Wildlife Management Area Land to Be Closed for Mining

WELLSBURG – Nearly 600 acres of leased land in the Cross Creek Wildlife Management Area will be closed to the public for about seven years because of coal mining, the state Division of Natural Resources said.

The property, located between Parmar Run and the West Virginia- Pennsylvania border near Wellsburg, is managed by the DNR’s Wildlife Resources Section under a lease agreement with Starvaggi Industries Inc. It will remain closed until mining operations cease and the site is reclaimed, which is expected to occur around 2012.

Another 1,486 acres in the wildlife management area owned by the DNR will remain open.

“The active mine operation creates a public safety hazard and therefore, a temporary closure is necessary to address public safety concerns,” said Curtis Taylor, chief of the Wildlife Resources Section.