JAMES RIVER RANGER DISTRICT
District Ranger
810-A Madison Avenue
Covington, VA 24426
ph.(540)962-2214
http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/gwj/jamesriver/

updated August 12, 2009

CURRENT AND UPCOMING

Central Alleghany Timber Project - (formerly the Big Run Timber Sale - 200 ac. and McCallister Field Salvage Timber Sale -250 ac.)– A major portion of this timber sale is proposed in or near* the Panther Knob mountain treasure area. Big Run Hollow, a prominent feature in the area, is a rich cove known for its large trees, situated beneath Panther Ridge.

* Based on written description in the Forest Service’s quarterly schedule of projects. Maps of the area are not yet available.

What you can do: Call or write the district ranger and ask him to protect the area from logging and roadbuilding. Use the information above or, if you are familiar with the area, add a personal note. Contact information for Ranger District: District Ranger, 810-A Madison Avenue Covington, VA 24426 ph.(540) 962-2214


Humpback Salvage Timber Sale – 150 acres of logging is described by the Forest Service as “gypsy moth” “salvage.” Projected located two miles west of Covington near Humpback Bridge and Rt. 600.


McCallister Field Salvage Timber Sale - 250 acres of logging is described by the Forest Service as “gypsy moth” “salvage.” Projected located 16 miles west of Covington.

RECENT

Jackson Grouse #2 timber sale – Approved by the FS in 2009. This project includes 223 ac. of even aged logging and 3.5 mi of road construction. VAFW formally objected to this project in a timber sale appeal. As a result of this appeal, the Forest Service dropped an old growth stand (unit 17) and a section of road leading to the stand. This project includes a large amount of roadbuilding (the initial proposal included 7 miles of roads, but this was scaled back to 3.5 miles). The project is located just west of the City of Covington, near the Jackson River, Potts Creek and other tributaries.

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Toms Branch Timber Sale - a 248 acre timber sale on the George Washington National Forest just north of the Barbours Creek Wilderness (a wilderness area on the contiguous Jefferson National Forest). Much of the Toms Branch timber sale is located in the Barbours Creek RARE II area, an area that was first identified as a nearly 13,000 acre roadless area under the Forest Service's RARE II roadless area evaluation in the late 1970s. Over a decade ago, citizen-activist Steve Krichbaum sent a letter to the FS asking that the area be examined for inclusion in the roadless inventory in the George Washington National Forest Plan Revision. Subsequent internal emails within the Forest Service even admitted that an examination of the area was warranted. But there are no records that show that the area was ever examined. (Response to Steve Krichbaum's October 28, 2004 Freedom of Information Act request). In the course of the NEPA analysis for this Toms Branch, the public again alerted the FS to the need to include the area in the roadless inventory before the project proceeded. Yet, once again, in this case, the FS simply chose to do nothing and ignore the public. This is yet one more example of how the Forest Service fails to protect many areas that are, in fact, roadless.

Forest scene in Toms Branch Timber Sale site

photo: Sherman Bamford

The project calls for the construction of a dozen sizeable helicopter landings that will have serious impacts on soils. Already, in the 1960s and 1970s, hundreds of acres of logging occurred on the periphery of the area, when Westvaco had a long-term contract to log the area. Non-commercial restoration of the damaged lands in this area should have been a priority, not additional logging in the interior of the area, as was approved. The project will impact the viewshed visible from a large outcrop located just beyond the end of the Lipes Branch Trail. The streamside habitat in the Toms Branch project area is part of a conservation zone for endangered or threatened mussels or fish.

In the early summer of 2005, the Toms Branch project was approved over the objections of Virginia Forest Watch and other groups. The Forest Service put the sale up for bid in 2006, but on the first round did not receive a single bid at the $150,342 minimum acceptable bid level. The Environmental Assessment for the project stated that the total estimated revenue for the sale would be $489,160, 3.3 times this amount.

The Forest Service has had a difficult time selling the timber sale, due to the high cost of petroleum used to fuel helicopters, and perhaps other factors.

Update: Although the timber sale was initially approved in 2005, the agency has not been able to find buyers willing to pay enough for the timber in two attempts. In response, the agency has lowered the minimum bid asked on the timber job to levels that are well below that anticipated in the 2005 study of the sale. It appears the sale is well below cost. The FS attempted to offer the sale for bid a third time late last year, but Virginia Forest Watch learned of this. We alerted the Southern Environmental Law Center regarding the third advertisement of the timber sale. As a result of our efforts and SELC's efforts, the bidding on the sale was dropped. However, we believe the FS could still threaten the area again with this timber sale in the future.

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Wilson Mountain Timber Sale – Approved 2006 - Additional information plus photos - 3.8 miles of roadbuilding and bulldozer/tractor firelines, 177 acres of logging, and 42 acres of prescribed burning above Iron Gate, Virginia. The project is located on a high ridge above the water gap of the James and Jackson Rivers. Rich cove forests up to 135 yrs. older could be affected by the project. [see map] The timber sale in a large area on the backside (away from the River) of the Rainbow Gap area near Iron Gate. The project is close to the confluence of the Cowpasture River with the James/Jackson and is within the watershed of both river systems.


Alleghany Highlands Trail System - a lengthy loop trail system proposed throughout portions of the James River and Warm Spring Ranger Districts between I-64 and the area north of Douthat State Park. Conservation groups are generally in favor of creating additional trails for low-impact recreation but are concerned about some aspects of this project, particularly provisions for bulldozing, maintenance work using all-terrain vehicles, and other activities that may possibly impact the roadless and semiprimitive character of the Dolly Ann Roadless Area.


Fore Mtn. Prescribed Burn - 1000 acres of prescribed burning in the Fore Mtn. in or around the area east of Dolly Anne roadless area. The FS began taking initial comments on this project in August 2005.

Forest scene in Jerrys Run project area

Jerrys Run Timber Sale - 169 acres of logging, 540 ac and 1.8 mi. of road construction near I-64 near the West Virginia line. The project area contains rich forests containing northern red oak, sugar maple, tuliptree, hickories, and basswoods, and other drier areas containing large white oaks, red maples, and chestnut oaks. Several of the proposed cutting units are 100+, 120+, 130+, and 140+ years old according to own Forest Service figures. Before logging, cutting units "units" #2, 14, 16, 17, and 18 contained some patches that could have met the Forest Service's operational criteria for old growth, according to independent surveyors who visited the area on behalf of the Southern Appalachian Biodiversity Project. These areas were not adequately protected. The project could also impact a trail segment identified as one of the best potential sites for a future section of the Allegheny Trail, a long-distance trail that will eventually run from Peters Mtn Wilderness Area in the Jefferson National Forest, through Virginia and West Virginia, to the Pennsylvania line. The Virginia section is uncompleted. This project was appealed by Virginia Forest Watch and other groups in the spring of 2004, but has gone through final approval by the Forest Service.


Brattons Run Salvage Sale - This sale was approved under the fast-track categorical exclusion under new regulations approved by the Bush administration. Projects put forth under such a categorical exclusion are excluded from detailed public input and analysis unless significant controversy emerges. The Brattons Run salvage sale is an 81 acre "salvage" project using ground-based skidders in the Brattons Run area near Goshen, Va. Skidders can cause serious damage to soils, watersheds, and trees.


Johnson Mtn. Timber Sale - 98 acre of logging and 1 mile of roadbuilding were approved in sensitive watersheds under this project. The project is of great concern to adjacent landowners, the Town Council of Clifton Forge, and the Board of Supervisors of Alleghany Co.