The National Park Service is purchasing property from two West Virginia landowners to improve public access to the Gauley River. The sites, located at Woods Ferry and Mason Branch, are established put-in and take-out sites for boaters, kayakers, canoeists and rafters along the river between the public put-in at the Summersville Dam and the take-out at Swiss, almost 26 miles downstream.

Cheat Canyon Settlement Reached; Land Set Aside for Endangered Species

posted February 13, 2007

by Charles Walbridge

After two years of intense negotiations an agreement reached to protect endangered species in the Cheat River Canyon. Allegheny Wood Products acquired roughly 5,000 acres in the Cheat Canyon below Albright, WV in 2003 for $9.75 million. When they began building roads and cutting trees the following year the government took no steps to enforce the Endangered Species Act. A lawsuit was filed in 2005 by Friends of Blackwater Canyon, the WV Chapter of the Sierra Club, and the Cheat Lake Environmental and Recreational Association. Although American Whitewater was not a party to the litigation we are gratified that an agreement was reached and commend both parties for their efforts.

State News

New Public Access for Gauley River

Cheat Canyon Settlement Reached; Land Set Aside for Endangered Species