Support Bicycle Access In George Washington National Forest

The George Washington National Forest needs to hear from bicyclists! We need you to write a letter by Jan 27th and mail or email it to:

comments-southern-georgewashington-jefferson@fs.fed.us

Please write “Comment on George Washington Plan Revision” in the subject line of your email.

Mail your paper letters to:

George Washington Plan Revision
George Washington & Jefferson National Forests
5162 Valleypointe Parkway
Roanoke, VA 24019

Why is this important?

Bicyclists currently have access to over 1,000 miles of trails and dirt roads in the George Washington National Forest. The managers of these trails are revamping the management plan. This happened recently in our neighboring state of WV. They had under 50 letters from bicyclists requesting continued and improved access in WV’s Monongahlia National Forest and over 4,000 from people who wanted to see land protection designations that are not compatible with continued bicycle access on trails. As a result of this lack of action by bicyclists, the current Omnibus Act calls for the loss of 70 miles of bicycle trails in our West Virginia National Forest.

How You Can Help

At the minimum modify the below suggestion. All we need to do is illustrate that bicyclists use the GW often and we would like better trail opportunities in the GW

AN EXAMPLE – I attend the ____(A)______ event annually and it is a very good time. I would like to have more trails that are easy to ride in the GW. I really enjoy coming to the Shenandoah Valley to ride my bicycle in the George Washington National Forest. _____(B)____ is my favorite trail. I believe that all of the current bicycle access is compatible with resource and watershed protection in my National Forest.

Choose a few for each and modify accordingly

A-
Shenandoah Mountain Bike Festival
MORE Fall Camping Trip
IMBA Virginia Festival
Shenandoah Mountain 100
Fall Foliage Bike Festival in Staunton

B-
Shenandoah Mountain Trail (Southern Traverse)
Whetstone Ridge Trail
Elliotts Knob, Chimney Hollow and Bridge Hollow (Braley Pond)
all the trails in the Shenandoah Mountain 100
all the trails around the Big Schloss
Massanutten Mountain Trail – Elizabeth Furnace

The next meeting…
TOPIC: FOREST PLAN COMPONENTS (Fitting the workshops and other information together toward a Draft Plan)
Thursday, January 29
Time: 6:30-9:00 p.m.
Rockbridge Co. High School
143 Greenhouse Rd.
Lexington, VA 24450

http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/gwj/forestplan/revision/index.shtml

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