Gauley River
The effort to purchase this land is ongoing, but Appalachia Rising connected Arc of Appalachia with a donor who contributed significantly to funding this project.
The Arc of Appalachia is gathering resources to purchase a 1336-acre swath of land bordering five miles along the Gauley River. Located in Nicholas County, West Virginia, just 12 miles away, as the crow flies, from New River Gorge National Park, this section of the Gauley River is a critical piece of land that a variety of endangered, vulnerable, and ecologically significant species call home. The success of this project would signify the protection of endangered species including the federally endangered candy darter, the imperiled Eastern hellbender, and significant stretches of the rare habitat known as Riversour along the Gauley's cobble shoreline. It would also improve water quality for the 60,000 commercial rafters who visit the Gauley downstream from the property each year, and safeguard an ecologically and historically significant piece of West Virginia land.
The Gauley River drains out of the vast conservation lands of Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia. It is one of the top ten rafting rivers in the world because of its quick descent, narrow river canyon, bountiful white waters, and intimidatingly dangerous but beautiful rock outcrops. The property of interest lies upstream from the Summersville Lake Recreational Area, created by the only dam on the river. Rafting occurs below this dam; thus, all commercial rafting occurs outside the the interested area. As the crow flies, the property is located just 12 miles away from New River Gorge National Park. The property also includes one mile of Big Beaver Creek, a pristine, rhododendron-lined tributary of the Gauley.
The Arc of Appalachia pursued the property in a race against time and commercial development. The current owner of the property improved roads into the property and cleared about 32 acres on the flat ridgetop, creating a good foundation for development. If this property had not been rescued by the Arc getting it into contract, it would have almost certainly been developed with cabins, incurring the destruction of valuable, pristine wilderness and the associated damage of the species that rely on it.