THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, December 25, 1995 TAG: 9512250072
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Short : 44 lines
The U.S. Forest Service has turned down an appeal by environmentalists who say the management plan for the George Washington National Forest favors loggers too heavily.
The Southern Environmental Law Center in Charlottesville, representing a coalition of environmental groups such as the Sierra Club and the Wilderness Society, appealed the Forest Service's management plan more than two years ago.
The center received notice recently that U.S. Forest Service Chief Jack W. Thomas rejected the appeal.
Environmental groups said the forest management plan allows too much logging, too many new logging roads and not enough protected wilderness.
``The roads affect sedimentation, which affects streams, especially trout streams,'' said David Carr, a lawyer with the environmental law center. ``The forest should be managed for recreation.''
Peter Kirby, southeast regional director of the Wilderness Society, said the forest service recommended only 1.2 percent of the forest for wilderness designation even though a quarter of it is eligible.
Forestry officials defended the plan, saying it balances the many demands on the million-acre forest's resources.
``There was a large number of public meetings and a significant public review process'' to develop the plan, said David Olson, a spokesman for the George Washington and Jefferson national forests.
``One role of a national forest is to provide a mix of goods and services to the public,'' Olson said. ``Some people request more wilderness. Others request more timber. Our job is to balance those demands with the natural resources available.''
Carr said he will ask U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman to review Thomas' decision ``as a last resort before a possible lawsuit.''
KEYWORDS: APPEAL by CNB