A bill sitting in Congress right now holds the key to 20 years of Lynn Cameron’s work — and could lead to thousands of acres of Shenandoah Valley forest land being preserved as soon as this year.

Cameron, 2022 Valley Treasure Award winner, and the rest of the Friends of Shenandoah Mountain organization have been working for twenty years to build support for a proposal to protect certain areas of land in the George Washington National Forest.

Lynn Cameron grew up on a farm in West Virginia, where she described the woods as her “playground.” Though Cameron is not formally trained in conservation, she has dedicated years to the project.

She worked as a librarian at JMU but is now retired and spends much of her time outdoors. However, she has been busy in her retirement. In addition to her work on the National Scenic Area proposal, she has also served on the Virginia Wilderness committee as its past president.

“I don’t feel I’ve been retired,” Cameron said.

Because of her efforts, Cameron was awarded the “Valley Treasure” award from the Alliance for the Shenandoah Valley in 2022. She was the second person to win this award, preceded by JMU professor Charles Ziegenfus and followed by 2023 winner Walter Brown, who worked to preserve his family’s century-old farm. The 2024 winner will likely be announced in late July.

“I just felt very honored,” Cameron said. “I don’t work for recognition, but it was nice for an organization like the Alliance for the Shenandoah Valley to affirm the work that I’ve been doing with the Shenandoah Mountain National Scenic Area proposal.”

Unlike National Parks, National Forest land can be leased to companies for logging, fracking and other industrial uses. Cameron and the Friends of Shenandoah Mountain have proposed to designate a large area of national forest — totaling about 92,449 acres — as a scenic area. These areas would be preserved in their current state, untouched by future development. It would be known as the Shenandoah Mountain National Scenic Area.

The proposal is now included in the 2024 Farm Bill, which was delayed for several months. If it passes, the National Scenic Area could be a reality as early as this year.

“We’re getting close to fulfilling our dream of protecting the Shenandoah Mountain,” Cameron said.

A scenic area allows hiking, fishing, and other recreational activities, but not industrial development like logging or fracking. It would preserve the current roads but not allow additional construction.

There will also be four “wilderness” areas within the scenic area, which will have an even higher level of protection. Some activities allowed in scenic areas, such as mountain biking, are not allowed in wilderness areas.

Cameron said that the Shenandoah Mountain area is important not just for the environment, but for the people who live nearby and those who visit.

“It has incredibly healthy native trout streams, because they’re flowing out of the mountains with a full canopy of trees, so they’re cold, clear and clean,” Cameron said. “Everybody in the valley, all the way down to the Chesapeake Bay, benefits from the protection of this area.”

The forest on Shenandoah Mountain, Cameron said, is one of the least fragmented tracts of national forest land east of the Mississippi River. It contains over 250 bird species, a large trout population, and a species of salamander not found anywhere else in the world.

“It enhances the local economy for tourism and supports a high quality of life here in the valley, which makes it possible for businesses to attract really good employees,” Cameron said.

There will be four wilderness areas — Skidmore Fork Wilderness in Rockingham County, Ramseys Draft Addition and Little River Wilderness in Augusta County, and Lynn Hollow Wilderness in Highland County. Ramseys Draft Addition adds on to an established wilderness area, but the other three are new.

The Skidmore Fork Wilderness Area will contain Switzer Lake and High Knob Fire Tower within its 5,079-acre area. This area contains old-growth forest — a rare commodity in Virginia — and provides over half of the drinking water for the city of Harrisonburg.

Harrisonburg and Rockingham County have issued resolutions of support for the Shenandoah Mountain National Scenic Area.

In 2010, a Texas company tried to obtain fracking rights for an area in the George Washington National Forest, but local officials rejected it. However, Cameron is worried this could happen again.

“The cleanest water comes from the wilderness,” Cameron said. “Wilderness does offer the strongest protection, where you can’t do management there.”

Virginia’s two senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine originally introduced the Shenandoah Mountain Act on July 27, 2023.

“I’m very, very grateful to Senator Tim Kaine for introducing the legislation and being our champion, and also Senator Mark Warner,” Cameron said.

Over 400 local businesses and organizations have endorsed the Scenic Area proposal. Much of Cameron’s work over the years, she said, has been educating people about the potential benefits of the scenic area and slowly gathering endorsements.

“I feel very grateful to every single one of them,” Cameron said. “The little country stores, the neighboring landowners and farmers who saw the benefits that the scenic area has for them.”