West Virginians for Public Lands
November 2025
Join the Campaign to Protect West Virginia’s Wild & Scenic Rivers
There are 16 waterways in our Mon Forest that are eligible for a Wild & Scenic River designation. They are deserving of permanent protections.
Sixteen waterways within the Monongahela National Forest are eligible to be Wild and Scenic Rivers, according to the U.S. Forest Service. These waterways are important for our drinking water sources – 9% of the folks in the US can trace their drinking water back to the Mon Forest.
These waterways protect species such as eastern brook trout, freshwater mussels, hellbenders, and the candy darter, while also preserving the riparian habitat for other endangered species, including West Virginia’s northern flying squirrel, the Virginia big-eared bat, the Indiana bat, and the Cheat Mountain salamander.
These waterways are the heartbeat of West Virginia’s outdoor recreation economy.
These 16 streams on the map truly are waterways of life — sustaining aquatic species and enriching our own lives in countless ways. Because we believe so strongly in protecting the Mon Forest Headwaters, WV Rivers has joined with partners to launch a campaign dedicated to their preservation.
Learn more about the unique values of each stream and the effort to protect them at www.wvwaterways.org.
We have been working quietly for five years to build support for permanent safeguards for these waterways. We’ve talked to the staff of our West Virginia Senators and Representatives. We’ve given them draft legislation called the “West Virginia Headwaters Legacy Act” that will permanently designate nearly 500 river miles in the Mon Forest as Wild and Scenic. They’ve told us: Show us the public support.
So, when we go back to Washington in March 2026, we want to bring your support with us.
If you’d like more information, please email Mike Jones at mjones@wvrivers.org.
Protecting Our Public Lands
Don’t let our national public lands get sold off to the highest bidder for coal and gas extraction. File your comment by Nov 10 here.
This summer, WV Rivers has been actively engaged in efforts to uphold the integrity of our nation’s public lands and the protections that keep them healthy and accessible for everyone.
Thanks to your support — and to the voices of thousands of people across the country — two proposals to sell off portions of our public lands as part of the federal budget bill were not advanced. Together, we reaffirmed a shared belief: Public lands belong in public hands.
Still, important conversations about the future of our National Forests and lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) continue.
The U.S. Forest Service has proposed repealing the Roadless Rule, which currently safeguards 182,000 acres of West Virginia’s most iconic forests and more than 40 million acres nationwide. In the Monongahela National Forest, cherished places like Roaring Plains, Seneca Creek, Cheat Mountain, Canaan Loop, Tea Creek, North Fork Mountain, and Hills Creek Falls could lose protections from road construction and logging. These landscapes provide solitude, recreation, wildlife habitat, and clean water — and they deserve lasting care.
The comment period on this proposal closed September 19, 2025. Over 1,000 people added their names to our petition urging the Forest Service to retain these protections. We’re monitoring the next steps in the process and will keep you informed when there are new opportunities to share your input.
Although West Virginia doesn’t have lands directly managed by the BLM, we share a deep commitment to the responsible stewardship of public lands across the nation. The BLM has proposed rescinding the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule, more commonly referred to as the “Public Lands Rule,” which currently guides the agency in using science-based decision-making and prioritizing the protection and restoration of habitats and ecosystems.
This commonsense rule ensures that the many diverse uses of our public lands — such as recreation, wildlife, clean water, and responsible resource management — remain balanced for future generations.
WV Rivers remains committed to standing for healthy, accessible, and well-protected public lands. Thank you for lending your voice to this important work.
Help Us Set Our 2026 Public Lands Legislative Priorities
The WV Rivers team at the WV State Capitol for Environmental Day. Photo courtesy of WV Legislature, Photography by Perry Bennett.
The legislature meets for 60 days starting in January 2026. Our team, partners, and members work year-round to ensure the legislature protects public lands and ensures these special places are well-managed. We are compiling our legislative priorities for the upcoming year.
Of course, we will oppose any attempt to extend motorized trails into any public land, any unfettered timbering, or undefined “economic development” in our public lands. The public does not want those things to happen to public lands. We also oppose any attempt to limit private property rights to conserve family farm and forest lands.
We are also advocating for positive changes.
- Public river access from new or extensively renovated bridges, where feasible.
- Revise Rails-to-Trails laws to increase funding.
- Secure robust funding for WVDNR to support staff and maintenance.
- Adopt-a-stream and -trail programs; river and watershed cleanups.
- Permanently fund the WV Flood Resiliency Trust Fund for solutions, not just studies.
- Promote accessible public lands for all while conserving our state’s public lands.
- Ensure public participation in the proposed new development on our state lands.
Have any ideas? Just email Mike Jones at mjones@wvrivers.org. Or sign up to learn more about how you can meet with your Delegate and Senators to protect our WV public lands.
Want to brush up on your advocacy skills? Join us for our upcoming virtual Advocacy Training Series on Dec. 4 and Dec. 9 at 7:00 pm to learn how you can take action this session for clean water and public lands.
Quick Takes on Our Public Lands News! Public Lands Need YOU!
Hiker in Dolly Sods. Photo courtesy of Kent Mason.
Advocating for public lands starts with enjoying them. Hike, fish, explore—and share your experiences to inspire others. The memories and connections you build outdoors can become powerful stories to share with decision-makers and communities, reminding them why these places matter. Here are a few quick updates and ways to take action:
Thank you for your support of our national public lands. Thanks to your efforts, and those of thousands of people like you across the US, we successfully pushed back against two efforts to sell off our public lands as part of the budget bill. These efforts to sell off public lands may resurface, and we’ll let you know about any opportunities to let your voice be heard.
Forest Service Draft Final EA on Deer Creek: The Forest Service has released its Draft Environmental Assessment on the Deer Creek project. We applauded multiple provisions for stream restoration and other projects. We were pleased to see the Forest Service agree with us and drop a problematic clear-cut that was too close to a waterway. They share our concern about Wild and Scenic Rivers and about endangered local species. You can see the Forest Service responses to our comments beginning on page 29 of their responses.
Legislative Interim Sessions: We watch all the Interims and make sure that our public lands are protected. The final interim session of 2025 will take place in Charleston on December 7-9, and legislators recently concluded the November interim session at Pipestem Resort State Park on November 2-4.
At the October 5-7 interim session, the Forest Management Review Commission and the Oversight Commission on Dept of Transportation Accountability held presentations. You can watch at the links. We will be monitoring proposed legislation affecting our forests and public lands and will let you know how to get involved.
Ready to take your advocacy to the next level? Learn more about being a District Advocate. When you’re ready, we invite you to sign up. Just send an email to Mike Jones at mjones@wvrivers.org. 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.
WV 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
“We Catch Business” is Year-Round!
Are you a local business owner who loves public lands? We’ve got a free window decal for you to display and show your support! People visit our Wild and Wonderful WV public lands. And then they shop in local businesses, like yours. This sticker is a great way to spark conversations with customers and neighboring businesses about how public lands boost our communities. To get yours, email Mike Jones at mjones@wvrivers.org with your business name and address.
