Friends of the Cheat, a watershed group based in Kingwood, WV, recently completed construction of a new parking area along the Big Sandy Creek in Rockville, West Virginia. The location on river left, just upstream of the Rockville Bridge, will provide public access to two of the popular whitewater runs in the state. There’s space for over 30 cars, more than enough to relieve congestion on busy spring weekends. The county road from the bridge to the lot was widened and graded, and drainage was much improved. Future plans will include an effort to gain access to trails running downstream to Wonder Falls and Big Splat.
This process began in the Spring of 2007 when Friends of the Cheat received a donation of four acres of riverside land just upstream of the Rockville Bridge along Big Sandy Creek in Preston County. This land is adjacent to a smaller plot purchased by the Kingwood-based watershed group in 2005. The donor, Oklahoma-based Chesapeake Energy Corporation, is the third largest independent producer of natural gas in the USA. They are the most active driller of new wells and one of the leading consolidators of onshore US natural gas assets. Scott Rotruck, their vice president of corporate relations, deserves our special thanks for putting our request to donate the property in front of company decision makers.
The bulk of the $10,000 raised for this project came from hundreds of paddlers and white water clubs throughout the Mid-States region. We also received significant support from the Canoe Cruiser’s Association Conservation Fund and the American Canoe Association’s L.L. Bean – funded CFS Program. For over a year construction of the parking lot was delayed while Allegheny Wood Products realigned the county road to facilitate access to their woodland properties downstream. This work included a land swap with the company to further enlarge our riverside parcel. Their contractors also graded the area and spread gravel at no cost to our organization. We truly appreciate their support.
For more information contact:
Keith Pitzer, Charlie Walbridge
Executive Director, Friends of the Cheat President, Friends of the Cheat
119 S. Price Street #206 Route 1, Box A43B
Kingwood, WV 26537 Bruceton Mills, WV 26525
304-329-3621 304-379-9002