Thursday, November 27, 2008
Hunters losing battle for the national forests
Bill Cochran
Recent columns
The Ruffed Grouse Society calls it “emotions gone wild.”
“Enough is enough,” says a National Wild Turkey Federation biologist.
The subject being addressed is the George Washington National Forest’s Land and Resource Management Plan. A revision of the plan, now under way, isn’t kind to hunters or to most of the wildlife species they love to pursue. Yet, many hunters aren’t even aware that a fight for their future is under way.
The GW, which is headquartered in Roanoke, is proposing that a hefty portion of new federally designated wilderness and roadless areas be established.
Add it all up and the forest could have as much as 42 percent of its 1.06 million acres set aside in management prescriptions where there are no opportunities to manipulate the woodlands in an effort to enhance wildlife habitat.
The lack of young growth in the GW already is hard on grouse and woodcock, and it also adversely impacts turkeys, deer and a bunch of songbird species.
What you have is an effort to diminish traditional sports like hunting and to increase what might be called a passive use of our natural resources. Some see it as a war of science vs. emotion.
On the science side are those who believe that diversity of habitat is important, particularly for declining species that thrive on early growth. On the emotion side are those who believe that the right thing to do for the forests is nothing, just let everything go toward old growth.
“Those who would base forest management on emotion are well-funded and often grab the headlines,” said Michael Zagata, CEO of the Ruffed Grouse Society. “However, the science upon which good wildlife management must be based shows that we are losing the species -- both hunted and non-hunted -- that depend upon young forest for their survival. Young forest result when portions of old forest are replaced, either by nature with fire and blow-downs or man via forest harvesting.”
Many people believe that wild turkeys do best in mature forests, but that’s not entirely the case, according to the National Wild Turkey Federation, which has joined the GW debate.
“Yes, there is a need for old growth, but there is just as much need for early successional habitat and all the age classes in between,” said Carey Dowd Burton, Jr., a senior wildlife biologist for the federation. “With more forest consumed with wilderness, less active management will occur and wildlife will suffer.”
“Loss of early succession habitat is believed to be the primary cause of the long-term decline in grouse populations in Virginia and the southern Appalachians,” said Gary Norman, Department of Game and Inland Fisheries biologist. It would take significant habitat enhancement to change the trend that has seen grouse hunters and grouse harvests decline 60 percent in the past 25 years, he said.
For the most part, protectionists have been eating the lunch of hunters in this debate through lobbing and lawsuits. But some hunters have turned out for recent public meetings held by GW officials.
Cliff Rexrode, a grouse hunter and consulting forester from Waynesboro, attended one and pointed out that wilderness gets very little use from forest visitors. One survey shows that it accounts for just 2.7 percent of the GW’s total visitors.
“That is why we need more,” a wilderness advocate challenged Rexrode.
Rexrode came away shaking his head, saying: “They don’t care if there is no use. They say use is not important; just having wilderness areas is the important thing. They don’t have to be used by people.”
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION on the GW plan can be found on fs.fed.us/r8/gwj/forestplan/revision/index.shtml.
UPCOMING public meetings on the plan:
>Dec. 3, 6:30-9 p.m., Rockbridge High School, Lexington, wildlife habitat, timber harvest, prescribed fire will be discussed.
>Jan. 29, 6:30-9 p.m., Rockbridge County High School, Lexington, the topic will be fitting information into the plan.
