|
Cascades (conservation Area)
Cascades (conservation area) is an area in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests of western Virginia, United States, that has been recognized by the Wilderness Society as a special place worthy of protection from logging and road construction The area is named after a 60-foot waterfall on Little Stony Creek which flows out of the area into the New River. With easily accessible trails, the area has become a popular destination. The area is part of the ''Mountain Lake Wilderness Cluster''. Location and access The Cascades Conservation Area is located in the Appalachian Mountains in Giles County near Pembroke, Va. The area is bounded on the north by Pacers Gap Road (SR 714), on the west by Butt Mountain and on the south and east by Doe Mountain. The trailhead for the hike to the Cascades waterfall is about 4 miles from Pembroke on a well maintained road. The Forest Service collects a fee for parking at the trailhead. On weekends, there may be a wait required b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Washington And Jefferson National Forests
The George Washington and Jefferson National Forests is an administrative entity combining two U.S. National Forests into one of the largest areas of public land in the Eastern United States. The forests cover of land in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky. Approximately of the forest are remote and undeveloped and have been designated as wilderness areas, which prohibits future development. History George Washington National Forest was established on May 16, 1918, as the Shenandoah National Forest. The forest was renamed after the first President on June 28, 1932. Natural Bridge National Forest was added on July 22, 1933. Jefferson National Forest was formed on April 21, 1936, by combining portions of the Unaka and George Washington National Forests with other land. In 1995, the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests were administratively combined. The border between the two forests roughly follows the James River. The combine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Wild And Scenic Rivers System
The National Wild and Scenic Rivers System was created by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 (Public Law 90-542), enacted by the U.S. Congress to preserve certain rivers with outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values in a free-flowing condition for the enjoyment of present and future generations. The Act is notable for safeguarding the special character of these rivers, while also recognizing the potential for their appropriate use and development. It encourages river management that crosses political boundaries and promotes public participation in developing goals for river protection. The Act, signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson in the height of the United States environmental era, states:"It is hereby declared to be the policy of the United States that certain selected rivers of the Nation which, with their immediate environments, possess outstandingly remarkable scenic, recreational, geologic, fish and wildlife, historic, cultural or other similar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mottesheard
Mottesheard is an area in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests of western Virginia that has been recognized by the Wilderness Society as a special place worthy of protection from logging and road construction. It is in a remote location with rocky outcrops, old growth forests and views of the surrounding hills.Virginia's Mountain Treasures, report issued by The Wilderness Society, May, 1999 The area is part of the ''Mountain Lake Wilderness Cluster''. Location and access Mottesheard is located in the Appalachian Mountains of Southwestern Virginia about 5 miles west of Waiteville, West Virginia. Waiteville Rd (WVa 17) is on the northwest of the area, Limestone Rd.(WVa 15) and Old Waiteville Rd (Va 636) is to the southwest, Mudlick Rd. to the southeast, and Crowder Rd. (WVa 20) to the northeast. There are gated forest roads and abandoned jeep trails passing through the area. Access is possible from Wilson Creek Road that intersects Limestone Road southeast of Wai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roadless Area Conservation
Roadless area conservation is a conservation policy limiting road construction and the resulting environmental impact on designated areas of public land. In the United States, roadless area conservation has centered on U.S. Forest Service areas known as inventoried roadless areas. The most significant effort to support the conservation of these efforts was the Forest Service 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule (Roadless Rule). Concept Access roads provide convenient access for industry as well as for a variety of recreational activities, such as sightseeing, fishing, hunting, and off-roading. However, these activities can cause erosion, pollution, species loss, and loss of aesthetic appeal. In addition, the building of roads can lead to further development of "splinter roads" that take off from them, and the encroachment of human settlement and development in sensitive areas. In the United States, about 30%, of National Forest lands in 38 states and Puerto Rico are roadless a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inventoried Roadless Area
Inventoried Roadless Areas are a group of United States Forest Service lands that have been identified by government reviews as lands without existing roads that could be suitable for roadless area conservation as wilderness or other non-standard protections. The Inventoried Roadless areas include approximately of land in 40 states and Puerto Rico. Most of these lands are in the western portion of the lower 48 states and Alaska.Maps of inventoried roadless areasUS Forest Service Maps Idaho alone contains over of inventoried roadless areas. The inventoried roadless areas range from large areas with wilderness characteristics to small tracts of land that are immediately adjacent to wilderness areas, parks and other protected lands. Roadless Area Review and Evaluations (RARE) The first review of Forest Service roadless lands was started in 1967 after the creation of the Wilderness Act by Congress in 1964. This effort was called the “Roadless Area Review and Evaluation” or “ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sedimentary Rock
Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles to settle in place. The particles that form a sedimentary rock are called sediment, and may be composed of geological detritus (minerals) or biological detritus (organic matter). The geological detritus originated from weathering and erosion of existing rocks, or from the solidification of molten lava blobs erupted by volcanoes. The geological detritus is transported to the place of deposition by water, wind, ice or mass movement, which are called agents of denudation. Biological detritus was formed by bodies and parts (mainly shells) of dead aquatic organisms, as well as their fecal mass, suspended in water and slowly piling up on the floor of water bodies (marine snow). Sedimentation may also occur as dissolved minerals precipitate from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians
The Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, also called the Ridge and Valley Province or the Valley and Ridge Appalachians, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division and are also a belt within the Appalachian Mountains extending from southeastern New York in the north through northwestern New Jersey, westward into Pennsylvania through the Lehigh Valley, and southward into Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama. They form a broad arc between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Appalachian Plateau physiographic province (the Allegheny and Cumberland plateaus). They are characterized by long, even ridges, with long, continuous valleys in between. The river valleys were areas of indigenous settlements for thousands of years. In the historic period, the Cherokee people had towns along many of the rivers in western South Carolina and North Carolina, as well as on the western side of the Appalachian Mountains in present-day Tenness ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Old Growth Forest
An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological features, and might be classified as a climax community. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations defines primary forests as naturally regenerated forests of native tree species where there are no clearly visible indications of human activity and the ecological processes are not significantly disturbed. More than one-third (34 percent) of the world's forests are primary forests. Old-growth features include diverse tree-related structures that provide diverse wildlife habitat that increases the biodiversity of the forested ecosystem. Virgin or first-growth forests are old-growth forests that have never been logged. The concept of diverse tree structure includes multi-layered canopies and canopy gaps, greatly varying tree height ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spring Ephemerals
An ephemeral plant is one marked by short life cycles. The word ephemeral means transitory or quickly fading. In regard to plants, it refers to several distinct growth strategies. The first, spring ephemeral, refers to perennial plants that emerge quickly in the spring and die back to their underground parts after a short growth and reproduction phase. Desert ephemerals are plants which are adapted to take advantage of the short wet periods in arid climates. Mud-flat ephemerals take advantage of short periods of low water. In areas subjected to recurring human disturbance, such as plowing, weedy ephemerals are very short-lived plants whose entire life cycle takes less than a growing season. In each case, the species has a life cycle timed to exploit a short period when resources are freely available. Spring ephemerals Spring ephemerals are perennial woodland wildflowers which develop aerial parts (i.e. stems, leaves, and flowers) of the plant early each spring and then quickly bloo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are shaped by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Chesapeake Bay, which provide habitat for much of its flora and fauna. The capital of the Commonwealth is Richmond; Virginia Beach is the most-populous city, and Fairfax County is the most-populous political subdivision. The Commonwealth's population was over 8.65million, with 36% of them living in the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. The area's history begins with several indigenous groups, including the Powhatan. In 1607, the London Company established the Colony of Virginia as the first permanent English colony in the New World. Virginia's state nickname, the Old Dominion, is a reference to this status. Slave labor and land acquired from displaced native tribes fueled the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jeffersonia
''Jeffersonia'', also known as twinleaf or rheumatism root, is a small genus of herbaceous perennial plants in the family Berberidaceae. They are uncommon spring wildflowers and grow in limestone soils of rich deciduous forests. ''Jeffersonia'' was named for United States President Thomas Jefferson by his contemporary Benjamin Smith Barton. This genus was formerly grouped in genus ''Podophyllum''. Twinleaf is protected by state laws as a threatened or endangered plant in Georgia, Iowa, New York, and New Jersey. Description ''Jeffersonia diphylla'' has leaves and flowers that are smooth and emerge directly from the rhizome. The leaves are divided into two leaflets which are half-ovate in shape with entire or shallowly toothed margins. It has showy white flowers with four sepals, eight petals, eight stamens, and a singly pistil; the flower resembles bloodroot flowers. The short-lived flower appears in April or May before the forest canopy appears (see spring ephemeral). The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians")
