Skip to main content

Va., W.Va. forests named in conservation report

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A conservation group is highlighting the George Washington and Jefferson national forests in Virginia and West Virginia are places that are at risk from gas drilling activities.

Trout Unlimited’s new “10 Special Places” report ranks the region as fifth for its areas that are rich in fish, game and natural beauty.

The report covers threats to the specific regions and offers recommendations for the best approaches that can be used to protect these areas from potential risks.

The group says it would be almost impossible to develop gas without severely impacting and changing the character of the national forest. The forests cover nearly 1.8 million acres.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

School bus emergency? Fairfax County students have a plan to handle it

This story is part of WTOP’s 2026 Back to School coverage. The wheels on the bus will soon be going round and round again in Fairfax County, Virginia, and some of its young riders are learning what to do if there’s an emergency on the way to school. The annual Safety Patrol Training Camp, hosted by Fairfax County Public Schools' Office of Transportation Services, combined hands-on exercises with classroom lessons to teach students how to keep calm during emergencies on buses. The training can feel remarkably realistic, with overturned school buses on their side or completely upside down in the middle of the county bus depot. Other buses, right side up, fill with smoke that is water-based but mimics the intensity of a bus overheating.
Read Next Story