West Virginians for Public Lands
March 2025
Your Advocacy Worked: WV Public Lands Protected!
Advocates from all over the state at E-Day at the WV Capitol
The WV Legislature regular session is over. It was a good session for public lands.
Over 1,400 of you sent more than 23,000 messages – and your advocacy worked to stop bad bills, amended another bill, and advanced a good bill!
Together we stopped:
- Re-opening WV state public lands to motorized trails
- Opening all state public lands to widespread timbering and undefined “economic development.”
- Two bills that would require private family farm and forest owners with conservation easements to register the easements and pay a 50% surcharge tax on carbon offset receipts.
We helped amend:
- Avoiding any surface disturbance to State Parks from underground carbon sequestration and requiring any injection sites to be at least 200 feet from any State Park.
We made some real progress with public river access from new or substantially re-built bridges. This bill passed the Senate but didn’t make it through the House. We’ll be advocating for this idea during the year and in the 2026 session in January.
So, thank you again. Thank you for responding when your advocacy matters. Never give up.
Forest Service Projects and Concerns
You probably have heard about multiple Forest Service issues on the radar. We want to take a moment to explain what is going on … and what you can do.
Scoping Comment: The Forest Service released requests for scoping comments for a new project at Kennison Mountain, near Richwood. The Forest Service will do a study called an “Environmental Assessment” (EA). They are now taking “scoping comments,” which is your chance to tell the Forest Service WHAT to study! Comments are due HERE by May 5.
Final Decision: The Decision Notice and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the Upper Cheat River project was released on April 1. We definitely received a victory here as the Forest Service removed three stands from clear-cutting that would have threatened flooding in the small town of Lead Mine; and protected several WV State-listed old trees.
Troubling New Federal Executive Order: The President issued Executive Order (EO) 14225 on March 1. This EO purports to fast-track full timbering of over 100 million acres of National Forest. The Secretary of Agriculture (Forest Service is part of Agriculture) issued Secretary’s Memorandum 1078-006 on April 3. We’re still gathering information on potential impacts on the Mon National Forest and the Washington and Jefferson forests – and we’ll let you know what you can do!
Your participation is essential to ensure our WV National Forests are well managed. Join us in letting the Forest Service know your opinions. Please act today!
It is not too late: Take the Public Land Challenge
Mon Forest Headwaters: Adventures in Washington
Quick Takes on Our Public Lands News! Public Lands Need YOU!
Advocating with governmental officials is important. the best way to love your public lands is simple – get out and enjoy them. Take a hike, go fishing, and post your adventures. Here are some quick takes on important news and opportunities to get involved:
Record-breaking National Parks attendance: 331 MILLION folks visited our National Parks in 2024. It is imperative that every National Park is fully funded and well-staffed. Some of the workers have been rehired, but there is still not adequate staffing and funding. Follow the National Parks Conservation Association Advocacy Opportunities to let Congress and administration officials know how to protect and fund our national treasures.
Summer is coming, and that means plenty of outdoor recreation events in our public lands. Here are just a few to check out this summer:
Cheat Fest May 2 & 3
Allegheny Trail Woods Wacky Week of Work and Weelaxation W5 June 16-23
Buckhannon Riverfest August 23
Public lands are not just fun and game, cleanup is a yearly project. Keep an eye on your local watershed and help them out with the next cleanup.
We’re hiring! Love public lands? Want to get some experience in advocating for public lands? West Virginia Rivers Coalition is looking for a contractor to build individual and business support to provide permanent safeguards to Mon Forest headwaters. The contract position is for 10-20 hours per week, at $25 per hour. For more information or to send a resume, email Mike Jones at [email protected].
Your Advocacy for Public Lands Matters: The Legislature is over, but advocacy is needed year-round. Here are the dates of the Interim Sessions:
June 22-24 (Stonewall)
September 7-9
October 5-7
November 2-4 (Pipestem)
December 7-9
Several are in our State Parks, the rest in Charleston. 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. This is a great time to meet with WV Senators and Delegates in your hometown.
Support our WV 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
Mon Forest Headwaters: Just WHAT is a headwater?
Mountain runoff starts a waterway.
We all know what a stream or river looks like, right? But where does that waterway start?
Headwaters are simply where the stream begins. For a creek or small stream, it may be where the winter melt off accumulates and begins to run downhill. For our larger West Virginia rivers, their headwaters may have two or more streams coming together to form that wild and wonderful river.
This year, we will be talking in detail about the Mon Forest Headwaters: The 16 waterways within the Monongahela National Forest — from the Blackwater River to the Williams River — the Forest Service found are eligible for Wild and Scenic designation.
We’re asking this 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!
Overlook at Lost River State Park
We kick off 2025 with two big court wins protecting our public lands nationally (and our climate)!
1. Utah’s lawsuit claiming that the US cannot hold vast amounts of public lands within the state was dismissed by the US Supreme Court. Had Utah prevailed, millions of acres of federal public lands in multiple states would not have federal protections.
2. The US Supreme Court also refused to quash a lawsuit in Hawai’i seeking to hold large fuel companies responsible for misleading the public about climate change. The lawsuit will continue in state court.
The outgoing national administration was busy, too:
1. Western Arctic Conservation: Protections expanded for 13 million acres of critical wildlife habitat in Alaska.
2. National Monument Expansions: San Gabriel Mountains and Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monuments expanded to safeguard wildlife and recreation.
3. Ambler Road Permit Denial: A major win against habitat fragmentation in Alaska’s Brooks Range.
4. Sadly, the Forest Service withdrew its proposed amendments to all Forest Plans to consider care of older and old-growth trees and forest areas.
Support our WV 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
Meet Your Public Lands: State and Local Rail Trails
One of West Virginia’s many rail trails – awaiting YOU for adventure
Some West Virginia public lands are not very wide but go on for miles! Meet your state and local rail trails.
In the 1980s, Congress created ‘railbanking’ where old unused rail lines could be inventoried but then put to a new use. Rail trails were born: removing the old rail line and installing walking and biking paths!
West Virginia has its share of these healthy outdoor public lands. The Greenbrier Rail Trail, the longest rail trail at 78 miles, the North Bend Rail Trail, and the Elk River Trail are all part of WV State Park system. The Wheeling Heritage Trail, the Mon River/Caperton/Deckers Creek rail trails, and Beards Ford Rail Trail – to name just three – are some local trails all over the Mountain State.
There are over 560 miles of West Virginia rail trails. Get out and find your fun today. (And don’t forget to take the Public Lands Challenge with your rail trail adventure – tell your representative why you love rail trails!)
