Shared love of Shenandoah Mountain unites community

SELC has long supported collaborative processes involving a wide range of stakeholders to develop forest management plans. Recently, the public television series This American Land featured the Shenandoah Mountain area, which lies in the heart of the George Washington National Forest, and local community members involved in developing a proposal for the area’s long-term protection. With support from key stakeholders, the most recent forest plan recommends expanding designated scenic and wilderness areas in this special area of the forest, which would help protect these unique landscapes, as well as the clean water and air they provide, from fracking and other extraction.

The episode features SELC’s Sarah Francisco, an expert on national forest policy and a Shenandoah Valley native who was recently named Director of SELC’s Virginia office. She represented SELC in the award-winning stakeholder collaborative group involved in making recommendations for the George Washington National Forest management plan.

The collaborative group continues to work together to build a shared vision for a thriving forest for generations to come.