent of the state's timber harvest comes from
private land, I know that the Wild Mon legislation will not
adversely affect my business.
However, keeping the image of West Virginia as wild and
wonderful will benefit my business. My disappointment in the
bill is that it does not yet include the crown jewel of West
Virginia's native trout streams, Seneca Creek in Pendleton
County. I hope that Seneca will become part of the Wild Mon Act
before the President signs the bill.
I thank you for your time and your interest.
Mr. Grijalva. Thank you very much. The final panelist, Mr.
Gil Willis, Elk River Inn & Restaurant. Sir, your testimony.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Bittner follows:]
Statement of Robert Bittner, Member, Board of Directors,
Mountaineer Chapter Trout Unlimited
The mission of Trout Unlimited, both nationally and locally is to
conserve, protect and restore our cold water fisheries and their
watersheds. The native and wild trout in these ecosystems represent not
only an unsurpassed recreational opportunity but also connect us to the
natural heritage of our country. For those of us lucky enough to live
in West Virginia, the embodiment of our heritage is the Eastern Brook
Trout. These beautiful speckled trout require intact, undisturbed
watersheds to flourish. And because of this, Mountaineer Chapter Trout
Unlimited wholly supports the Wild Monongahela: a National Legacy for
West Virginia's Special Places legislation.
The Eastern Brook Trout is the only native trout for the eastern
United States. This stunning fish with its flanks splashed in red and
blue spots, creamy white underbelly washed with orange, pectoral fins
striped white black and orange and its veined dark olive back holds a
special place in the hearts of West Virginia's anglers and residents.
Stranded in our mountain streams and rivers after the retreat of the
last glaciation, the ``trout of the springs'' Salvelinus Fontinalis
symbolizes the wildness and beauty that was our nation before European
settlement. Just like our special places the hollows, ridges and cricks
of West Virginia, the Brook Trout faces threats from development, poor
logging and agricultural practices and energy production.
Federal wilderness designation permanently protects portions of the
national trust. It allows these forests and watersheds to heal and
mature. An intact and undisturbed forest is one of the best management
tools for protecting Brook Trout. Forest floors, free of the compaction
of roads and logging trails absorb, cool and slowly release rainwater
to streams. They help minimize the flooding and subsequent soil erosion
of extreme precipitation events. This keeps the stream bed gravels
clean and free of siltation, which allows the Brook Trout to
successfully reproduce. The mature forest canopy provides vital thermal
protection, shading our streams and rivers from an increasingly warming
climate. Warming waters, above sixty-eight degrees Fahrenheit, do not
contain enough oxygen for the trout and the insects, crustaceans and
forage fishes upon which they feed.
Federal wilderness designation will also give the included streams
a Tier 3 protection level under the anti-degradation rule of the
Federal Clean Water Act. This is the highest level of water quality
protection and provides citizens and government officials with an
important tool to safeguard the sources of much of our drinking water.
Maintaining high water quality in the headwaters of many of our larger
watersheds may provide flexibility in the regulation of downstream
(non-federal lands) development and agricultural production. This may
become invaluable for residents within the Chesapeake Bay regulatory
watershed.
Wilderness is a management designation that allows fisheries
biologists many options to monitor and improve the health of Brook
Trout populations. The re-establishment of native species is a primary
goal in wilderness. Creel and size limits and their effect on
population dynamics can still be managed. The opportunity to fully
study populations and their response to environmental changes is
unsurpassed in a wilderness area. Many other states, most notably
Montana and Idaho, constantly monitor and manage their native fish
populations within wilderness areas and use this data as a baseline for
work outside of wilderness areas. Wilderness also allows for the
protection of native fish from invasive, non-native species. The
protection of native Brook Trout from introduced non-native trout
species is becoming an important part of fisheries management.
H.R. 5151--The Wild Monongahela: A Natural Legacy for West
Virginia's Special Places will be a large and first step towards
conserving and protecting the Eastern Brook Trout and their watersheds
in the twenty-first century. Mountaineer Chapter Trout Unlimited
supports and encourages its passage by Congress and its approval by the
President. The membership of Mountaineer Chapter Trout Unlimited would
also urge the Congress to add two of the finest limestone karst geology
Brook Trout watersheds in West Virginia to the bill. Seneca Creek and
its watershed, listed by Trout Unlimited National as one of Americas
top one hundred streams, as well as the East Fork of the Greenbrier
River both support wild native Brook Trout. These two areas are overdue
for the protection Congress can provide with Wilderness designation.
I would like to take this opportunity to express my personal
support for the Wild Monongahela (Wild Mon) legislation. I am a
resident and business owner from Pendleton County, West Virginia. I
hold a Bachelor of Science Degree in Environmental Sciences with a
major in Forest and Land Use Management from Stockton State College in
NJ. My business is related to the timber industry; Robert Bittner
Cabinetmaker is a custom design/build proprietorship specializing in
furniture and architectural millwork. Supplies of quality wood are the
lifeblood of my craft. Given that more than ninety-seven percent of the
state's timber harvest comes from private land, I know that the Wild
Mon legislation will not adversely affect my business; however, keeping
the image of West Virginia as wild and wonderful will benefit my
business. My disappointment in the bill is that it does not yet include
the crown jewel of West Virginia's native trout streams, Seneca Creek,
in Pendleton County. I hope that Seneca will be in the Wild Mon act
before the President signs the bill.
Thank you for your time and interest. As a citizen, I appreciate
the opportunity to express my personal support and the endorsement of
Mountaineer Chapter Trout Unlimited for this important legislation.
______
STATEMENT OF GIL WILLIS, ELK RIVER INN & RESTAURANT, SLATYFORK,
WEST VIRGINIA
Mr. Willis. Good morning, and thank you for having me. I
would like to thank the Subcommittee Chairman and my
Congressman, Nick Rahall, and Members of the Committee for
allowing me to speak today in support of the Wild Monongahela
Act. This is an historic piece of legislation that will help
ensure the future of West Virginia's greatest national
treasure, our national forest.
Let me begin my comments by commending Congressman Rahall
and the entire West Virginia congressional delegation for their
commitment to working and listening to the people of West
Virginia. This bill truly reflects the thoughts and concerns of
residents of the Mountain State who appreciate our natural
forests and the wild areas that are included in these lands.
Our congressional team has developed a proposal that
protects our forests and meets the needs of the forest's many
users. I especially appreciated the open process Congressman
Rahall and his staff has had and the entire delegation's
willingness to meet with me and other concerned West Virginians
and their desire to work with all of us to develop a proposal
that truly represents West Virginians and the will to ensure
the future of our state's forests for generations to come.
As a member of West Virginia's business community whose
business is dependent on our state's wild and wonderful
landscape, I am very supportive of efforts to ensure the wild
future of our forests. My wife and I own and operate Elk River
Inn Restaurant Touring Center which is open year round as a
skiing, fly fishing, cycling and hiking resort.
We have been at the forefront of the outdoor industry since
its infancy in West Virginia over 30 years ago. Our company
currently employs over 20 full and part-time staff. I also for
the last 15 years have sat on the Pocahontas County Convention
and Visitors Bureau Board of Directors. Our remote mountain
setting in Pocahontas County relies on quality wild outdoor
places to survive.
All of the counties which the new wilderness areas are
located in will benefit both socially and economically from
this bill and the high quality of visitors that they will
attract. West Virginia's mountain region is the last best place
in the mid-Atlantic. This of course is a marketing term which
hits close to the heart.
Wilderness designation for those areas included in the Wild
Monongahela Act will provide unparalleled primitive and
traditional outdoor recreation opportunities, such as hunting,
fishing, hiking, horseback riding, camping, back country
skiing, snowshoeing and much more. These areas and the
activities not only keep us competitive in regional and
national markets but also provide a much needed and affordable
outdoor experience for our local residents.
Protecting our rivers and our forests with wilderness
designation is an investment in West Virginia's future. The
state's abundance of God given natural resources have been
providing coal, natural gas, wood products and chemical
ingredients to the Nation and the world for almost 200 years.
Our economic landscape has changed, and our natural resources
will not last forever.
The northern mountains which fall into the border of the
Monongahela National Forest are very important to the future as
a region. We have a real connection to our mountains and our
forests and have a responsibility to leave these special places
as clean and pristine to our children and our children's
children.
Pocahontas County is referred to as the birthplace of
rivers. There are eight rivers that begin in Pocahontas County.
Much of the clean water for the mid-Atlantic originates from
our county and bordering counties. This renewable resource
cannot be taken for granted.
I would like to see in the future even more Federal
protection for our valuable and vanishing clean water resources
in the great State of West Virginia, which affects the whole
mid-Atlantic region's future and health. While I wholeheartedly
support the Wild Monongahela Act I am concerned about a number
of special areas that are not included in the legislation.
Specifically, I would like to see the delegation amend this
legislation to include Seneca Creek, Roaring Plains and East
Fork of Greenbrier. Like the other special places included in
the legislation, these areas represent some of the last truly
wild places in the east and they deserve Congress' protection.
Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, thank you once
again for allowing me to voice my support for this historic
legislation. West Virginians have a strong connection and
desire for protecting our one of a kind forest, and the
legislation goes a long way toward helping us live up to this
responsibility. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Willis follows:]
Statement of Gil Willis, Owner and Operator of the
Elk River Touring Center/Elk River Inn and Restaurant
I would like to thank Subcommittee Chairman Grijalva and my
Congressman, Nick Rahall and members of the committee for allowing me
to speak today in support for the Wild Monongahela Act. This is an
historic piece of legislation that will help insure the future of West
Virginia's greatest natural treasure--our National Forest.
Let me begin my comments by commending Congressman Rahall and the
entire West Virginia congressional delegation for their commitment to
working and listening to the people of West Virginia. This bill truly
reflects the thoughts and concerns of residents of the Mountain State
who appreciate our national forests and the wild areas that are
included in those lands. Our Congressional team has developed a
proposal that protects our forest and meets the needs of the forest's
many users.
I especially appreciated the open process that Congressman Rahall
has had and the entire delegation's willingness to meet with me and
other concerned West Virginians and their desire to work with all of us
to develop a proposal that truly represents West Virginians and will
ensure the future of our state's forests for generations to come.
Recreation/Business:
As a member of the West Virginia business community whose business
is dependant on our state's wild and wonderful landscape, I am very
supportive of efforts to ensure the wild future of our forests. My wife
and I own and operate Elk River Inn, Restaurant & Touring Center, which
is open year round as a skiing, fly fishing, cycling and hiking resort.
We have been at the forefront of the outdoor industry since its infancy
in West Virginia for over 30 years. Our company currently employees
over 20 full and part time staff. I also for the last 15 years have sat
on the Pocahontas County Convention and Visitors Bureau Board of
Directors. Our remote mountain setting in Pocahontas County relies on
quality wild outdoors places. All of the counties which the new
wilderness areas are located in will benefit both socially and
economically from this bill and the high quality of the visitors that
they will attract. West Virginia's mountain region is ``the last best
place'' in the mid Atlantic. This of course is a marketing term which
hits close to the heart.
Wilderness designation for these areas included in the Wild
Monongahela Act will provide unparalleled primitive and traditional
outdoor recreation opportunities, such as hunting, fishing, hiking,
horseback riding, camping, backcountry skiing and snowshoeing and much
more. These areas and the activities not only keep us competitive in
regional and national markets but also provide a much-needed and
affordable outdoor experience for our local residents.
Environmental/future generations:
Protecting our rivers and our forests with wilderness designation
is an investment in West Virginia's future. The state's abundance of
God-given natural resources have been providing coal, natural gas, wood
products and chemical ingredients to the nation and world for almost
200 years. Our economic landscape has changed, and our natural
resources will not last forever. The northern mountains which fall into
and border of the Monongahela National forest are very important to our
future as a region. We have a real connection to our mountains and
forests and have a responsibility to leave these special places as a
clean and pristine environment to our children and our children's
children.
Pocahontas County is referred to as the ``Birthplace of Rivers''.
Much of the clean water for the Mid-Atlantic originates from our
county. This renewable resource cannot be taken for granted. I would
like to see in the future even more federal protection for our valuable
and vanishing clean water resources in the great State of West Virginia
which affects the whole Mid-Atlantic region's future and health.
Specific places included in the bill
Cranberry Expansion--connected ecologically and recreationally to
the existing wilderness with a network of hiking trails that feed into
it. It also would protect the scenic backdrop for the world class fly
fishing along the Cranberry River that borders the area.
The Big Draft Area--would protect wilderness in the iconic
Greenbrier River Valley, where none exists currently. Big Draft is home
to excellent trout and bass fishing as well as an excellent whitewater
run that would be our state's first whitewater trip in a designated
wilderness
The Spice Run Area--a place containing deep dark forest and
wonderful mystique. One of the wildest places in our wild and wonderful
state that has been a prime spot for hunting and native brook trout
angling.
Areas left out of the proposal--we'll have to see what the
situation is with this
While I wholeheartedly support the Wild Monongahela Act I am
concerned about a number of special areas that are not included in the
legislation. Specifically, I would like to see the delegation amend
this legislation to include Seneca Creek, Roaring Plains and East Fork
of the Greenbrier. Like the others special places included in the
legislation, these areas represent some of the last, truly wild places
in the east and they deserve protection. As I have mentioned I am
deeply concerned about our states water quality and Seneca Creek and
East Fork of the Greenbrier River.
Conclusion:
Chairman Grijalva and members of the subcommittee, thank you once
again for allowing me to voice my support for this historic
legislation. West Virginian's have a strong connection and desire for
protecting our one of a kind forests and this legislation goes a long
way towards helping us live up to this responsibility.
______
Mr. Grijalva. Thank you, Mr. Willis, and all our panelists,
thank you very much. As I indicated to the first panelist, any
testimony or additional material that you have will also be
included as part of the record. Thank you.
Mr. Mayor, appreciate your testimony. I think one of the
common misconceptions that we deal with in wilderness
designation is that this designation would somehow harm local
economies. In your testimony, you state that this particular
designation could be an asset to the community that you
represent.
Could you just talk about what that economic stimulus from
a wilderness designation would do for the community you
represent?
Mr. Manchester. It is another piece of the marketing puzzle
that is an asset for any area that is close by. In Lewisburg's
case we are, as I mentioned, about 12 miles away from the Big
Draft proposed wilderness area. We have the other end of the
spectrum pretty well covered. Anybody who has ever been to the
Greenbrier Resort in White Sulfur Springs knows that sort of
high end pampering of a resort guest is far removed from
wilderness.
Right now, we have no wilderness areas in Greenbrier
County, so if you look at the other end of the spectrum, being
able to market and to be able to offer amenities on the
wilderness end for those people who seek out that on a national
basis I think will really help our economy, our small shops,
our places.
There are about 100 businesses throughout the state, many
of which are in my community, who have signed on in support of
the additional wilderness areas simply because they see the
value of people coming into town, staying at the shops,
shopping there, and dropping some money and improving the local
economy.
Mr. Grijalva. Thank you. Reverend Sparks, mostly a comment.
I really don't have a question, just extend my appreciation for
your testimony. I think your testimony, relative spiritual
values in wilderness I believe is very profound, very
thoughtful. In the discussions about wilderness, and
conservation efforts on public lands and important lands across
this country, that testimony is becoming more and more
prominent.
I want to thank you for bringing it to the Committee today.
Appreciate it very much. Sir.
Rev. Sparks. Well, thank you. I would say there is also a
practical side to our testimony. Just as an example, as we seek
tourism coming to West Virginia, through our work in flood
recovery our preliminary research a couple of years ago said
the churches have already brought $15 million worth of work
projects to West Virginia.
That is not counting those church groups who go out and do
whitewater rafting or whatever afterwards. So we are really
talking about new spiritual journeying into the wilderness, and
we think so there will be a practical dimension from the faith
side of this as well.
Mr. Grijalva. Thank you. Mr. Price, one quick question. I
think that as the Reverend and the Mayor also have discussed,
some comments on what you believe the economic benefits will
be. Congratulations on the Blue/Green Initiative. I think it is
a very important precedent on this wilderness legislation.
Congratulate all the parties for their cooperation on this
issue.
First of all, how many members in the AFL-CIO in West
Virginia, and second, what do you see those economic benefits
being down the road? Sir.
Mr. Price. Approximately 60,000 under the West Virginia
AFL-CIO representing approximately 420 unions. We see this as a
possibility to open up many avenues of business coming in. They
like to locate into places where the areas are clean and have
beautiful places. Companies like to come into that. All these
tourism businesses. It will create businesses.
The union is always for any type of creating jobs for work,
whether they be union or nonunion. We are always for that. This
could even go into any type of the green-based type of economy,
which we hope to get into these. So there is many, many
possibilities there that this could create.
Mr. Grijalva. Thank you, sir. Mr. Bittner, I had a
question, but you answered it in your testimony. That had to do
with the pressing threats on the Eastern Brook Trout, its
habitats and what a wilderness designation would do to help to
remedy and protect that. Unless there is something additional
you would like to add to the comments you had in your
testimony?
Mr. Bittner. Well, I am glad that you picked that up from
the statement. The loose forest litter floor, when that hasn't
been compacted, it functions so much as a sponge to hold and
absorb that water that is just so critical to us.
Then, studies from the Forest Service have also shown that
when you have an intact canopy and you have a rain event, it
actually breaks up the size of the raindrops that hit the
ground, also helping to disburse and prevent flooding. So
anything that we can do to keep our streams cold and clean is
going to benefit the Brook Trout. That is about all I have to
contribute.
Mr. Grijalva. Thank you, sir. Mr. Willis, just same
economic question. What do you anticipate as a consequence of
these designations, the increase in the amount of business that
you receive in your establishment?
Mr. Willis. Our county, we are in Pocahontas, which is
about 63 percent state and Federal owned, so we have a large,
large chunk of the Monongahela National Forest in there,
numerous, probably four, five, six state parks. Cranberry
Glades, back country and current wilderness areas are in our
county.
Our population is about a little over 10,000 residents. The
annual income for Pocahontas County's residents is about
$12,000 a year. This economy for years and years was a timber-
based. There were some people tanning leather there. As we all
know, those industries have moved on, with the exception of the
timber industry.
I live right next door to a very large sawmill and a very
large land owner, a private operator. So to lay all that out--
we also have of course a large ski area, too, the largest in
the southeast in the south Snowshoe Resort.
We have become more of a service industry over the last 20
to 30 years, but tourism is not the only thing that is going to
keep us living there. We have to kind of coexist with the
timber industry and the other services that are going on there.
The National Radio Astronomy facility is also there in
Greenbank. So we have a real interesting dynamic there for the
county.
What has happened over the last 20 years is how Cranberry
has impacted my personal economy and my business, and I think
the economy of the county, is that people do come and use the
wilderness. Some of them are primitive campers. You never see
them. You might see their car parked along the road. The other
part of that group is staying locally in a hotel, eating out,
buying services.
Some of those people like the area enough to where there
are a lot of second homes there. We have a lot of retired
community. That is the biggest boom right now is second home
development. I hope I answered your question.
Mr. Grijalva. Thank you very much. Let me thank all of you
and turn to Chairman Rahall for any questions he might have.
Sir.
Mr. Rahall. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Before I ask my
questions, let me observe to this panel that history is in the
making today. I sat in this room as a young freshmen Member
over 30 years ago when we passed the legislation which
established the new River Gorge National River in 1978. In
1983, from this Committee, I advanced the Cranberry Wilderness
bill, along with the Lower Fork North and South.
And it was in this room that I proposed the designation
that Gauley River National Recreation Area and Bluestone
National Scenic River in 1988 and signed into law by then
President Reagan. It was here, also, that I moved to create the
National Coal Heritage Area in southern West Virginia, and to
put the Upper New River in wild and scenic study status.
Today, we are once again advancing the notion that we in
West Virginia while making solid contributions to our nation's
energy and security, we will draw the line when it comes to
preserving some of our most special places, that we recognize
that we have a duty to future generations to do this and this,
then, is the stuff of legacy.
To those of you who have come forward, know that after we
are all long gone, as you have referred to in your testimony,
Mr. Mayor, what we do here today will stand as testimony to our
beliefs, our culture and our society.
Gil, you have very well described Pocahontas County. My
wife and I have stayed with you and Mary in your place of
business. We have seen how you coexist with what is going on
around you, and you have very accurately described what
Pocahontas County is all about.
You have also described from the business perspective what
this means to economic development, as has the Mayor in answer
to Chairman Grijalva's questions, because as Chairman Grijalva
referred to, we often hear about that misperception from the
business community that we are going to cost jobs in developing
wilderness areas, but we know that to be untrue and that just
the opposite is what we are doing here today.
It is the economic value of wilderness that is important to
our people and important for producing jobs, Mike, as you have
so intimately been involved with over your years with the AFL-
CIO.
I do have one question for Mr. Bittner, and you have given
very excellent testimony and responded to the Chairman well.
Can you talk a bit about the importance of headwaters
protection that these wilderness designations would provide and
how that can benefit the communities that are downstream from
these headwaters?
Mr. Bittner. All right. The least nice way to put it is
what we call the delusion solution, OK? You have most of my
neighbors are involved in agricultural production. They run
cattle, they have poultry operations, they water their
livestock, they spread composted litter and what not on their
fields, which some of the nutrients in that eventually winds up
into the watersheds in their area.
As regulatory moves happen to deal with the Chesapeake Bay,
because I live in the Potomac drainage, move upstream from us
and try to restrict what they can do because of its effect all
the way down in the bay, having the sources of really cold,
really clean, absolutely pure water flowing in there provides a
buffer for what they can do on their operations so that they
have regulatory wiggle room.
We saw that just a few years back on the North Fork of the
South Branch where it became an impaired watershed, and the
groups of farmers got together, changed some of their
practices, instituted other management practices and got that
taken off of the impaired waters list, working together.
A stream like Seneca Creek or some of the others that are
either proposed or in the legislation provides that source of
water to provide essentially a diluting effect for downstream
producers.
Mr. Rahall. Thank you.
Mr. Willis. Sir, could I also comment on that? I live on
the headwaters of the Elk River, and I have about eight miles
of what is called Old Field Fork which is above my farm that I
live on. I am literally right on the river. Headwaters are so
important, and it takes a long time living in that area to
understand intimately what is going on with nature and how
things fit together and evolve up in those areas.
This part of West Virginia gets a lot of snow, and it gets
a lot of rain. We have four true seasons throughout the year
which make it spectacular of course. As an example, last year
when we had this terrible drought on the western side of the
state along the Ohio River, Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, up
and down the east coast, we continued to get rain in my valley.
I am at 3,000 feet, and I am right on the river, so the
ridges behind me go up to about 5,000 feet. So this whole area
from the southern part of the Cranberry all the way to Canaan,
a little east of us, a little west of us, Elkins is about the
dividing line on the western side, we are in this rain zone,
and when everyone else is in drought we are getting rain there.
So it is such a valuable resource because all these springs
up there continue to produce clean water. Last year it was up
into August. So it is just a resource that is sort of in some
ways being overlooked and in some ways it is not. Today, we are
not overlooking it. We are looking out for it and we hope are
going to protect it.
These headwater areas also have a critical part to do with
our flooding problem in West Virginia. The state and Federal
government has spent a lot of money in the last 30 years with
the 1985 flood, the 1993 flood, the 1996 flood. So more of
these areas that are protected and have less activity going on
in them, the more that water is held back, communities don't
suffer, people don't get relocated.
It is a chain reaction after a flood. I know, Congressman
Rahall, you were in the middle of the 1985 flood, and the two
other floods and it floods all over this country, but in our
region it is a very serious thing. I think that headwater
protection here today and down the road, as I mentioned in my
testimony, is critical to fish species, to communities
surviving, clean water, agriculture and the list goes on and
on.
Mr. Rahall. Beautiful. Beautiful. Thank you, Gil. Thank
you, Bob, Mike, Reverend Sparks. This is beautiful, too. Very
well put together, and I want more copies of it. Mayor, thank
you for being with us today. Thank each of you. Excellent
testimony. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Grijalva. Thank you. Mr. Bishop.
Mr. Bishop. Thank you. I will make this fairly brief. To
the five of you who have testified today, I want to thank you
for your willingness to come here and speak before this
particular Subcommittee in this room. It is very kind of you. I
appreciate the testimony. It was well-delivered, and the
results we will have from it.
I want to make two comments that I think I found as I was
listening to this presentation of this hearing on this
particular bill that is being introduced. Whenever you deal
with the concept of wilderness red flags are thrown up all over
the place. Coming up with a consensus on wilderness is a
difficult path, too.
I think Mr. Rahall in the introduction of the bill that is
before us has been able to deal with that consensus concept. It
is difficult, especially in the environment we have here, to
have bipartisan input, but this consensus bill has bipartisan
input. I think that is very important.
Not only does it do that, it meets the Federal forest
standards for the seven parcels that are being considered here
today and does not impinge on successful management practices
by the forest. So, indeed, there is something unique about the
legislation that is here today in the fact that it is a
consensus, it is a bipartisan consensus and it can move forward
in that manner very effectively, probably more effectively than
some other things we have here today.
Appreciate the testimony, also, on the byproducts that this
would be. I recognize that in river health as well as fishing
health is concerned, river pooling is extremely important,
especially you have a species that does any kind of spawning.
That pooling concept is much different to accomplish in new
growth forests as it is into old growth forests. Has a
different connotation to it.
Those are all important elements to be there. I was
specifically pleased to hear the concept that this would not be
an impediment to the industry of the area of West Virginia
because most of the industry with which you are dealing is done
on private lands. West Virginia should be complimented for
having a very healthy and positive ratio between private lands
and public lands.
If we in the west had that same kind of ratio, there would
be fewer problems that we would have concerned, and we would be
able to solve more of our own problems and actually open up the
goodness of individuals when you empower them to take their own
responsibility of their own issues.
I am waiting for that day when we have the same ratio that
you have, Mr. Rahall, from the State of Utah because it makes a
difference, and it solves a lot of these problems ahead of
time. So I appreciate your testimony and being here, and I
appreciate the opportunity and thank you. Thank you very much.
Mr. Rahall. Would the gentleman from Utah yield just one
final----
Mr. Bishop. Do I have to?
Mr. Rahall. Well, I am just going to offer an invitation
for the next time your caucus holds their retreat at the
Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs right next to Lewisburg
that after the passage of this proposal, perhaps more of your
colleagues on your side of the aisle will be able to get out
into the wilderness and experience what this legislation is
going to create.
Mr. Bishop. You notice, first of all, that when he is the
Chairman, you have to yield, but, yes, I would be happy to do
that if you can come out and see some private timber harvesting
in Utah, if it ever existed again.
Mr. Grijalva. That is the bipartisan spirit that I love.
Mr. Chairman, thank you for the legislation. Ranking Member
Bishop, thank you for your comments. Mr. Holtrop and the five
panelists before us today, thank you so much. With that, the
hearing is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 11:10 a.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]