There is another reason also to reserve these now roadless areas. The US Forest Service (USFS) will usually plan to leave these largely haphazard residual blocks of land alone. Issues of wildlife disturbance and fragmentation of habitat, and soil erosion and sedimentation are avoided.

Furthermore, today we do not honestly know how to manage the Eastern Forest -- no one does. Surely there is no reason to believe it is ready for another harvest -- or much of a thinning. We do not understand this forest very well, so much is unknown and much may be unknowable. We do confirm these areas will be invaluable, as the USFS wisely asserts, as reference areas for research, aquatic strongholds for trout and ecological anchors in a fragile landscape. We do not know much or understand what this forest was, is, and might be.

Some questions are: How do these individual areas function separately and together and in relation to other areas -- logged, recreation, wilderness, etc.? How is each different? Is one more justified than another to remain roadless; to what degree? Is a square mile, 640 acres large enough; is 1000 acres; by itself? How does shape effect it? How do they relate to their watersheds? The answers if now too difficult may be answered in the future. There may later be a lot more important questions raised, and others may be less relevant in the future -- if these areas are simply reserved for now. Areas of 1000 acres will be identified and considered.

This "roadless" classification unlike Wilderness Areas does not forever preclude roads, but sets a more stringent "systematic analysis process" to justify them. We will want to know about this process. The designation of these roadless areas is not even supposed to cause Forest Plan revisions.

There is 9% of the Monongahela in Wilderness. A little West Virginia Highlands Conservancy history here is illuminating. In the Rare II Evaluation (Roadless Area Review Evaluation) 20 years ago, 1980, of "roadless" areas over 5000 acres, over 225,000 acres were considered "roadless." (There has always been a problem with this definition, "roadless," and we will want to know about this, too.)

Only about 1/5 of this was put into Wilderness. Much of this remainder has now been roaded with varied justification. In 1960, 20 years before that the road density overall on the Monongahela was 0.4 miles of road per square mile. This road density had nearly doubled by 1980 and caused the RARE II study to evolve from a RARE I study. Such road penetration rate had to be stopped; it was true in 1980, and true today. It was stopped in 1980 by the Forest Plan itself, and again may be by this review in determining optimum access on the one hand and optimum remoteness (and other attributes of roadless areas.)

The Monongahela National Forest has completed their review of their "roadless" areas as directed by President Clinton, and is ready to ask citizens to comment on it. The West Virginia Highlands Conservancy responded to an early USFS informational meeting with advice to include surely a review of 1000 acre areas. Now the USFS has set up the meetings, and the report in its current form can be requested at 200 Sycamore Street, Elkins, WV 26241.

If you send comments to the Monongahela, you might send them to the WVHC as well at P.O. Box 306, Charleston, WV 25321 to the attention of "Forest Committee" for the Committee’s possible use. This is an important and much appreciated USFS review. Citizens will want to learn about it and environmentalists will want to support it.

The final meeting is to be held on June 24, a Public Hearing 9:00 AM at Seneca Rocks Discovery Center. You can speak and/or submit written comments.