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Into the Canyon – Fall 2005

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Into the Canyon – Fall 2005 Into the Canyon Newsletter of Friends of the Cheat Fall 2005 Jenkinsburg River Access Project Complete by Charlie Walbridge Two years ago the State of West Virginia made a strong effort to purchase the spectacular Cheat River Canyon. After they were outbid by Allegheny Wood Products (AWP), a large logging company, river access became an immediate concern. AWP now owned Jenkinsburg, the site of an old logging town, which had been used by paddlers since the mid-1950’s. It’s the only takeout for the Cheat below Cheat Canyon and the lower Big Sandy, both popu- lar whitewater runs that draw thousands of canoe, A geotextile erosion control mat was installed on the kayak, and rafting enthusiasts to the area each year. slope that is used for taking out the large rafts. This It is also a popular place for swimming and picnick- was covered with coarse gravel and the banks were ing in the summer. But the area has been the scene seeded and mulched to hold the soil. of considerable abuse. Heavy use by ATV riders and party groups had caused considerable damage over All of the work done is to decrease sedimentation into the last two decades. The area has been notorious the river. We continue to monitor the area for signs of for waist-deep mud holes and industrial-strength ATV damage, trash and abuse of the restoration work. litter. The Cheat Canyon Coalition, a group of organi- zations that had worked together to support the state’s purchase effort, contacted AWP immediately In this issue after the sale and offered to raise money to fix up the area at no cost to the company. But AWP was Jenkinsburg Access............... 1, 5, 6 unwilling to agree to a long term lease, without which fundraising would be impractical. After an ini- Working Upstream ...................... 3, 4 tial meeting and a tour of the area with company Start the (Tour) Bus .................... 7 representatives, meaningful contact ended. Access AMD Vocabulary ........................ 8 remained open, but without a long term agreement. Monitoring and Mapping ........... 8 A year after the purchase of the Cheat Canyon lands, AWP closed the Allegheny Trail through the Water Festival ............................. 9 Cheat Canyon with no prior notice to the organiza- AMD Treatment Projects ........... 10,11 tion maintaining it. In light of this, the paddling com- Preston Rail-Trails Progress .......... 12 munity became increasingly concerned about ac- Rockville Access Purchased ............ 13 cess from the Cheat and Big Sandy Rivers. Some months before the Cheat Canyon pur- Ben’s Farewell ................................ 14 chase effort a piece of privately owned land at the FOC Updates .................................. 14 continued on page 5 Into the Canyon - 1 - Friends of the Cheat Into the Canyon Published by: Friends of the Cheat 119 S.Price St., #206 Kingwood, WV 26537 phone: 304-329-3621 fax: 304-329-3622 web: www.cheat.org email: [email protected] Friends of the Cheat Board of Directors Jim Snyder, Chair and Secretary, Charlie Walbridge, Vice-Chair, Dave Bassage, Dave and Lena Cerbone, Paul Hart, Dan Lenox, Tom Nutter, Ralph Teter, Troy Titchenell Friends of the Cheat Staff Keith Pitzer - executive director, Sally Wilts - office assistant, Ben Mack - Mapping and Monitoring, Danielle Adams - OSM VISTA Business Sponsors Adventure’s Edge • Alpine Lake Properties • Another World Glass • Appalachian Wildwaters • Aquafix Systems • J. Claudia Atkinson Catering • Backlund Paddles • Big Bear Lake • Bishop House and Conference Center • Bishop House Millworks • C.E.Bolyard and Son • BoofGEAR • Bubba’s Bistro • Cheat River Outfitters • Cool Runnings • Custom Inflatables • Delightful Dozens • East/West Printing • Filtersource • Fluid Kayaks • Grateful Heads Helmets • iPlayOutside.com Jan’s Novelties • Laughing Fish Coffee • Mario’s Fishbowl • MARPAT Corporation (WKMM) • Monroe’s Deli • Morgantown Energy Associates • Mountain Mist Products • Mountain Streams and Trails • Mountain Surf • Muskrat Paddles • Mylan Pharmaceuticals • Mystical Crystals • Ohiopyle Massage • Potesta & Associates • Preston Distributors • PS Composites • Pyranha • Rapidstyle • Riversport School of Paddling • Rocky Mountain Kayak • S&L Realty • Sony • Surface Dynamics • Sweet Annie’s Bakery •Teter’s Campground • The Underwear Guys • Tygart River Metalworks • Useful Solutions • Gail Anderson Vincent • Wavesport • We’re Nuts • West Virginia Brewing Company • WFSP • Whitewater Video.com Major Donors with thanks to all of our members Steven Barnett • Dave Bassage • Guy Alan Clark • Amy Congers • David & Linda Davidson • Stratford Douglas • Michael Farrell • Robert Gedokah • Joe Greiner • Ken Gfroerer & Lisa Smith • Mary Lynn Harden • John Harvey • Steve Ingalls& Anne Kmieck • Jack Kangas • Blakely Lacroix • Dan and Janet Lenox • Roberta Levine • John Logar • Tom McCloud • Constance Miller • Eloise Milne • Arch Moore • Anne and Wayne Nelson • Larry Pethick • Howie Pentony • Randy Robinson • Pamela Schwer • Peter F. Smith • Patty Snow • Jan Steckel • Toddi Steelman & Joe Sinsheimer • Keith Strausbaugh •Steve Taylor • Ann and Cecil Tickamyer • Fred Wright • Charlie and Sandy Walbridge • Ed Westfall • Nick and Amy Zervos Organizations American Canoe Association • American Whitewater • Blue Ridge Voyageurs • Canaan Valley Institute • Canoe Cruisers Association • Cheat Lake Environmental and Recreation Association • Coopers Rock Foundation • Downstream Alliance • Friends of Deckers Creek • Friends of Laurel Mountain • Greater Baltimore Canoe Club • Harper’s Ferry Outdoor Festival • Keel Haulers Canoe Club • Kingwood Junior Women’s Club • Monocacy Canoe Club • Philadelphia Canoe Club • Preston County Commissioners • Project Wet • Richmond Whitewater Club • River Network • Shavers Fork Coalition • Three Rivers Paddling Club • Trout Unlimited • Upper Monongahela River Association • US Army Corps of Engineers • US EPA • US Office of Surface Mining • WV Department of Environmental Protection • WV Raptor Rehabilitation Center • WV Rivers Coalition • WV Save Our Streams • WV Stream Partners • WV Watershed Network • Zoar Valley Paddling Club Into the Canyon - 2 - Friends of the Cheat Working Upstream realize that we should have offered this sooner By Keith Pitzer, Executive Director, Friends of the and we will do it again in the future. Cheat There is also an update on the monitoring and Fall came late this year. All through October, mapping project that continues to grow in scope the mountainsides stayed mostly green with very and importance each season. This information, little of the colorful expression we look forward to. compiled and mapped using GIS, gives us a ma- Then winter gave us a surprise early visit on Octo- jor tool to prioritize future AMD treatment, and to ber 24th. By the next morning the ground had get the best response for resources invested. three or more inches of wet heavy snow cover and trees still in leaf were bent over with the extra Across the lower Cheat watershed that we call weight. Branches broke, whole trees came down home turf, we have finished the last of three acid and power outages and roadblocks were common mine drainage treatment projects built this year over a broad area of the Cheat and neighboring through Friends of the Cheat and funded by watersheds. WVDEP/Non-Point Source Program and Office of Surface Mining. The already completed projects My house was without power from Tuesday are performing very well, fresh and new, the neu- morning until the following Sunday evening. Sitting tralizing capacity of limestone and steel slag at full at home alone on a couple of those evenings, I force these first few months. You can read about certainly had the time and quiet to muse on the these in the AMD project updates…. power of Mother Nature. But the house was warm, I had kerosene lamps to cast a sort of glow So….are we making progress in trying to re- through a couple rooms and the dog didn’t mind at store this watershed? ….and what are we trying all. All things eventually change and the snow to restore it to? (I was recently asked this ques- melted, the utility company and workers from sur- tion by a newspaper reporter) Rest assured it will rounding states did get the power back on, the never be the same as before coal mining came to water came up in the river and by Halloween these West Virginia hills. Even if the churned up weekend, boaters were enjoying possibly a last topography of a surface mine is covered with warm weekend paddling. This was the situation early succession species or even struggling last weekend as I thought about this column….. maples and oaks, the productivity of the land is forever changed. The water under it and coming The summer months were full at the Friends of out from collapsed portals, seam outcroppings the Cheat office. Three AMD treatment projects and abandoned pit lakes is typically a lower pH were constructed. OSM VISTA Danielle Adams than pickle juice. Steep mountain streams that and OSM Summer Intern Sheila Westfall took our would have been habitat for the eastern brook water quality education to 4-H Camp and to Scout trout are too acidic to support aquatic insects and Troops. Various members of FOC staff and vol- fish and often exhibit the telltale orange precipitate unteers sampled 80 different sites on Pringle Run, of iron dropping out as the acid mine drainage Greens Run and Muddy Creek. In addition to this, mixes with fresh water and the pH rises. we pursued various grants with proposals, visited with congressional office staffers about projects in But the answer is yes, we are doing some the works, kept abreast of watershed issues and good. Far downstream in the Cheat River main commented when appropriate, all the while plan- stem the water no longer stings the eyes of swim- ning for future AMD projects and conservation mers or boaters. Fish are being caught in the work here in the Cheat Watershed. river at Jenkinsburg and downstream. An osprey ( a fish-eating bird of prey) was documented in the In this issue, you will be able to read about our Cheat Canyon this spring.
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