Protecting our National Forest Legacy
Many of the largest, healthiest and wildest forests left in the East are found on federal lands managed by the Forest Service in our National Forests. For the past forty years, the Forest Service has managed these National Forests primarily to produce timber, oil and gas, and other commodities. Increasingly, however, the American people value our National Forests for the natural benefits they produce: clean air and water, wildlife and recreation. As a result, the public is demanding a more comprehensive and scientifically sound management approach for the National Forests. In the East, especially, people view National Forests as oases and sanctuaries in a rapidly developing world, and believe they should be protected by the Forest Service and by Congress for these natural values. In the wild heart of West Virginia, for example, the Monongahela National Forest contains some of the most beautifully rugged and remote wildlands in the region. The Wilderness Society is working with the West Virginia Wilderness Coalition to achieve congressional Wilderness designation for 15 special places on this popular National Forest.
Conserving Critical Private Forestlands
Eighty-four percent of Eastern Forests are privately owned and many of these private forestlands are increasingly at risk of being paved over by sprawling development or degraded by unsustainable forestry practices. In fact, from 1992 to 2020, it’s estimated that 12 million acres of our Eastern Forests – and area the size of New Hampshire and Vermont combined -- will be swallowed up by housing developments, shopping malls, and highways. If we are to protect the many natural benefits that forests in the East provide people and communities, then we must work to conserve important forests on private lands. To that end, The Wilderness Society is working with partners across the region to identify and protect critical and threatened forest wildlands, such as the spectacular peaks, forests, lakes, and rivers of northern Maine. We will work to build strong public and political support to secure federal, state and private funds to conserve these and other forest wildlands in the East through public acquisition, purchase of development rights and other means. Protecting these lands is essential to ensure clean air and water, habitat for diverse species of wildlife and future opportunities to enjoy and experience wilderness in this densely population region.
The Wilderness Society is also at the forefront of efforts to find ways in which good forest management, including wildland conservation, can help local communities achieve their economic goals. Our Maine WoodNet program, for example, helps small, locally owned wood products manufacturers collaborate and become more competitive in an increasingly global marketplace. We also provide technical assistance to community development, conservation and other groups developing plans for conservation-based development in their communities.
Stemming the Onslaught of Off-Road Vehicles
Off-road vehicles, when driven off suitable trails and roads, can chew up soils and harm streams, causing erosion and water pollution and damaging plant and animal habitat. Likewise, people who visit our National Forests to experience quiet natural settings, solitude and wilderness have fewer and fewer opportunities to do so as dirt bikes, snowmobiles, and other off-road vehicles expand further into the backcountry, cause conflicts with other users, and diminish the overall visitor experience. In the East in particular, conservationists, private property owners, and many hunters and anglers are realizing that all-terrain vehicles are damaging forestlands and destroying quiet recreation experiences on public and private lands alike, especially as the spider web of illegal trails rapidly expands through national forests and across adjacent private property.
