Coonskin Park Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

‘Save Coonskin Park’ Rally Draws Large Turnout

“I mean you can see from the end of the proposed destruction over there, of the mountain top removal, you can see that mountain range from my house,” Severn said. “I’m not interested in looking out my window and seeing a strip mine.”

A large crowd turned out for a family-friendly rally Sunday in support of Coonskin Park.

The rally included music, lawn games and entertainment and was one of the largest shows of resistance so far to West Virginia International Yeager Airport’s proposal to extend its runway and parallel taxiway.

If approved, the plan would require using hundreds of acres of Coonskin Park as a valley fill area for a runway expansion.

“Save Coonskin Park” organizer Jeremy Severn lives next door to the park where he can see the runway mountainside from his window.

Severn helped collect more than 11,000 signatures for a petition that was recently submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The agency is considering alternative ideas to extend the runway and recently pledged $2 million to Yeager Airport to start the third phase of its Environmental Impact Study (EIS).

Other speakers included John Martin, son of Alice Knight, the artist, naturalist and wildlife photographer who has a trail named in her memory following her death in 2008.

He questioned the reasoning behind the runway expansion.

“I think that, from what I’ve researched, the reasoning behind it is fairly petty, to prevent a layover for certain people, to make this an international airport so people don’t have to fly into, say, Pittsburgh, and take another flight into Charleston,” Martin said.

Martin said he believes there are much better uses for money in West Virginia than an airport extension.

“For me to destroy this park, the historical sites here, the grave sites here, it’s petty,” he said. “I also believe that $400 million could go a very long way in this state to some of the other issues that we have. For example addiction, we have some of the highest overdose rates in the country, extreme poverty, some children – the only meal they have is the school meal provided each day.”

Airport Expansion's Potential Impact On Coonskin Park Worries Local Residents

About 50 people met at the trailhead of the Alice Knight Trail in Coonskin Park Sunday at the invitation of West Virginia Rivers and West Virginians for Public Lands. The group took a one mile hike to assess the potential impact on the park from a proposed expansion of Yeager Airport's main runway.

About 50 people met at the trailhead of the Alice Knight Trail in Coonskin Park Sunday at the invitation of West Virginia Rivers and West Virginians for Public Lands.

The group took a one mile hike to assess the potential impact on the park from a proposed expansion of Yeager Airport’s main runway.

Charleston resident and meteorologist Ken Batey told those present that the FAA‘s proposal to acquire nearly 400 acres of Coonskin Park for a valley “fill area” stands to destroy a local tourist attraction.

“Isn’t it kind of ironic that the state tourism picked this as one of their 30 sites in their waterfall tour of the state; see, they didn’t know what the county had planned for this,” he said.

The expansion would extend Yeager’s main runway by 285 feet and shift the parallel taxiway. Yeager Airport Director Dominique Ranieri said the FAA will look at alternatives as it considers the environment and impact on endangered species like bats.

“How we might achieve those standards – maybe without going with that proposed project and something else,” Ranieri said.

Heather Sprouse is the Ohio River Coordinator for West Virginia Rivers. A sixth-generation West Virginian and small farm owner from Putnam County, she said creating a large valley fill for the runway is ambitious at best.

“I think that the biggest thing is that people understand that this is public land, this is owned by Kanawha County, these are our public spaces,” Sprouse said. “I think there needs to be transparency, opportunities for people to make sure they contact the FAA with their formal comments.”

Sprouse said the public should be compensated for any loss of public land if the plan moves ahead.

Hiker Kathy Wiseman is from Charleston as well. She has enjoyed Coonskin Park for years. She said taking natural space to make room for more flights and bigger aircraft just doesn’t add up.

“I fly all the time, I’m up here pre-COVID, post-COVID: I’ve had many flights through Yeager. I’ve never missed a business meeting,” Wiseman said. “I’ve flown to San Diego, New York, Wisconsin, Minneapolis and all points in between and was always able to find a flight. We’ve always been able to find flights, early morning, late night flights, I fly out of Charleston exclusively.”

Wiseman wants to know the economics driving the expansion, including data showing the area’s projected population growth.

“Tourism is awesome here and why? It’s not because of our buildings, it’s because of our nature, and you’re taking nature from a city that desperately needs these types of places, here in Charleston.”

“Everyone wants to talk about the environment today, and mental health. Getting people out of their homes, out of their armchairs, off their couches – that’s mental health and that’s improving it and we want to restrict them to what – a golf course, to a pool that’s only open parts of the year, and to a road?”

New Coonskin Park Bridge Opens

A new bridge has been dedicated at Coonskin Park in Charleston.

Officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the bridge Wednesday.

The bridge is the new public entrance into the Kanawha County-owned park. It connects the park to U.S. Route 119 in Mink Shoals. Ground was broken on the $6.2 million project last year. The bridge provides a new entryway, connecting the park to U.S. Route 119 in Mink Shoals.

Another road leading past an Air National Guard base to the park has closed to through traffic. That road closure was a stipulation in a federal improvement plan to make the base more secure and keep it, too, from being closed.

W.Va. Park Uses Inmates to Fill Jobs

Kanawha County parks officials have made up for a shortage of summer workers at Coonskin Park by using prison inmates.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports Parks Director Jeff Hutchinson told members of the Kanawha County Parks and Recreation Commission that 11 inmates from the Charleston Correctional Center began work at the park this week.

The inmates are cutting grass, trimming weeds, painting and doing maintenance. Hutchinson says all the inmates are non-violent offenders in the process of being released on parole.

Hutchinson made arrangements with the state Department of Corrections to provide part-time labor in the park after struggling with an ongoing problem getting and keeping workers. Inmates supply the work for free, in exchange for lunch.

Proposed Renaming of Coonskin Park Dropped

A Kanawha County parks official has dropped a proposal to rename Coonskin Park following a public outcry.

Retired state Adj. Gen. Allen Tackett tells media outlets he won’t push something that the public doesn’t want. He withdrew the proposal from the agenda for the commission’s Thursday meeting.

Tackett is president of the Kanawha County Parks and Recreation Commission. He had said earlier that the park’s name could be offensive to black residents.

Coonskin Park was built in 1950 in an area formerly called Coonskin Hollow. The name refers to raccoon pelts.

Tackett had proposed renaming the park for Kanawha County Commissioner Hoppy Shores, who was recently elected to his seventh term.

Coonskin Park's Name to Change?

The head of the Kanawha County Parks and Recreation Commission is seeking to change the name of Coonskin Park in Charleston.

Retired state Adj. Gen. Allen Tackett wants to change the park’s name because some people are offended by it.

The Charleston Gazette reports that the name is generally associated with a type of fur cap made from a raccoon skin but Tackett notes the term could be offensive to others.

The commission is set to discuss the name change at a Thursday meeting.

Tackett says now is the time to discuss it since new signs already will have to be made for a new entrance for the park. He’s suggesting the park be named for Kanawha County Commissioner Hoppy Shores, who was just elected to his seventh term.