State & Federal Agencies Want Public Ownership for the Entire Blackwater Canyon
By Vivian Stockman
Unseasonably warm mid-May temperatures made the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy (WVHC) Spring Review, held in Tucker County, the perfect kick-off event for Blackwater Summer. The warm weather and a hot issue--the logging and potential development of West Virginia's world famous Blackwater Canyon--brought out nearly 100 participants for a weekend of recreation and learning. The event even brought out two creatures whose Blackwater Canyon homes are in peril.
Blacky, an endangered Virginia Northern flying squirrel and Sally, a threatened Cheat Mountain Salamander greeted folks Saturday evening during the Spring Review. Many people posed for photos with the Blackwater Summer mascots as they signed "Save Blackwater Canyon" petitions and signed-up to volunteer to help save the Canyon.
After a day of either biking or hiking through the Canyon, canoeing the Blackwater River (in the Canaan Valley), bird watching, plant identifying, and lunching on the fine fixings from White Grass Cafe, WVHC members and friends were treated to another great meal from Siriani's while learning more about the plight of the Canyon.
Five panelists gave brief presentations then fielded audience questions about the Canyon for over two hours. Panelists were: Tucker County's Senator, Jon Blair Hunter; Richard Cook, Assistant Supervisor of the Monongahela National Forest; Peggy Ping, st US Park Service official with an office in West Virginia; Doug Baker, District Administrator for the State Park System; and Than Hitt, Appalachian Restoration Campaign (ARC) Coordinator.
Senator Hunter said he surveyed his constituents, and respondents from every county favored getting the Canyon into public ownership by a nearly two-to-one margin. He noted that the few jobs there were in logging the Canyon had been contracted to a Maryland firm. He said next year's legislature would probably be even less interested in environmental issues than this year [I shudder to think so! So, it's up to us to do all we can to save the Canyon now!].
Mon Forest Assistant Supervisor Richard Cook said that the US Forest Service's "interest always has been acquiring all of the Canyon providing the owner is willing to get rid of it." He said the canyon was important because of its recreational opportunities including hiking, biking the rail trail, fishing, hunting, and its viewshed and historical cultural sites.
The US Forest Service (USFS) and the Conservation Fund had been in negotiations to purchase the canyon for over two years when Allegheny Power Systems (APS) sold it to a private party. "If the seller would sell, the money could be available," Cook said.
The Canyon--our grand Canyon--is surrounded by the Monongahela National Forest and the Blackwater Falls State Park. Nearly 3000 acres of the Canyon were sold in early 1997 to Allegheny Wood Products (AWP). The company has begun logging in the Canyon, and may have plans to develop condominiums along its rim.
Since John Crites, owner of AWP, has so far been unwilling to sell the Canyon to the people of West Virginia, Cook said the USFS is proceeding with negotiations for a land swap. Under conditions of the swap, AWP would trade 700 acres of Canyon land for parcels of the Monongahela National Forest. Cook said the swap would involve an equal value exchange, where a forest service appraiser and an AWP appraiser would figure out the value of the land, trees, and the value, if any, of deeded rights.
The deed, written in the 1920s, states that AWP has the right to dam the Blackwater River, the right to egress and ingress over park roads, and the right to run power lines across the Blackwater Falls State Park. It is unclear whether all these rights will still apply today.
Cook said the public would be allowed to comment on the land swap once the proposed parcels are identified. WVHC sees the land swap as a bad deal for West Virginians, and as a very dangerous precedent for power company lands and public lands in West Virginia.
The state parks administrator, Doug Baker, noted that the viewshed from the park out over the Canyon is "a magnet" for drawing tourists to the Blackwater Falls State Park. He said public ownership of the entire Canyon would benefit both the Blackwater Falls and the Canaan Valley State Park.
"We should accept nothing less than full protection of the Canyon," said ARC's Hitt. He noted that Tucker county (where the Canyon lies) is a hot spot for endangered species and protecting the entire Canyon is important to protecting these species.
WVHC's Saturday evening program also included video and slide presentations. The video features white water kayaking in the Canyon and interviews with local small-business people whose livelihoods depend on tourism. Dr. Thomas Pauley, Marshall University herpetologist, gave a presentation on the threatened Cheat Mountain salamander which is found from the rim to the river in the Canyon.
WVU historian Mike Caplinger presented a slide show on the logging and railroad history of the Canyon. He noted that recent newspaper articles written by members of the West Virginia Forestry Association had said the Canyon had been logged four times this century. "The bulk of the canyon hasn't been touched from about 1913," Caplinger said. Once the extractive industries left the area "they didn't leave much. Yet, I look at Davis and Thomas as great time capsules," Caplinger stated, noting that these towns survived because of tourism. "You talk about Blackwater, you have to talk about tourism," he said. The whole weekend served as a great kickoff for Blackwater Summer, and we hope to see you out there, in the woods, keeping the heat on!