Highland County Board of Supervisors June Meeting – Part 2

June 4, 2021

This is part two of coverage from the Highland County Board of Supervisors June meeting.

Lynn Cameron gave a presentation on the proposed Shenandoah Mountain National Scenic Area.  The whole proposal encompasses 90,000 acres of National Forest land, between Route 250 and Route 33, that is a combination of both wilderness and national scenic area.  About 6,000 acres are located in Highland County, with about half wilderness and half national scenic area.  Cameron explained that she is seeking support from local governments in order to ask Congress to designate the Shenandoah Mountain National Scenic Area.  The designation would protect the land from industrial development, such as fracking, gas or oil drilling, large power lines and pipeline construction.

Cameron explained that this proposal was first developed 17 years ago.  She said over 400 businesses, organizations and local governments are in support of the proposal.  Staunton, Augusta County, Harrisonburg and Rockingham County have passed resolutions endorsing the proposal.  She asked for support from Highland County.

The land is currently managed by the Forest Service and that will not change if the proposal is approved by Congress.  She said scenic area amenities, access and maintenance, such as prescribed burns, will continue with no changes.    She also discussed the planned trail maintenance program for the area, done by volunteers with the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club.

The Board tabled action on the proposal until its next meeting on June 16, to allow County Attorney Melissa Dowd time to review the draft resolution.

In other business, the Board made appointments to two committees that work with the Children Services Act, with activities such as foster care and residential placement.

The Board appointed the following to the Community Policy and Management Team:  Kim McClannahan, Director at the Valley Community Services Board, Dr. Thomas Schott, Superintendent of Highland County Schools, Roberta Lambert, Highland County Administrator and Saundra Crawford, Director of the 25th District Court Services.

The following were appointed to the Family Assessment and Planning Team: Ronald Wimer, Chief Deputy of the Highland County Sheriff’s Department, Dr. Elizabeth Kemp of the Valley Community Services Board and Megan Corbin, Intake Officer of the 25th District Court Services Unit.

The Board appointed Jennifer Warner Cox and reappointed George Hogshead to the Economic Development Authority.

And the fiscal year close out meeting was set for Tuesday, June 29 at 7:30pm.

Story By

Bonnie Ralston

Bonnie Ralston is the Assistant Station Coordinator at WVLS and a Highland County news reporter. She began volunteering at Allegheny Mountain Radio in the fall of 2005. In 2006 she became an AMR employee and worked in Bath County for eight years as the WCHG Station Coordinator and then as the news reporter there. She began working in radio while in college and has stayed connected to radio, in one way or another, for more than thirty years. She grew up in Staunton, Virginia, while spending a lot of time on her family’s farm in Deerfield, Virginia. She enjoys spending time outside, watching old TV shows and movies and tending to her chickens.
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