PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCESINTERIM SUBCOMMITTEE

Annual Report to the Joint Committeeon Governmentand Finance 2007- 2008

January8,2008 I I t In2007 the Subcommitteecontinued its oversightrole of the WestVirginia statepark systemand wasalso actively involved in otherwildlife resourcesand outdoor recreation issues of importance t to the State.

I Parks RelatedIssues Parks issuesof interestin2007 andspeakers who appearedbefore the Subcommitteeto address I theseissues included: - Lewis Ledford, Director of the North Carolina Divisionof Partrsand Reqeation, who I discussedNorth Carolinaosimplementation of a dedicatedfunding source for the North Carolina parkssystem and the positive impactit had on the parkssystem;

I - Don Strilcer,Superintendent of New RiverGorge National River,Gauley RiverNational RecreationArea and BluestoneNational Scenic River. Mr. Strikerdiscussed a recenteconomic impact study which cited the tremendouseconomic impact of thesenational park sites on the I economyofsouthern , and discussedhis ideas forbetterfacilitating atourismeconomy in West Virginia throughincreased cooperation with West Virginia stateparks and other state I govemmentagencies; - Bob Beanblossom,West Virginia State Parks DistrictAdministrator, who discussedthe I legacyof thedepression era Civilian ConservationCorps in buildingthe initial facilitiesthat would lay the foundationfor the beginningsof our statepark system. t I Wildlife ResourcesRelated Issues In the 2007interim year, the Subcommiffeealso continued its oversightrole of outdoorrecreation activitiesmanaged bythe Wildlife ResourcesSection. Wildlife Resourcesissues of interestin2007 I andspeakers who appearedbefore the Subcommitteeto addressthese issues included:

- ChristopherW. Ryan, Black Bear Project Leader, Wildlife Resources, who discussedhis I work on the WestVirginia BearResearch and Monitoring project;

- Paul Johansen,Assistant Chief for GameManagement, Wildlife Resources, provided a I preliminaryreview of theresults of theFall2007 big gamehunting season, and also discussed other issuessuch as Chronic Wasting Disease in thedeer herd. A summaryof theharvest figures from the I 2007big gamehunting season is includedin the appendix. I I I I I I Law EnforcementIssues west virginia DNR Law enforcementissues of inierestin2007 included:

I LieutenantTim Coleman,West Virginia DNRLavt Enforcemenr,discussed recreational boating issuesand ways to better improve boatersafety through increasedboater education and I broaderenforcement powers for DNR law enforcementofficers.

I StateParks and other DNR sitesvisited by the Subcommitteein 2007

In furtheranceof its traditionaloversight role, the Subcommittee has made a substantialcommitment I to visit statepark sites,as well asother sites managed by the Division of NaturalResources. This yeartheSubcommittee conductedon-site visitationsto Capcapon , HawksNest State Park, Plum OrchardWildlife ManagementArea, Prickett'sFort StatePark, Tygart Lake StatePark and I ValleyFalls State Park. Summaries ofthese visitation sites are located in ttri appendixof thisreport. I I t I I I I I I 2 I Respectfullysubmitted,

il,.ffa/*,1* Jeff Eldridge Co-chair StateSenate Houseof Delegates

DannyWells Co-Chair Houseof Delegates APPENDIX

4 I I SUMMARY I OF OPERATIONS TygartLake StatePark I I BackgroundInformation

The dam that createdTygart Lake was completedby the US Army Corpsof Engineersin 1938. I In 1945 the Federalgovernment deeded 1,775 aCt.r aro*d the tat<-eto the State of West Virginia, and 539 acresof this land were usedto begin TygartLake StatePark. An additional 715 acres were added in 1947, through a long-term licenseagreement. The 1947license I agreementwas for 25 yearsand was renewedin 1972 and l997.Initial developmentincluded boatdocks and picnic areasand in the early 1950'sa bathhouse,roads, water systems, residence and maintenancebuildings were