National Park Service Story Archives - Page 2 of 9 - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Local Programs Receive Federal Preservation Funds

The National Park Service (NPS) announced last week nearly $10 million in Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grants to 13 programs in 12 states.

These grants mark the fifth year of funding for the program honoring the late Paul Bruhn, who served as executive director of the Preservation Trust of Vermont for nearly 40 years.

West Virginia was the only state to receive two grants totaling $1.5 million.

The Preservation Alliance of West Virginia, Inc. will receive $750,000 for its Fund for Historic Schools, and the Wheeling National Heritage Corporation will receive $750,000 for its Wheeling Revitalization Subgrant Program.

The grants are intended to support economic development through the preservation of historic buildings in rural communities across the country.

Grants awarded in this round will allow organizations to develop programs and select individual projects in their communities for preservation projects.

Shepherdstown Battlefield Getting $492,000 Grant To Preserve Farmland

The Jefferson County Farmland Protection Board will use the funding to preserve 149 acres that played a role in the lesser-known battle that took place days after Antietam in September 1862.

The National Park Service is giving a $492,000 grant to preserve farmland that was part of the Civil War battle of Shepherdstown.

The Jefferson County Farmland Protection Board will use the funding to preserve 149 acres that played a role in the lesser-known battle that took place days after Antietam in September 1862.

Confederate troops fought off the Union Army at Shepherdstown, which was then in Virginia.

When they returned to the Potomac River to push north into Pennsylvania the following year, West Virginia had become a state, and a part of the Union.

The preserved acreage will be protected from development but still produce hay and alfalfa.

“The conservation easements this funding will be used for will also ensure that farmers with land in the area can continue to earn a living and help feed America while protecting a piece of American history that is our duty to remember,” said U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia.

Another 2023 Battlefield Land Acquisition Grant of $927,000 was awarded to the Jefferson County Historic Landmarks Commission to preserve another 122 acres along the Potomac where most of the battle took place.

National Park Service Plans Demolition For Dilapidated Structures

The National Park Service (NPS) wants to demolish 16 structures in the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.

The NPS says the structures are hazardous, non-historic and abandoned. Dilapidated, overgrown conditions create maintenance burdens and areas that are vulnerable to trespassing. They expect to save about $800,000 a year in maintenance and law enforcement costs. The project already has funding from the Great American Outdoors Act and the Legacy Restoration Fund.

The money is part of an effort to address the extensive maintenance backlog in National Parks.

The public is invited to attend an open house on Thursday Dec. 8 in Glen Jean from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Glen Jean Bank to learn more about the NPS plans.

NPS expects the demolition will also free up staff and financial resources for maintaining other facilities and resources that park visitors can use.

The structures/areas to be removed through this project are:

Ajax Mines Grounds (Items to be removed include large pipes, mechanical apparatus, and fences)
Ajax Pump Station Building
Billy Jo Adkins House
Burnwood Maintenance Storage Building
Burnwood Ranger Storage Building
Burnwood Ranger Storage Shed
Clarence Plumley House, Meadow Creek
Dun Glen Boat Storage/Emergency Cache (Constructed by NPS)
Glade Creek Restroom
Glenwood Corp River Road Cabins (Structures have been removed. Next phase work will include remediating old septic systems and revegetating area)
Grandview Resource Stewardship Office
Jonny and Brenda Adkins House
Julian Mark Richmond House
Julian Mark Richmond Shed
Samuel Ames Garage
Samuel Ames House

Courtesy

The National Park Service plans to demolish more structures like this on the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.

Demolition could start as early as summer 2023. Additional information will be made available on the NPS’ planning website.

Allegheny Woodrats Return To Harpers Ferry National Historical Park After 20 Year Absence

Biologists from Radford University found the rodents in the Virginia section of the park, which also spans West Virginia and Maryland.

The Harpers Ferry National Historical Park has rediscovered Allegheny woodrats on park grounds – the first such sighting of the rodents in the area in two decades.

Biologists from Radford University found the rodents in the Virginia section of the park, which also spans West Virginia and Maryland. Both adults and infants of the species were discovered in the area by researchers, who say it’s the northernmost they’ve spotted the woodrats in the state.

The vulnerable species makes its home in rocky outcrops, and its loss of habitat is one of the factors that has seen the species’ population quickly decrease over the past few decades.

“You’re not going to find a whole lot of woodrats in one particular area. And they have a home range of a couple of acres; five to six acres, five to 12 acres,” said Scott Bates, wildlife biologist for the National Park Service’s Capital Region. “And so sometimes, the population at one outcrop will disappear. And then eventually it will be re-colonized by woodrats from a neighboring outcrop.”

Bates also says that the resurgence of the rare species in the area can be a boon for tourists.

“I think it’s cool to know that we have a unique and rare species that is able to persist at the park,” Bates said. “From a local perspective, anything that creates more interest in the park can have a positive economic impact for the region, as well as the positive environmental impact.”

Park representative Leah Taber says it’s an example of how protected lands can provide safe habitats for different types of threatened animals.

“It’s important to have these places for biodiversity, that we’re able as a national park to protect species of all shapes and sizes,” Taber said.

The discovery of Allegheny woodrats marks the second such reappearance of threatened animals at Harpers Ferry in recent memory – peregrine falcons had returned to nest at the park starting last year.

C&O Canal Prepares To Remove Second Barge From Potomac River

Contractors at the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park are preparing this week to remove the second of two construction barges from the Potomac River.

This comes after heavy rains last month loosened the two barges from their moorings, sending them floating down the Potomac River in the Eastern Panhandle.

The contractors working with the park said it will take at least four weeks to remove the larger of the two barges, which is lodged near Harpers Ferry at the Potomac’s former Dam Number 3.

The smaller barge was pulled from the river last month after being stopped north of Shepherdstown. Plans to recover a small excavator and other equipment that fell from this barge and into the river are also being made.

The equipment was part of a restoration project at McMahon’s Mill in Williamsport, Maryland. A release from the national park said the area of the Armory Trail Canal near the extraction site in Harpers Ferry will be closed off and warns the public to not approach the barge while the process is taking place.

C&O Canal National Park Begins Removal Of Loose Potomac River Barge

Flooding last weekend caused two barges in the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Park to break loose and float down the Potomac River in the Eastern Panhandle.

As of Thursday afternoon, lessened river flows allowed the smaller barge to be pulled away from the Potomac River’s Dam Number 4. Contractors involved with the situation are currently beginning the process to recover the barge at a point downstream.

An earlier update on Tuesday says some of the equipment on the barge has also been recovered, including a mini-excavator.

The larger barge is still in place near Harpers Ferry at the remnants of Potomac Dam Number 3. All of the equipment is still on board. The park says they are continuing to monitor the barge as the situation develops.

Heavy rains loosened the two barges from their moorings. The barges were part of a restoration project at McMahon’s Mill in Williamsport, Maryland.

No injuries have been reported and the national park is waiting for the Potomac’s water levels to subside to confirm any property damage.