Editor's Note: The following is a news release submitted to WebToday by an environmentalist group

CHARLESTON--Under provisions of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), four
endangered species, the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy and Heartwood
have sued Petersburg-based Allegheny Wood Products (AWP) over its timbering
and other ground-disturbing activities in the Blackwater Canyon.

The complaint, filed Thursday in US District Court in Elkins, alleges that
AWP's activities in the Blackwater Canyon will harm three federally listed
endangered species--the Virginia northern flying squirrel, the Indiana bat,
the Virginia big-eared bat--and one threatened species--the Cheat Mountain
salamander. The complaint also alleges that AWP's activities within the
Blackwater Canyon will harm essential habitat for the four species.

The animals are named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Charleston attorney
Jason Huber filed the lawsuit on behalf of the threatened and endangered
species. The Conservancy and Heartwood filed suit under the Citizens' Suit
Provision of the ESA, which provides individuals with a legal right to sue
a private corporation when that corporation's activities have harmed
threatened or endangered species.

Through a series of letters to AWP, the US Fish and Wildlife Service
clearly stated that the named species, and/or their habitat, exist in the
Blackwater Canyon within areas AWP plans to timber. As a result of this
correspondence and other information, on October 30, 1998 the two
conservation organizations sent AWP a "Notice Of Intent to Sue",
highlighting their concerns regarding the threatened and endangered species.

"Allegheny Wood Products has chosen this course by logging and road
building in known endangered species habitat. The law is clear, these
species deserve full protection. Extinction is forever. No corporation has
the right to conduct practices that will harm threatened or endangered
species," said Heartwood project coordinator, Jason Halbert.

The plaintiffs seek to have logging and other ground-disturbing activity
stopped until surveys of the endangered and threatened species on AWP's
Blackwater Canyon property are completed, and until a Habitat Conservation
Plan based on those surveys is filed with the Fish and Wildlife Service.

"There's a groundswell of public sentiment to protect these special West
Virginia landscapes and the unique plants and animals that live there,"
said the Conservancy's Judy Rodd. "Blackwater Canyon is a premium example
of such a special area and we must stand up for the unique creatures there
that can't protect themselves."

Similar cases have succeeded in Alabama with the Alabama Beach Mouse, and
in northern California with the marbled murrelet, a rarely seen coastal
bird that nests high in coastal forests. The Endangered Species Act was
signed into law in 1973 by President Richard Nixon. The Act has been very
successful in protecting many species including the American Bald Eagle,
once near extinction.

Formed in 1967 to preserve the natural beauty of the West Virginia
Highlands, the Conservancy is the state's oldest environmental advocacy
organization. The group was instrumental in creation of the Dolly Sods,
Cranberry, and Otter Creek and other Forest Wilderness areas and in
preventing the destruction of Canaan Valley wetlands. The organization is
currently campaigning for the establishment of the Blackwater Canyon
National Park.

Heartwood, based in Bloomington, IN and Charlottesville, VA is a coalition
of environmental organizations including the Conservancy and the Ohio
Valley Environmental Coalition. Heartwood's primary interest and goals are
the protection of the Eastern forests of the Central Hardwood region, and
the forests' interdependent plant, animal, and human communities. #

CONTACTS:

Jason Huber, Attorney for West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, Charleston, West Virginia, 304-346-6300

Judy Rodd, Senior Vice President, 304 265-0018 or 304 345-7710

Heartwood Member Groups Active in Illinois:

Michelle Covi, Ecology Action Center
309-454-3169
h. 309-454-3169, amcgowan@titan.iwu.edu

David Pittman, Peoria Shawnee Response
309.688.7708

Kristi Hanson, Regional Assoc. of Concerned Environmentalists
618-564-3367, markkris@earthlink.net

Devin M. Scherubel
Network Support Coordinator, Heartwood
PO Box 7653, Columbia, MO 65205
(573) 449-3537
(573) 999-5790(cell phone)
devin@heartwood.org
http://www.heartwood.org