From Shenandoahs to seashore, there's country in Virginia to please every outdoor preference. Within it are splendid Wilderness resources, not so very far from the Nation's Capitol. Some of that Wilderness is safely tucked away in the National Wilderness Preservation System; some still needs to be defended until it is protected.

Virginia Wilderness Bill Introduced in Congress
Senator John Warner (R-VA) and Congressman Rick Boucher (D-VA) have introduced a new version of the Virginia Ridge and Valley Act in Congress. The newly introduced measure would protect nearly 43,000 acres of the Jefferson National Forest in southwestern Virginia as wilderness and nearly 12,000 acres as scenic areas.
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National Forest Management on the Jefferson National Forest
Virginia has two National Forests, the George Washington in the mountains of northeastern Virginia and into West Virginia, and the Jefferson National Forest that spreads across mountainous southwest Virginia, with smaller pieces of it in West Virginia and Kentucky. The conservation focus today is on the Jefferson, for which the U.S Forest Service is writing a new management plan.
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Wilderness and Forest Planning on the Jefferson
The Jefferson National Forest's 715,000 acres include 57,000 acres in 11 Wilderness Areas. The Wilderness Society and other Virginia conservationists have identified much more Wilderness that warrants protection. An important first step toward that goal is to ensure that the U.S. Forest Service recommends them for Wilderness designation, and thus for careful management, in its new Forest Plan.
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High Stakes at High Knob
From the Jefferson National Forest's High Knob on a clear day, you can look into five states of the Southern Appalachians. It sounds like the last place anyone would propose a damaging timber sale. But the Forest Service has.
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Ernie Dickerman: Unequaled Wilderness Warrior
Ernie Dickerman was a tireless crusader for wilderness and spent much of his life defending wild places in the southeast, right up to his death in 2000.
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Our Partners in Virginia
The Wilderness Society works with numerous conservation organizations in Virginia, including: Virginia Forest Watch, Clinch Coalition, and Virginia Wilderness Committee.
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Things to Cheer About:
The Priest and Three Ridges Wilderness Areas
In 2000, the Congress designated two new wilderness areas in Virginia, The Priest and Three Ridges, on the George Washington National Forest. And the Wilderness Society was instrumental in that achievement.
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