USFS Public Comment Letter 

Friends of Beautiful Pendleton County, Inc. was formed by concerned citizens and landowners in Pendleton County, West Virginia to preserve our rich heritage, protect the priceless natural environment, and ensure that citizens receive responsible, factual information. We have endeavored to determine the possible impacts of the proposed Forest Service Directives for Wind Energy on Pendleton County, which is approximately thirty eight percent national forest consisting of both the Monongahela National Forest and the George Washington National Forest.

We value this opportunity to comment on the draft directives. Given the complexity of the proposed changes, the level of expertise within our group and the multitude of documents where additions and changes are found, we struggled in the performance of a comprehensive analysis and the determination of the possible affects for Pendleton County and its national forests areas.

Our comprehensive analysis started with the USDA Forest Service website and the Forest Service Mission, Motto, Vision and Guiding Principals. We have concluded that it is impossible to justify any Forest Service decision to permit the industrialization of one acre of the 193 million acres, including the pristine mountain tops in the pristine National Forests of Pendleton County, West Virginia, of the Commons placed under its management by “We the People” with industrial wind energy projects. It just doesn’t fit, It doesn’t fit the Mission, It doesn’t fit the Motto, It doesn’t fit the Vision and It doesn’t fit the Guiding Principals. The current political wind is in favor of the development and energy interests, thereby significantly influencing the pressure on the natural environment. If the trend continues, how much of the National Forest will remain when our fast expanding population will likely be desperate for a little breathing room in the future, 25, 50 and 100 years from today? …

January 20, 2008

Larry V. Thomas, Vice President
Friends of Beautiful Pendleton County, Inc.
PO BOX 218
FRANKLIN, WV 26807

To preserve our rich heritage, protect the precious natural environment and ensure citizens receive responsible, factual information

Download original document: “USFS Public Comment Letter”

Also see the letter from The Wilderness Society here at National Wind Watch.