WV "Mon Plan" Lands on U.S. Senate Plate
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Charleston, WV – About 37,000 acres of the Monongahela National Forest could soon be designated as wilderness - and it would be the first new wilderness area in the state in 25 years. The "Wild Mon" plan is headed for the U.S. Senate floor as part of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009.
Mike Matz, executive director of the Campaign for America's Wilderness, says the plan has been a bipartisan collaboration that has benefited from a West Virginia champion in Congress.
"People locally there have been very pleased with Chairman Rahall and the effort he's expended in making sure that got included in the package."
Critics of the "Mon" plan are concerned about such forest resources as timber and minerals becoming off-limits. The Act is made up of more than 160 individual bills, and would designate a total of about two million acres of new wilderness nationwide, according to Matz.
"From the East Coast, West Virginia, all the way to the West Coast, California. There's a little bit in here for everybody, and everybody in-between."
The bills were held up last session by opponents who cited concerns about taking public land out of potential production for timber, or oil and gas development. Some of the individual wilderness proposals contained in the Omnibus Act have been in the works for almost ten years.
get more stories like this via email
United Nations experts are raising concerns about chemical giants DuPont and Chemours, saying they've violated human rights in North Carolina…
Social Issues
The long-delayed Farm Bill could benefit Virginia farmers by renewing funding for climate-smart investments, but it's been held up for months in …
Environment
Conservation groups say the Hawaiian Islands are on the leading edge of the fight to preserve endangered birds, since climate change and habitat loss …
Environment
April has been "Invasive Plant Pest and Disease Awareness Month," but the pests don't know that. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says it's the …
Health and Wellness
The 2024 Arizona Alzheimer's Consortium Public Conference kicks off Saturday, where industry experts and researchers will share the latest scientific …
Environment
Environmental groups say more should be done to protect people's health from what they call toxic, radioactive sludge. A court granted a temporary …