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Group Fights Possible Mont Chateau Development: CLEAR Wants Former State Park Kept Wild

Posted on: Monday, 19 June 2006, 09:00 CDT

By Janet L. Metzner, The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va.

Jun. 19--Duane Nichols' children learned to swim at the beach at Mont Chateau at Cheat Lake. That was back in the 1970s, when Mont Chateau was a state park, and the building there was a lodge, he said.

These days, the beach is gone and the lodge houses the West Virginia Geologic Survey offices. Nichols is president of the Cheat Lake Environment and Recreation Association. He said he hopes to rally support to keep the land wild -- and away from developers.

"Here we have unique land that is part of one of the most scenic canyons in the whole eastern U.S. Our point is this has importance to our county and state far beyond its dollar value, because of its uniqueness, because of the rare species that are there, because of its opportunity for recreation."

Nichols told Monongalia County Commissioners that he and other CLEAR members have heard the state plans to sell the land for development.

He asked for commissioners' support against the potential move.

Commissioners said they had not heard it might be sold. Commissioner John Pyles said they'll have to look into it.

A spokeswoman from the W.Va. Development Office, part of the W.Va. Department of Commerce, clarified Thursday the status of Mont Chateau.

"To my knowledge there are no plans to sell the land at this time. But the state is in the process of evaluating all of our land resources so we know what we have and how best these resources can be used both now and in the future."

Brian Helmick, the state Commerce Department's deputy secretary and general counsel, has said some properties might be better used for state personnel instead of leasing.

Others might be better used for economic development.

The department is conducting the inventory, and Larry Puccio, Gov. Joe Manchin's chief of staff, is analyzing it, Helmick said.

Nichols said the source of his information was anonymous.

"The governor has said the state is 'open for business.' Does that mean the state is for sale?" he asked.

Dave Saville, of the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, said that 13 acres of the former state park, closed in 1977, remain intact. "It provides the only access to the Coopers Rock trail system from the lake."

Nichols said there are rare species living in the area.

The Cheat three-toothed snail and the Indiana bat are two federally listed endangered species.

Also, the land has a natural entryway to the Cheat River, which is surrounded by steep walls that Nichols refers to as Cheat River canyon.

That entry might not be accessible if privately owned.

That could hamper any major rescue efforts necessary on the Cheat River, he said. Mont Chateau story

Hoy Murphy, spokesman for the W.Va. Department of Natural Resources, gave a brief history of the Mont Chateau State Park.

"It was open for less than 20 years. I was told it didn't work out well, and it was closed down as a state park in the 1970s. The property has been rented to the U.S. Geologic Survey," he said.

Cheat Lake provides power for Allegheny Energy's Lake Lynn Hydropower station.

Allegheny Energy created the 20-acre Cheat Lake Park and 4.5 mile hiking and biking trail along the northeast side of the lake as part of the power company's application to renew its operational permit in 1994.

The man-made lake was created in the 1920s. Cheat Dam, which created the lake, provides electric power, said Steve McClelland, manager of the public service program for the West Virginia Geologic Survey.

The survey is also part of the W.Va. Department of Commerce. Survey offices have been in the former Mont Chateau lodge since the 1970s, and McClelland has worked out of that office since about that time.

McClelland said he has heard rumors recently about the Mont Chateau land possibly being sold.

Geographically, the Cheat River cuts down through Chestnut Ridge in a narrow valley, he said. Mont Chateau is located downstream from the Cheat River Valley, after the river curves.

Here, the land is more eroded, and more flat, he said. Some people might refer to that as a mouth of the river, although it is the entry into the man-made Cheat Lake.

The Cheat River flows north, past Mont Chateau and through Cheat Lake, created by the dam near the Mason-Dixon Line.

The river continues north through Point Marion, Pa., where it flows into the Monongahela River.

Nichols said CLEAR will hold a meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Cheat Lake Volunteer Fire Department's hall to discuss preserving Mont Chateau.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Dominion Post (Morgantown, W.Va.)

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