EASTERN DIVIDE RANGER DISTRICT
(formerly New River Valley and New Castle Ranger Districts)

Cynthia Schiffer
District Ranger, 110 Southpark Drive
Blacksburg, VA 24060
ph. (540) 552-4641
http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/gwj/easterndivide/

CURRENT AND UPCOMING

Wolf Creek Trail System - Hiking, biking, and horse trail system proposed on Round Mountain and surrounding areas


Potts Valley Rail Trail – Four miles of hiking and biking trails proposed on former railbed of Potts Valley Branch of the Norfolk and Western Railway in Monroe Co., W.Va. Three-quarters of the Potts Valley rail trail would be wheelchair and stroller accessible.


White Rocks Timber Project – Logging (thinning) project and fern control project in the White Rocks Campground.


Johns Creek Timber Sale – Approx. 119 ac. of clearcutting with reserves in the Johns Creek Mountain area east of the Appalachian Trail. Logging is proposed in area affected by gypsy moths.


Invasive Species Control Project – Use of herbicides and other methods to control invasive species in 1448 acres of openings, 315 acres of adjacent areas, and along 380 miles of road right-of-ways. Virginia Forest Watch suggests minimizing ground disturbance and other preventive measures to avoid new infestations.

RECENT

Interior timber sale – 187 acres of logging in Black Bear habitat due to drought and gypsy moth defoliation.


Larkin timber sale - Proposed 132 acre timber sale and prescribed burning project with 2.55 miles of road construction, road reconstruction, and bulldozer constructed fire-lines. The project is located west of the Johns Creek Mountain Virginia Mountain Treasure area and east of Mountain Lake wilderness. The general area is described by a visitor to the area as a "very deep, lush forest" on a north-facing slope. Several of the units are adjacent to, close to, or perhaps overlapping with prescription area 6.C (old growth) on top of Johns Creek Mountain.


Kelly Hollow road relocation – closure of proposed Rt. 5017 in the Price Mountain Roadless Area and construction of another shorter road to an inholding, reducing overall road mileage in the roadless area and providing access to the inholder.


Gypsy Moth Suppression and “Slow the Spread” – treatment in Bland, Carroll, Grayson, Wythe, Giles, Montgomery and Monroe Counties.


Pace Grazing Allotment – livestock grazing in the Hanging Rock Valley area of Craig County.


Olean vegetation management project – Located in Giles County, near Goldbond. “Vegetation management [other than forest products] to best maintain habitat in an area significantly impacted by recent gypsy moth infestation”


Round Mountain timber sale - Round Mountain is part of a unique mountain range that surrounds Virginia's Burkes Garden. The proposed 113 acre timber sale located in Wolf Creek watershed, a "Priority Watershed" on the Jefferson National Forest, thanks to the outstanding aquatic biodiversity in the watershed. The north side of Round Mountain contains some sizeable old growth tracts, some adjacent to several of the proposed cutting units.


Kelly Flats timber sale - 96 acres of "open woodland" "restoration" and 91 acres of shelterwood logging and thinning. The project will also involve 122 acres of herbicide application and will involve moving the boundaries and reducing the size of "Aquatic Habitat Areas" and "Backcountry Remote Areas" where few activities such as logging are allowed.


Rocky Mountain timber sale - In September 2003, Undersecretary of Agriculture Mark Rey wrote: "Today, nobody in the Forest Service is making an 'economic argument for increased road-building.'" (Washington Post). But the recent Rocky Mountain timber sale is one example of numerous sales in which the Forest Service is not being true to its word. The Rocky Mountain timber sale calls for 1.3 miles of new permanent road construction and 123 acres of logging. The project is located across from the Glen Alton tract in the Big Stony Creek valley, "a popular recreation area, given its proximity to Blacksburg. (FS scoping notice)." The watershed is also home to a colorful species of darter found few other places on earth. And the proposed logging includes cutting of forests in or adjacent to a very rocky, old growth forest tract on the ridgeline of Rocky Mountain.


Upper Craig Creek timber sale - 114 acres of logging, 51 acres of herbicide spraying, and new roads and bulldozed firelines, and road reconstruction. The project is located on the south slope of Sinking Creek Mountain, and area with numerous seeps, bogs, sag ponds, springs produced by ancient landslides that occurred in this area. An endangered mussel occurs in the Craig Creek watershed, where the project is planned. Virginia Forest Watch appealed this project in July 2004. UPDATE: May 26, 2006: Virginia Forest Watch monitoring of Upper Craig logging in Montgomery County reveals logging under wet and muddy conditions.


Brush Mtn and Round Mtn. prescribed burns - Proposed 1515 acres of prescribed burning in the Brush Mtn. Roadless Area and proposed 1,100 acres of prescribed burning on the east side of Round Mtn. (the mountain located between Garden Mtn. and Interstate-77). Sensitive plants and old growth could be potentially impacted by the project. The FS is considering using a small bulldozer to construct some of the fire lines. Although the project would impact a roadless area, the Forest Service categorically excluded the project from detailed analysis.


Porterfield - 70 acres of even-aged logging and 279 acres of other precommercial thinning, non-commercial thinning, and prescribed burning. According to the FS, a forest fire that occurred over 70 yrs. ago on this site favored oaks over maple and tuliptrees, demonstrating that mother nature is capable of producing healthy oak forests on her own. The project is located immediately adjacent to proposed Mtn. Lake Wilderness Area addition B and some of the thinning may be inside or near the roadless area boundary. Forest Service decision was issued January 2003.


Little Mtn timber sale - The Little Mtn. project is located in a valley that is known for endangered James spinymussel and incredible scenic beauty. In fact, some area citizens have proposed that the West Virginia section be designated a National Scenic Area. This timber sale is a combination and reconfiguration of the Mottesheard, Trout Branch, Fishy Road, and Binocular Patch logging projects from the late '90s. The original Mottesheard project was controversial because it proposed logging in a roadless area. The original Trout Branch project was appealed by area resident Richard Ettelson and reversed by the Regional Forester. As a result, the FS dropped all of the roadless area units from the Mottesheard proposal and combined the project with others (Fishy Road and Binocular Patch) in 2001. The new project is a 178 acre logging project involving 1.15 mi. of new permanent roads. The sale straddles two states (Virginia and West Virginia). Approx. 65% of the trees would be logged for pulpwood that could easily be replaced with recycled materials. The Forest Service reversed this timber sale in 2003. The Forest Service reissued and approved the timber sale over the objections of a concerned nearby citizen and Virginia Forest Watch in 2004.


Potts Mtn Jeep Trail watershed restoration - previously, the FS announced that it planned to "correct [a] drainage problem from Potts Pond due to OHV [off-highway vehicle] traffic" at Potts Mtn. Pond. The Pond is an important natural area near Barbours Cr. Wilderness Area that is highly vulnerable to OHV impacts. The project is apparently complete. An unsightly "Stonehenge"-like arrangement of large boulders has been placed along an OHV road near the pond. It remains to be seen whether this costly work will be effective or whether additional restrictions would be considered if future incursions take place.


Fenwick and Hostetter Prescribed Burns - Two separate projects calling for a combined total of 1,400 acres of prescribed burning.

Pond below Big Walker Mtn