Good news!  The Shenandoah Mountain Act is included in the draft 2026 Farm Bill, which was rolled out of the Senate Agriculture Committee on June 23. 
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This legislation would permanently protect a 92,500-acre Shenandoah Mountain National Scenic Area with four embedded Wilderness areas and safeguard wildlife habitat, outdoor recreation opportunities, and water quality.  The high mountain streams flowing off Shenandoah Mountain support healthy populations of native brook trout and provide municipal water for Harrisonburg, Staunton, and many other communities downstream.

Senators Kaine and Warner have introduced the Shenandoah Mountain Act in 2022, 2023, and again in 2025. 
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Many thanks to Senators Kaine and Warner for championing this legislation and for working hard toward enactment.  Inclusion in the 2026 Farm Bill is a big step forward.

You are invited to a Rally for the Roadless Rule at 10:00 a.m. on June 6 at Briery Branch Reservoir, followed by a 6-mile hike from Reddish Knob to the Reservoir. This event is sponsored by the Virginia Sierra Club - Shenandoah Group and the Virginia Wilderness Committee.

The purpose of this event is to show support for the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which was first announced on Reddish Knob in 1999.  Many people enjoy the benefits of National Forest Roadless Areas, like recreation, clean drinking water, wildlife habitat, and scenic beauty, but don’t realize these areas are currently protected by the Roadless Rule.

After 25 years of our citizens enjoying all these benefits, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins proposed to revoke the Roadless Rule last year.  Losing the Roadless Rule would affect nearly 45 million acres of national forest land, including 394,000 acres on the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests in Virginia.  On Shenandoah Mountain alone, 7 Roadless Areas  could be opened for road building, logging, methane gas drilling, and other commercial development.

Shenandoah Mountain boasts the largest concentration of Roadless Areas in the eastern United States.  The proposed Shenandoah Mountain National Scenic Area, now before the Senate, includes five Roadless Areas.  One of these, Little River, is 28,000 acres, the largest in the whole region. Senator Kaine has been working hard to get the Shenandoah Mountain Act passed to secure permanent protection of one of Virginia's finest natural areas.  While we are working toward enactment, we need to push back against rescission of the Roadless Rule.

Roadless areas are the best of what’s left on our national forest land.  The scenic beauty found on Shenandoah Mountain and the ecosystem services, like clean water and air, are priceless.  We have a lot to lose if the Roadless Rule is rescinded, not just on Shenandoah Mountain, but across the country.  Please consider joining the Rally or writing to Secretary Brooke Rollins after the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is released for public comment.  

See details and register for Rally for Roadless Rule.

Register for Reddish Knob Hike
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View from Reddish Knob. Photo © Lynn Cameron

On April 29, Friends of Shenandoah Mountain and five other groups will join forces to protect the Hone Quarry Day Use Area, one of Shenandoah Mountain's premier wildflower sites, from begin overtaken by garlic mustard.  This invasive plant crowds out native spring wildflowers and poisons the soil.  

For the past two years, we have pulled all the garlic mustard we could find. Each year we find less.  We expect to find even less this year.

“We write to respectfully request a process to advance a bipartisan package of National Forest bills to the President’s desk. We are grateful for the Senate Agriculture Committee’s unanimous approval of these bills this Congress, and we now ask for your help in sending them to the President’s desk to be signed into law,” wrote the senators.

Read Senator Kaine's full press release:
www.kaine.senate.gov/press-releases/kaine-and-tillis-lead-bipartisan-group-of-senators-asking-senate-leadership-to-consider-national-forest-bills

Today Virginia's U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner introduced the Shenandoah Mountain Act of 2025, which would designate more than 92,500 acres of the George Washington National Forest as the Shenandoah Mountain National Scenic Area (SMNSA).

See their Press Release here.

This legislation would preserve the majestic forests, spectacular vistas, and more than 150 miles of trails on the western edge of the Shenandoah Valley.  The SMNSA designation would allow forest visitors, such as hikers, hunters, bicyclists, fishermen, and equestrians, to continue to enjoy this beautiful area, just as they do today, while prohibiting commercial logging and industrial development, like gas drillng and pipeline construction.

Shenandoah Mountain, a vast area of undeveloped forest land, is home to black bear, 250 species of birds, and rare salamanders found nowhere else on earth, as well as a rich diversity of trees and wildflowers.  With 10 peaks over 4,000', it is one of the highest  areas in Virginia.  Its cascading mountain streams provide clean drinking water for Harrisonburg and Staunton and for Rockingham and Augusta counties.  Shenandoah Mountain is aj popular outdoor recreation destination that supports the local tourism economy.

Good news! The Shenandoah Mountain National Scenic Area (SMNSA) is included in the draft of the bipartisan 2024 Farm Bill that was just released by the Senate Agriculture Committee this week. The SMNSA legislation will permanently protect 92,000 acres of the Shenandoah Mountain area in the George Washington & Jefferson National Forest through a combination of National Scenic Area and Wilderness designation. This designation will safeguard water quality and wildlife habitat, as well as opportunities for a range of outdoor recreation activities. Commercial activities, like mining and fracking, will be prohibited.

This is a big milestone for our decades-long campaign to gain legislative protection for one of the most outstanding natural areas in Virginia. Many thanks to Senators Kaine and Warner for introducing the bill in 2022 and again in 2023 and for working hard to find a way to get it passed.

And a very special thanks to the hundreds of organizations, businesses, faith groups, city and county governments, and individuals who have supported this effort. We would never have gotten this far without your support.  

Learn more details in the Southern Environmental Law Center Press Release: www.southernenvironment.org/press-release/selc-applauds-inclusion-of-public-lands-designations-in-farm-bill-framework/​​

On April 13, Friends of Shenandoah Mountain and five other groups will join forces to protect the Hone Quarry Day Use Area, one of Shenandoah Mountain's premier wildflower sites, from begin overtaken by garlic mustard.  This invasive plant crowds out native spring wildflowers and poisons the soil.  

​Participants will pull garlic mustard in the Hone Quarry area and then sample garlic mustard pesto, made by a local Master Naturalist.  

Learn more and register.