West Virginians for Public Lands
October 2024
“Create the Mon” Art Exhibit Opening Oct 25
The Forest refreshes us, inspires us, and humbles us with its infinite mysteries. The Forest is a muse.
We have used Public Lands Day in each of the past two years to bring attention to our Mon Forest and headwaters and encourage people to “Create the Mon.” We presented a virtual gallery of this art in 2023.
Artists in many media felt the muse of the Forest. This exhibit, with all new art, is the result. The opening night of the exhibit is October 25, from 6 pm to 8:30 pm, at the South Side Studio, 126 S. Main Street, Petersburg, WV. Artists will present poetry, art, and reflective readings.
The Exhibit will run until Nov 30. Be sure and check it out.
Public Lands Priorities in the 2025 Legislature
What you see from this iconic Lindy Point lookout, pictured above, is now public lands!
We work to protect our victories for public lands: prohibitions against new motorized trails and public notices and opportunities to be heard when out-of-state interests want to profit from our land.
We want to make sure that our public lands remain the way we like them – iconic lands conserved for future generations with nature-based, non-motorized recreation.
We are concerned that the legislature may try to make our public lands places for incompatible economic development, timbering in exempted areas, and otherwise neglect the mission and maintenance of our State Parks, State Forests, Rail Trails, and Wildlife Management areas. We are also concerned about protecting private farm and forest owners who want to conserve their lands and hand them down to their families.
We want to see public lands with adequate personnel and funding to care for our lands, a fully funded flood resiliency trust fund, access to rivers from new and renovated bridges, and reforms to the laws regarding rail trails to ensure these important parts of our recreation economy are able to obtain federal funding.
It takes YOU to be a successful advocate for your public lands. Please continue to email and call on important public lands issues.
In the past year, you have sent more than 50,000 emails, letters, calls, and petitions to your elected officials about the importance of public lands. Ready to take your advocacy one step further? Learn more about being a District Advocate. When you’re ready, we invite you to sign up. We’ll help you every step of the way.
Thank you for protecting our Mon Forest
We had two recent opportunities to comment on Forest Service projects – the restoration of red spruce across the Mon Forest and nationwide protections for our old-growth trees. We wanted you to be a part of this advocacy – and you responded.
More than 700 of you signed the petitions regarding each project. Many of you wrote your own comments. Here are just two comments:
- Please protect areas of old growth. We need the protection of those legacy trees. Mature, old-growth trees are necessary for our health.
- Red Spruce is an iconic species on the Mon. Seeing the restoration progress that has been achieved on the Allegheny Front is a very important step.
The Forest Service has heard your opinions loud and clear. We’ll keep you posted on what they decide to do about old-growth trees and our historic red spruce trees.
Mon Forest Headwaters: How Should We Protect Forested Waterways?
The U.S. Forest Service identified 16 waterways within the Monongahela National Forest — from the Blackwater River to the Williams River — as eligible for Wild and Scenic designation. Studies in the 1980s and 1990s found that these 16 free-flowing waterways had one or more outstanding remarkable values.
Scenery, recreation, and species and habitat protections are some of the many characteristics that permanent safeguards can ensure will be available for future generations. The National Park Service can tell you more about outstanding remarkable values.
Click here for more information about the importance of Mon Forest Headwaters. We’ve been asking the question: What is the best way to protect our precious and irreplaceable Mon Forest Headwaters? We also want to hear YOUR opinion: tell us your concerns and ideas about permanent protections for Mon Forest Headwaters.
Quick Takes on Our Public Lands News! Public Lands Need YOU!
Iconic view of the Bluestone River from Pipestem State Park. The Bluestone is West Virginia’s only Wild and Scenic River.
State and federal legislation is only a tiny part of Public Land advocacy for the Mountain State. What is the best way to show your love of our local, state, and national public lands? Go see them! Here are some quick takes on important news and opportunities to get involved:
Make a Plan to VOTE. We don’t take sides, but we encourage folks concerned about the health and conservation of our public lands to make their voices heard on Nov 5. Here is some information about the importance of voting for our climate and public lands.
Mining near Twin Falls State Park may be seeping into the Park and its waterfalls. Please share any pictures of the pollution and its effects on our State Park with us using the WV Stream Watch App.
Need a Christmas Tree? Want to cut your own? Here’s the information to obtain a Mon Forest permit for your fresh, West Virginia, Christmas Tree.
Support our public lands: West Virginians for Public Lands (WVPL) believes that West Virginia public lands, waters, and the wildlife that inhabit them are intrinsically valuable, and these special areas should be preserved. Is this something that you believe in, too? We’d love you, your business, or your organization to be a part of this vision. Sign up here or click the button below.
Public Lands on Social: Be sure to tag WVPL on your pictures! Use #WVPublicLands for any local, state, or national public land, and use #MonForestHeadwaters when you enjoy a Mon Forest headwater. Check us out here:
- FACEBOOK: wvpubliclands
- X (Twitter): @WV4PublicLands
- Instagram: wvpubliclands
