National Forest admirers seek to keep it as is

VERONA — The nearly 1 million acres of the George Washington National Forest in Virginia are home to diverse wildlife and recreational areas.
But maintaining the forest’s natural beauty takes responsibility.
The U.S. Forest Service visited Augusta County on Friday night to get input on a future forest plan for the Washington National Forest, which includes the Sherando Lake area and western portion of Augusta County.
Concerns Friday night centered around maintaining wilderness areas, wildlife habitat and timber harvest.
Jeanne Pitsenberger, a member of the Shenandoah Valley Soaring Club, flies sail planes over the Washington National Forest with her fellow club members.
She wants the forest to stay as it is, and wants others to appreciate it as she does.
“The public has to take ownership for maintaining the beauty that surrounds us,” Pitsenberger said.
Sarah Francisco, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center in Charlottesville, said her organization has many concerns about the future of the Washington National Forest.
“We are not opposed to logging, but we don’t want the forest service logging in the wrong place,” said Francisco. She also hopes the habitat for the forest’s many types of rare wildlife will be maintained.
That wildlife includes migratory songbirds that spend summers in the forest and winters in South America and the Indiana bats that hibernate in forest caves and roost on forest trees.
And Francisco also wants roadless areas of the forest to remain pristine.
“We are looking for a balance,” she said.
The forest plan has many phases to go through.
The updated plan for the Washington National Forest will not be finalized until late 2009, said Ken Landgraf, planning staff officer for both the Washington and Jefferson National Forests.