This week, Inside Appalachia, a West Virginia man is reviving a Black coal camp through farming. Also, the legacy of Affrilachian poet Norman Jordan includes a summer camp for teens to study their heritage. And, the Reverend George Mills Dickerson of Tazewell, Virginia, was born in the years after slavery ended. He’s remembered during Juneteenth through his poetry.
A ceremony at Cooper’s Rock State Forest just outside of Morgantown celebrates the conservation of 3,800 acres of the Cheat River Canyon dedicated as a state Wildlife Management Area.
A Sanctuary
The dedication at the Cooper’s Rock overlook gave attendees a clear view of the land that will now serve as a sanctuary for two unique animals:
Endangered Indiana Bat
Threatened Flat-Spired Three-Toothed Land Snail
These two species live in the Cheat Canyon and play a significant role in its conservation. The state Division of Natural Resources will focus on the recovery of these animals in its management of the new Cheat Canyon Area. A Place to Play
Recreation is also part of the plan, on land and in water. Friends of the Cheat Executive Director Amanda Pitzer says the nearly seven million dollar purchase of this section of the Cheat River Canyon recognizes the once-dead river’s recovery.
“It’s land protection, it’s water protection,” Pitzer said, “but even better than that, we’re looking to open it up to the public for hunting, for paddling, and to open the Allegheny Trail that’s been closed for several years.”
Around eight miles of the Allegheny Trail in the Cheat Canyon was closed to the public when Allegheny Wood Products owned the property. The 330-mile trail traverses the state from north to south.
Executive Director of Friends of the Cheat, Amanda Pitzer speaks as U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, Governor Earl Ray Tomblin, and W.Va. DNR Director Frank Jezioro look on.
A Collaboration
Plans to protect the canyon, decades in the making, were announced earlier this year. The Conservation Fund, the Nature Conservancy, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the West Virginia Outdoor Heritage Conservation Fund all contributed money to the land purchase from Forestland Group.
What’s now known as the Cheat Canyon Wildlife Management Area is open to the public for fishing, hunting, hiking, and whitewater rafting.
Governor Earl Ray Tomblin and U.S. Senator Joe Manchin were among those to join members of the Nature Conservancy, the DNR, and multiple conservation groups for the dedication.
“It’s a celebration of a big conservation win, and the dedication of that to the people of West Virginia,” Director of Conservation Programs for the Nature Conservancy in West Virginia, Keith Fisher said, “and it’s really a celebration of the partnership that came together to make that win happen.”
On this West Virginia Week, we hear about the possible elimination of clean energy tax credits, paths toward recovery from gambling addiction and a new play exploring immigration and identity in West Virginia.
On this West Virginia Morning, we hear from a former state official who opposes eliminating clean energy tax credits, and we revisit a discussion on the geography of abortion access.
On this West Virginia Morning, we learn what recovering from problem gambling can look like, and hear about efforts to move forever chemicals from drinking water.
In 2023, the Mountain Valley Pipeline received a three-year extension of its federal approval to build the Southgate Extension from Virginia into North Carolina.