SO IT'S TIME TO GET THE WORD OUT EMAIL YOUR FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES, CLUB BUDDIES AND SUPPORTERS. ASK THEM TO EMAIL ANY LIKE-MINDED PEOPLE THEY KNOW.  THEN WRITE YOUR LETTER. DON'T DELAY!  WE NEED INDIVIDUAL LETTERS TO GOVERNOR WISE NOW.

Below please find the summaries we have used before, along with a revised sample letter CHEAT GORGE/BIG SANDY FACT SHEET

The WV Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) is seeking to acquire approximately 6,500 acres of land in Preston County currently owned by Allegheny Energy (AE).  Approximately 4,700 acres is in Cheat Gorge; the remaining 1,800 acres are along the Big Sandy. If acquired, these lands would become WVDNR wildlife management areas, probably an expansion of the existing Snakehill WMA. Conservation easements and agreements will be established with the US Fish and Wildlife Service to protect federally endangered
species.  This represents a unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to protect a significant stretch of wild land. Your letters to West Virginia Governor Robert Wise are needed to support this purchase.

The Cheat Canyon is an important recreational corridor. The Cheat and Big Sandy Rivers are both renowned whitewater runs. They attract thousands of paddlers from all over the East and support a modest whitewater rafting industry. The Allegheny Trail, a 330-mile long footpath running from the Pennsylvania Line near Bruceton Mills to the Appalachian Trail near Glen Lynn, Virginia, parallels the river throughout the canyon. A second footpath follows the Big Sandy from
Rockville downstream to several magnificent waterfalls. Both areas offer moderate hikes that are popular both with tourists and local residents. The area is hunted and, where water quality permits, fished.

The Cheat Canyon is home to the federally threatened flat-spired three-toothed land snail. With this purchase, most of its habitat will be protected in public ownership and it should be possible to remove it from the endangered species list. One cave in the Gorge harbors a population of federally endangered Indiana bats that hibernate in the cave each winter.  Other land within the Gorge
is foraging habitat for this rare bat.  Eighty other caves, most of which have not been surveyed for biological resources, are documented on these tracts.

The Cheat Canyon is also home to a large number of other wildlife species including game animals (white-tailed deer, ruffed grouse, etc.), neotropical migratory birds, and several rare plants and animals such as the green salamander and the smooth rose.  The Big Sandy tract includes the trail to Wonder Falls. It contains a stocked trout stream, Laurel Run, that is a significant destination
for anglers in the Morgantown area. The Nature Conservancy considers the area important as a "matrix block", an extensive block of unbroken forest.

AE wants to sell these lands as soon as possible.  The company currently has other buyers for the property, but is willing to donate 25% of the acreage to WVDNR if the state can purchase 75% of the land.  At present, WVDNR has funds to acquire approximately 13% of the lands. We need your support to raise the money for the rest. Your letters will make a difference.

CHEAT CANYON ECOLOGY

A Perspective from Appalachian Conservation Biology:

QUESTION: The Cheat River is one of the largest watersheds in
West Virginia, so which part of it is the "canyon"?

ANSWER: What many people consider the Cheat Canyon is the steep-sided stretch from Albright, a popular put-in for kayakers and rafters, to Cheat Lake (the river runs north). Albright is in Preston County and Cheat Lake is in Monongalia. The canyon length is approximately 16 miles. The upstream limit of the lake (reservoir) water is almost directly below the Coopers Rock overlook, though the canyon does not widen for another couple of miles, near Mount
Chateau State Park. Elevation of the river ranges from 1,180' to 860' asl, while the elevation of the rim is highly variable. The taller rim edges are roughly 1,000' above the river - in the 1,800-2,000' range. Many slopes exceed 30º and there are scattered cliffs along the sandstone rim and the outside of river bends.
Knolls back from the rim reach 2,100-2,200'. 

Q: What is so special about the ecology of the Cheat
River Canyon?

A: There are rare plants and animals found in the canyon, there are unique habitats, and there are high-quality examples of common species and habitats.  And, perhaps most importantly, these features are connected by a continuous "fabric" of native forest.  Rare animals of the canyon include a pack rat,
a salamander, two bats, three land snails and two cave invertebrates or "scuds." There is also a rare streamside plant. Despite all of the unique species found in the canyon, it is so rugged that it is actually rather poorly known.

Globally rare animals of the Cheat River Canyon (on a G1 to G5 scale)

The special habitats include cliffs and boulder screes of Pottsville Sandstone (often with small patches of old growth forest), and caves that tend to be found in the lower slopes of the canyon in its seam of Greenbrier Limestone. There are dozens of caves, with at least six longer than 500'.  Cornwell Cave, a maze cave with more than 13 miles of passages, is the biggest and managed by The Nature Conservancy under an agreement with landowner Allegheny Energy.  High quality habitats include limestone forest with mature stands of cove hardwoods and abundant spring ephemeral wildflowers. Most of these forest sites remain free of invasive non-native plants. In the canyon's second-growth forest,
scattered "specimen" examples of shagbark hickory, American beech and other trees are found. Along the river, large gravel bars and sandbars are dynamic environments. These habitats provide a place for riverside colonizing plants, and abound with butterflies and other insects in summer.

Q: The canyon looks fine to me, so what are the threats?

A: Despite its appearance as a blanket of green, there are many impacts hidden under the tree canopy, and a few are not so hidden.  Although the canyon holds large areas of high-quality habitat, other parts are degraded by logging and mining, and portions of the rim are becoming developed. The most widespread and direct impacts are from logging roads cut into the steep flanks of the canyon. Because of the steepness, eight to twelve road sections are run across slopes for logging access. Past operations have caused some catastrophic landslides, such as the one just below the mouth of the Big Sandy River on the northeast side. More frequently, the roads trap surface water flow and channel it into ditches. This loss and redirection of surface water affects most plants on the slope. Then this ditched water reaches a low spot or turnout on the road and is spilled downhill, often digging a gully that may reach six or eight feet in depth. Strip mining along the top of the canyon also contributes to gullies and changes in drainage patterns, and increases peak flows to cause further destabilization. Mining within the watershed of canyon tributaries is also a source of acute acid
mine drainage (AMD). Muddy Creek and Bull Run have the most obvious problems.  Because water quality is significantly degraded, canyon waters no longer hold rare or sensitive aquatic species, such as the hellbender or Cheat minnow. Many common species are also absent, and fishing and swimming are not possible in the upper third of the canyon. AMD issues are being addressed by a number of recent and new federally funded treatment projects. Friends of the Cheat has been an important advocacy group for water quality improvements.  In the past decade many new houses have sprung up along the canyon rim, especially in the Snake Hill area. Among the effects of development is fragmentation of habitat for wide-ranging animals.  In addition to these threats, canyon habitats and species are also subject to impacts from "trans-boundary" phenomena such as acid rain and global climate change. The effects of fire  suppression, white-tailed deer overpopulation, off-road vehicle incursions, and visitor overuse of popular and scenic spots are other concerns.

© Ken Hotopp, Appalachian Conservation Biology - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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SAMPLE CHEAT CANYON LAND PURCHASE LETTER

Governor Robert Wise
1900 Kanawha Boulevard, E
Charleston, WV 25305

Dear Governor Wise,

  My name is Charlie Walbridge and I have been running the Cheat and Big Sandy Rivers since the fall of 1971. The area has always been special tome.  After commuting from Philadelphia for several decades, my wife and I moved to Bruceton Mills four years ago.  The paddling and hiking opportunities in the area,
combined with my job as a sales rep for a company supplying West Virginia river outfitters, were the main reasons behind our move. I am also the author of Wildwater West Virginia and Appalachian Wildwater, both guidebooks that describe the rivers of the area.

  I recently learned that the West Virginia DNR has been working to acquire the lands in the area owned by Allegheny Energy for some time. AE would like to see these lands, which represent roughly 75% of the Cheat Canyon and a significant part of the Big Sandy Gorge, transferred to state hands.  The DNR would like to buy them, and already has some of the funding in hand. If
successful, this would be a very exciting development with many positive benefits for the people of West Virginia and surrounding states.

  This is an opportunity to protect a unique area. These lands contain a vast forest with mature stands of cove hardwoods and abundant spring wildflowers.  It's home to several rare and endangered species. The river itself is an important recreational corridor.  The Cheat Canyon and Big Sandy Rivers are both
renowned whitewater runs. They attract thousands of paddlers from all over the East and support a modest whitewater rafting industry. The Allegheny Trail, a 330-mile long footpath running from the Pennsylvania Line near Bruceton Mills to the Appalachian Trail near Glen Lynn, Virginia, parallels the river throughout the canyon. A second footpath follows the Big Sandy from Rockville to several
magnificent waterfalls. Both areas offer moderate hikes that are popular both with tourists and local residents.   We believe that this represents a once-on-a-lifetime
opportunity to maintain the quality of life in Northern West Virginia and support the vital tourist industry. I urge you to do everything in your power to make this deal succeed.

Sincerely,

Charlie Walbridge
American Whitewater and Friends of Cheat
Route 1, Box A43B; Bruceton Mills, WV 26525
email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ;
phone 304-379-9OO2