Virginia Wilderness Committee Records

The Virginia Wilderness Committee (VWC) consists of a group of citizens whose goal is to preserve and protect wild areas in Virginia. It was established in May 1969 during a workshop meeting organized by The Wilderness Society. The first leadership council consisted of John McKnight of Williamsburg as the first chairman, J. James "Jim " Murray, as vice-chairman, and Lloyd Sumner as secretary treasurer. The VWC and The Wilderness Society immediately joined forces to found the Virginia Conservation Council in order to serve as an umbrella organization for Virginia's growing number of wilderness-oriented organizations. In 1976, the VWC played a role in adding additional acreage to the Shenandoah National Park wilderness proposal. The VWC also campaigned for the Virginia Wilderness Act of 1984, a major piece of legislation that designated ten areas for wilderness protection. In the 1990s, some members of Congress opposed additional wilderness designation legislation. During this time, the VWC focused on protecting wild areas, opposing the construction of a gas pipeline through potential future wilderness designated areas, compiling and publishing a memorial book on Ernie Dickerman, an important member of the VWC who passed in 1998, and other projects. In the early 2000s, the VWC was involved in the revision of the management plan for the Thomas Jefferson National Forest, as well as with the Virginia Wilderness Act of 2000. In 2009, the Virginia Ridge and Valley Act was finally passed within an omnibus bill. The VWC had tracked and campaigned for this bill since it was first introduced in 2004. The 2009 Act designated 53,000 acres of land in Virginia as wilderness.

VWC's major concern has been working with Congress in order to pass legislation to designate specific wild areas as "wilderness." With this designation, an area is entitled to a certain level of protection under the Wilderness Act of 1964. The VWC has also been concerned with beach traffic, air quality, water quality, dams, wildlife and endangered species, power lines, wilderness usage, roads, Virginia's National Forests, the National Park Service, oil drilling in the arctic, wilderness trails, eminent domain, etc.