Longdale Celebrates 70 Years This Saturday

Clifton Forge, VA – A celebration marking the 70th anniversary of the dedication of the Green Pastures Recreation Area, now known as the Longdale Recreation Site on the James River Ranger District, will be held on June 19th from 11 a.m to 3 p.m. Green Pastures Recreation Site has a significant and interesting history making it an important part of Alleghany County history. It was built by the local Civilian Conservation Corps from 1938 to 1940 for the African American community in response to the construction of the white only Douthat State Park.

Green Pastures became a popular recreation spot for local African Americans as well as busloads of African Americans from Northern Virginia and Maryland. In 1950, Green Pastures was integrated and eventually its name was changed to Longdale to reflect the community in which it resides.

The Cubville Timber Sale was purchased by Blue Ridge Lumber and is in Bath Co. Logging operations have been completed on the timber sale. Re-vegetation and erosion control work is in progress. The timber sale will be accepted and will terminate on 11/15/10.

In the planning phase the Back Creek Mountain timber sale is moving forward. A proposed action soliciting public comment on the Back Creek Mountain Timber Sale, located in Bath County, will be issued in July, 2010 and the environmental analysis and decision notice will be released by the end of 2010. Back Creek is scheduled to be sold in 2011.

The appeal period for the Humpback Timber Sale ends on June 24. This is the last day to appeal the decision to harvest timber on 221 acres of National Forest land 4.5 miles west of Covington, Virginia. All 8 of the proposed timber sale units are planned for shelter wood harvest and are designed to promote the regeneration of red oak and create younger forests to benefit wildlife.

The Peters Mountain Access project will release a public scoping letter soliciting public input on July 1, 2010 and a decision is planned for September 15, 2010. Once a decision supporting road relocation is in place, the project will be better able to compete for funding to build the necessary new road. The Peters Mountain project will replace lost access to National Forest land in Alleghany County.

Morris Hill Campground at Lake Moomaw will close for the season on September 7, 2010, a bit earlier than normal. The Army Corp of Engineers manages the water system at the campground and has scheduled maintenance and repairs for the system during this time.