Blackwater Trail Logging Plan Considered

By Paul J. Nyden

pjnyden@wvgazette.com

The future of a the 10-mile Blackwater Canyon Trail, one of West Virginia’s leading tourist attractions, is awaiting a decision from the U.S. Forest Service.

Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-W.Va., wants to make sure forested areas along the Blackwater River are not damaged by a company’s plans to widen the road for large trucks and heavy equipment.

Petersburg-based Allegheny Wood Products Inc. wants a federal easement to allow it to widen the historic trail for logging equipment in an area that attracts thousands of outdoors enthusiasts every year.

Allegheny Wood first applied for the right to widen the road in July 2001.

Donna Reckart, a company spokesperson, did not return a telephone call to her office on Friday.

The Forest Service sent out a notice seeking public comments on the trail dispute on June 22. The public comment period closed last Monday.

Mollohan, in his July 23 letter to Clyde Thompson, supervisor of the Monongahela National Forest, wrote, “Currently the trail is highly valued for the recreational opportunities it offers to individuals, including hiking, biking and sightseeing in the majestic Blackwater Canyon.

“The trail, which is an abandoned railroad right of way, is valued as well for its historic resources of America’s industrial era,” Mollohan wrote.

Today, the Forest Service controls half the trail, while Allegheny Wood has legal rights to the other half.

The Wilderness Society and Friends of Blackwater Canyon, in a July 23 letter to the Forest Service, said Allegheny Wood’s easement request “will deprive the public of the full use and enjoyment of this non-motorized, absolutely magnificent Blackwater Canyon Trail.”

The two groups asked the Forest Service to deny the easement or at least to require a much more detailed explanation from Allegheny Wood officials about how and why it wants to modify the trail.

Judy Rodd, director of Friends of Blackwater Canyon, said the Forest Service has gotten 10,000 comments and letters about the proposal to widen the trail.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, based in Washington, sent a July 23 letter to Thompson criticizing the “failure of the Forest Service to afford the public and the consulting parties with an opportunity to review the proposed easement language.”

The West Virginia State Historic Preservation Office also opposes granting the logging company permission to expand the old railroad trail.

Mollohan, in his letter, said plans Allegheny Wood submitted to the Forest Service are incomplete and “confirm the worst fears” of critics who warn that those plans “would seriously undermine the public’s ability to use and enjoy the trail.”

Mollohan also criticized the Forest Service for failing to explore the possibility Allegheny Wood could “use the trail for logging in a more limited manner that would not result in the harms to the trail.”

Kelly Riddle, an Allegheny Wood vice president, wrote to Thompson on April 5, urging the Forest Service to allow the logging company to widen the trail.

“Currently the railroad grade is in a terrible state. Sink holes, erosion and slippage of the … hillside are creating dangerous conditions,” Riddle wrote. “If an easement is granted, reconstruction of the road will make this area safer and more usable for the general public, the [Forest Service] and AWP.”

Mollohan stated he believes that “those benefits could be realized by other means and … the agency [Forest Service] has not even explored those possibilities.”

Allegheny Wood wants to re-grade the historic trail, saw down brush and small trees, and apply limestone to the trail’s surface.

In her letter, Riddle said Allegheny Wood plans to use the road for pickup trucks, large tractor-trailers, skidders, bulldozers, log loaders and other large equipment.

“It is anticipated that harvesting will occur approximately every 12 to 15 years,” she added.

Rodd believes the Forest Service is likely to issue its environmental-impact statement about the controversy sometime next month.

“When this occurs, Friends of Blackwater will notify its supporters to prepare for a second round of comments,” Rodd said.

Mollohan stressed any statements released by the Forest Service and any responses from Allegheny Wood must be open to the public.

“These comments must not be the end of these proceedings, but rather the beginning of thoughtful, serious consideration of the easement application,” Mollohan wrote.

“Unless the agency decides now to deny the application, there remains a great deal of work that the Forest Service needs to do,” Mollohan added. “One alternative that is clearly not open to the Forest Service at this point is to grant the application without any further proceedings.”

To contact staff writer Paul J. Nyden, use e-mail or call 348- 5164.

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