On April 14 the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Ecological Society of America made its support of the preservation of Stadium Woods official with a resolution.
The Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Ecological Society of America:
RESOLUTION SUPPORTING PROTECTION OF STADIUM WOODS14 April 2012
Regarding the proposal to destroy a portion of Stadium Woods in order to construct an indoor athletic training facility for the football, soccer, and lacrosse teams:
WHEREAS, the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Ecological Society of America is a body of ecologists with wide-ranging expertise; and
WHEREAS, the 2012 meeting is being hosted at Virginia Tech, with a focus on disturbance ecology, several presentations on urban ecology, and a plenary talk on the value of urban forests; and
WHEREAS, the age structure of trees in Stadium Woods indicates that this area has been functioning as a forest ecosystem for over 300 years; and
WHEREAS, patches of old-growth forest in the mid-Atlantic region are rare, and typically found in areas too steep, too rocky, or too wet to plow, and inaccessible to logging; and
WHEREAS, lower elevation forests with more productive soils, such as the Stadium Woods site, tend to support higher biodiversity and productivity, yet are much less likely to be protected; and
WHEREAS, Virginia Tech is one of the few universities (if not the only university) in the mid-Atlantic region with an old-growth forest on its central campus that has all the components of a forest ecosystem, making the Stadium Woods an extremely valuable resource for education, outreach, and research; and
WHEREAS, such old urban forests have extremely high ecological value, for soil biota as well as above-ground organisms; and
WHEREAS, such old urban forests provide numerous ecological services to the surrounding community (services that are different from those provided by National Forest lands because of their age and location), including stormwater mitigation, improvement of air quality and water quality, supporting biodiversity, providing recreational, psychological, and cultural opportunities that contribute to human health; and
WHEREAS, given the broad influence of human activities on the landscape, management of small urban forests is critical to the conservation of migratory birds and other species of concern; and
WHEREAS, the long-term integrity and ecosystem services provided by the Stadium Woods will be negatively impacted by this building project, and that the unique character and benefits of the Stadium Woods will be irreparably harmed by the proposed building project; and
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Ecological Society of America asks that the Office of the President and the Athletic Department of Virginia Tech cease all plans to develop Stadium Woods.
ADDITIONALLY, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Ecological Society of America asks that the Office of the President begin the process to designate the entirety of the present day Stadium Woods as a permanently protected place because of the value for research and education.
