Last year the Blackwater Canyon Campaign received a valentine from Senator Byrd in his support of a National Park Study of the Blackwater Park Canyon. In keeping with that tradition, on this Valentines Day, Governor Bob Wise presented a valentine to all those folks working to give Blackwater Canyon back to the people of West Virginia.

In the State of the State address on February 14, 2001 Governor Wise introduced a state plan to "protect the places West Virginians hold dear." He also said "We cannot afford to have our natural treasures, like the Blackwater Canyon slip out of our hands. I will, in the near future, announce a land conservation plan for West Virginia that respects both the private landowner and the public interest."

Toward that end Governor Wise has devoted part of his web site to the concept of "special places" and is requesting input from all West Virginians. He is asking citizens to name public lands that they hold dear and send them to him. The web site can be found at <http://www.state.wv.us/form.htm> . If you’re into snail mail send your suggestion to: Special Places, Office of the Governor, State Capitol, Building 1, Charleston, WV 25305. The Governor needs to hear from West Virginia Highlands Conservancy Members.

While most West Virginians watched the State of the State Address in real time on television in West Virginia, a handful of Blackwater Canyon supporters, had to download the text of the speech hours after it was given. Blackwater Campaign supporters were in Washington, D. C. to update the West Virginia congressional delegation on surveys conducted in the Canyon on the Northern Virginia flying squirrel (glaucomys sabrinus fuscus) and an upcoming new summer program to protect the two-spotted skipper (Euphyes bimacula).

The field research on the Virginia northern flying squirrel was conducted by Dr. Peter Weigl with the help of a grant from the World Wildlife Fund. The Blackwater Canyon is in the Mixed Mesophytic Forest Ecoregion of the Central Appalachians with unusual northern hardwood, conifers and boreal bogs (including Big Run Bog, a National Natural Landmark) overlapping more typical Appalachian forests. The Mixed Mesophytic forest is one of World Wildlife Fund’s global 2000 ecoregions. Capture and release surveys resulted in eight new capture sites for the rare flying squirrel. The research will be followed by public education on the life cycle and threats to this high mountain West Virginia endemic, whose worldwide range is limited to 4 counties in the state.

This summer’s program on the two-spotted skipper is a program to protect this rare northern species of butterfly that is found in the West Virginia highlands. Some members of the existing Tucker County butterfly population will be moved from a current threatened location along a highway and under a power line, to a high mountain bog in Blackwater Falls State Park. The work is to be done in the spring and summer of 2001, and will involve the cooperation of the Allegheny Power.