West Virginia Wilderness Bill passes House

WooHooooooooooo

The WV Wilderness bill passed the House and goes to the Senate. Byrd and Rockefeller are on board, and Bush has indicated he will sign.

Notable additions: Dolly Sods North, Otter Creek, Cranberry.

New Wilderness: Roaring Plains West, Spice Run, Big Draft.

Roaring Plains West includes Roaring Plains and Flatrock Plains Trails and Canyon Rim down to Long Run. It's everything west and south of the pipeline swath except the radio towers.

Detailed topo maps can be found at:

[www.wvgazette.com]

Update: It goes before the Senate this week.

Keep us posted George....I truly love the Roaring Plains, it has a special place in my heart...

The bill passed committee yesterday. Action by the full Senate will likely come in June, or perhaps July.

Ladies and gentlemen, we will have more than twice as much West Virginia wilderness in which to play.

Dolly Sods North is spectacular. Raven Ridge and Cabin Mountain trails have expansive views from the many meadows and rock outcrops.

Roaring Plains West is also spectacular. Mount Porte Crayon is a trailess peak that is a healthy bushwack, and all that is protected, as well as the Canyon Rim Trail. I would like to have seen the other Roaring Plains parcels included, but what passed muster is very good.

Otter Creek is a sliver of an expansion.

Cranberry addition is another great addition. It's wild and remote.

Not too familiar with the other areas myself, but I assume they are also wonderful additions.

The other major disappointment was Seneca Creek. It remains a roadless backcountry area that has a measure of protection from the Forest Service, until somebody decides it should be timbered.

But we take what we got, and I expect another round of efforts will be forthcoming sometime in the future. All the areas we submitted were thoroughly researched, mapped out, photographed, and all the special features have been inventoried. The people serving in the coalition worked hard, long, and effectively. Beyond the inventories, they lobbied politicians, presented the case in local venues, held fundraisers, responded to attacks by wilderness opponents, set up letter-writing campaigns to politicians and newspapers, sat through endless training sessions and brainstorming parties, and a number of other things I'm not aware of.

They are the people to whom we all owe thanks and gratitude. The new wilderness areas will be their legacy.

And no, I was not a member of that coalition, though I did sit in on some brainstorming sessions and offer a few minor suggestions. And that is why I understand their work and admire each of them.

George Thanks for the update......Dolly Sods and/or Roaring Plains have been put on the to-do list sometime this year...Raven Ridge might be the direction I head since i've never been there....

It's a neat trail. You take the trail about a quarter mile south of the parking lot. It goes down to a stream, climbs a shoulder of a ridge, then descends to the old Dobbin Grade. From there it crosses a wet boggy area, then Red Creek. On the other side of the creek, the trail climbs to a rise. At this point, look for either a trail sign or a faint trail (like a deer path) leading off to the right. It heads into a wooded area, climbs up to a small cleared knob. From that point on, keep heading westward at junctions through meadows, a stand of spruce, and reach Cabin Mountain. At that point, to the right is private land. To the left is the Cabin Mountain trail leading to other trails on DSN.

The private land is owned by Western Pocahontas, a land holding company associated with coal companies. It is leased to a hunt club out of Thomas, which has posted it for no trespassing. If you choose to ignore that, the trail to the right goes along Cabin Mountain up to the Eastern Continental Divide. A trail leads down off that to Dobbin Grade, which passes Dobbins Slashing Bog, a huge, expansive bog. Dobbin Grade is the rock roadbed of a logging RR abandoned about 1912 or so. You can follow that back to the trail from where you parked, or you can bushwack along the meadow ridgeline to Bear Rocks (better views).

From high meadows, you will see the twin stacks of the Mount Storm coal fired power plant and the wind turbines of NedPower. Also, from Cabin Mountain you can see the existing Backbone Mountain turbines to the west. But you'll also see a lot of wilderness, de facto wilderness, and generally great views. Porte Crayon rises to the south. West from Cabin Mountain, you look directly down into the bogs of the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge is fairly new, providing hiking trails from Dolly Sods across Canaan Valley to Canaan Mountain and on down to Otter Creek Wilderness. It's a truly great addition to federal land holdings.

Thanks for the trail info!

I suppose the Dehart/Sundquist book will need to be updated.

Jonathan Jessup has to be tickled pink especially as regards Roaring Plains.....

The Dehart Sundquist book was just updated. I can't recall if any of those trails got listed or not.

They are both about to retire from the guidebook business (they're both up there in years). Not sure who will be taking it over or when. But the CD that we are selling has all those trails on it.

They are also on a new Forest Service topo map that is available for free from either the Potomac District Ranger office in Petersburg or the Seneca Rocks Visitor Center. It folds to hip pocket size and is printed on waterproof paper. It was done in conjunction with the Army Corps of Engineers and has info about old mortar rounds (Don't, whatever you do, touch one. The old powder is highly unstable.), including steps to flag it and report it. The map is the first Forest Service product I've seen with the Blackbird Knob trail shown on the south side (correct) of Blackbird Knob.

That map can also be ordered by phone by calling 304-567-2827 (the visitor center).

They should also have maps of Otter Creek and Laurel Fork.

Thanks George! Much appreciated.....