By Hannah DeHetre, WVU Biology, PhD Candidate

The Fernow Experimental Forest is one of only a few research forests in the United States that has collected continuous, decades-long data that document how forest health links to water quality, forest management, forest productivity, and other aspects of forest ecology. Now, it is under threat from federal funding cuts and West Virginia cannot afford to lose it.

Long-term research sites like the Fernow are rare and irreplaceable. As part of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Long-Term Research in Environmental Biology (LTREB) program, the Fernow allows scientists to track slow-changing environmental processes like climate change, water pollution, and forest health. We’ve been measuring stream water chemistry since 1958 and tracking soil and vegetation since 1988. These data sets are among the longest of their kind anywhere in the country. Without them, we lose the ability to understand how and why our environment is changing, and how to protect it.

The Fernow has also hosted landmark experiments to study the effects of acid rain on water quality and forest health. Thanks to these projects, scientists understand how pollution that causes acid rain harms forests and water and how policies like the Clean Air Act have led to recovery. But without continued support, these critical experiments could end before we learn all they have to teach us.

The loss of the Fernow would not just harm science. It would also rob West Virginia of its next generation of environmental scientists. The Fernow serves as an outdoor classroom for graduate researchers, undergraduate field students, and even younger school children from Tucker County. Students conduct real-world experiments, learn field skills, and engage with their communities to inspire young West Virginians to pursue careers in science, conservation, and education. In a state already struggling with education outcomes, we cannot afford to lose opportunities like these.

West Virginia has a long history of environmental pollution, including some of the highest acid rain rates in the nation (in the 1970s, Wheeling’s rainfall was more acidic than lemon juice!). Thanks to successful regulations, informed by science much like that conducted at the Fernow, conditions have improved. But the work of repairing our forests, streams, and soils is far from done. Research at the Fernow continues to reveal how environmental damage unfolds over decades, and how smart forest management can help communities thrive in the face of new threats like climate change, wildfires, and invasive pests.

Federal funding cuts would have cascading effects far beyond the Fernow’s boundaries, including worse forest health, poorer drinking water quality, fewer trained scientists, and a less engaged and informed public. In a state with an abundance of forested land, these cuts would be catastrophic for West Virginia’s environment, economy, and future.

We must act now. I urge you to call and write your representatives and demand they protect the Fernow Experimental Forest and oppose any cuts to U.S. Forest Service research funding. Saving the Fernow means saving the forests, waters, and people of West Virginia, for today, and for generations to come.