By Peggy Walton
From the January 5, 1994 edition of The New Castle Record
A Craig County task force has completed a study of the effects closing the New Castle Ranger District Station would have on the community.
The statement of impact, which will be sent to state legislators, offers a review of the county’s demographics, describing the county as a rural community with little economic opportunity and a dependance on Forest income. The Forst Service’s roles and responsibilities in the county are defined, and the impact of the New Castle station on Craig County is detailed.
The New Castle Ranger District provides employment, transportation and recreational resources, safety and law enforcement assistance and fire protection to the county. Economic support in the form of payments to county schools, roads and government is also provided by the Forest Service, since the county’s tax base is severely limited as the Jefferson National Forest consumes 336 square acres in Craig, the task force states.
The halting of timber sales in the JNF led the Forest Service to propose the consolidation of the Blacksburg and New Castle Districts, since a great deal of Forest funding will be lost as timber harvesting ceases.
County Extension Agent Debbie Snead worked with local groups to research the station’s role in the county and prepare a statement of impact. She said the New Castle District Ranger Station makes a tremendous impact on the county through the services and economic support it provides.
Three percent of jobs available in Craig are provided by the Forest Service, the report states. With about 72percent of the county’s work force commuting to jobs in Roanoke, Salem, Blacksburg or Christiansburg, the county has been identified by the Virginia General Assembly as fiscally stressed.
The National Forest owns 139,667 acres of Forest land in the New Castle District, with 116,664 acres in Craig County. The task force’s report maintains the Forest Service has an obligation to provide economic and environmental assistance to the county, since about 54 percent of county land is forested.
The Forest Service is committed to caring for the land and serving the people, according to the National Forest-Dependent Rural communities Economic Diversification Act, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Management and Budget directives, and President Clinton’s Executive Order on Customer Service, the task force states. Rural development concerns are explicitly recognized by the Forest Service’s mission, the report states.
“Our representatives need to inform the officials of the U.S. Forest Service that it is not economically feasible to consolidate districts,” Snead said.
After legislators read the task force’s statement, Snead said, there should be no doubt tin their minds that the station should stay in Craig County.
County Administrator Richard Flora, Superintendent of Schools Dallas Helems and Snead are some of the task force members who will travel to Richmond Feb. 2 to discuss the proposed consolidation with congressman Rick Boucher, Senator Charles Robb, and Delegate Dick Cranwell., who volunteer to host the meeting.
-Prepared by Shelly Koon
