Friends of Blackwater was recently awarded a grant from the National Forest Foundation to begin the Blackwater Rail Trail Botanical Restoration project. Today, on the Blackwater Canyon Rail-Trail, non-native “invasive species” like autumn olive, stiltweed, multiflora rose, garlic mustard, and Japanese honeysuckle, and barberry are choking out native plants like milkweed, an essential host for […]
On August 4th, the President signed the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) into law. The GAOA is groundbreaking legislation that will improve trails, campgrounds, and other recreation in public lands across the United States. Now that it has become law, the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund will be created and the Land […]
Friends of Blackwater is excited to continue work on Canyon Rim and Limerock Trails this summer/fall thanks to grants from the WVDOT and the National Wilderness Stewardship Alliance. These trails are on the Monongahela National Forest near the Olsen Fire Tower and take hikers through hemlock forests, mountain laurel groves, past rocky outcroppings looking out […]
Friends of Blackwater recently signed onto a letter drafted by the Center for Biological Diversity that opposes S. 4057, the Litigation Relief for Forest Management Projects Act. This bill would compromise species protected by the Endangered Species Act by exempting the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management from consulting with scientists when new […]
On Saturday, August 15th at 10 a.m., we will be cleaning up the iconic coke ovens along the Blackwater Rail Trail to Douglas Falls. These ovens have interpretive signs, benches, and a bike rack, but have become so overgrown with vegetation that threatens to cover them up and weaken the structural integrity of these historic […]
Hello, Friends of Blackwater supporters. My name is Alicia Erjavec and I have been raised in West Virginia almost my entire life. I grew up in Clarksburg and graduated from Robert C. Byrd High School in 2015. I also graduated from Fairmont State University this past December with a degree in English Literature and a […]
Friends of Blackwater is disappointed to inform you that the Pillar LLC permit for the undergound injection well next to Horseshoe Run has been reissued for an additional 5 years. Thank you for your participation in the fight to stop this permit in its tracks- over 50 people attended the public hearing for this permit, […]
The Keystone Surface Mining online public hearing may be over, but the fight for clean water never ends! The draft NPDES permit for the Keystone permit site has been released and Friends of Blackwater is reviewing it for errors or short comings. This discharge could be the difference between life and death for many aquatic […]
The following is a summary of Friends of Blackwater’s official comments to the DEP regarding the Keystone Surface Mining and Reclamation permit. Please let these guide your comments during the online public hearing on June 10th from 1-5 pm (plan on joining at 1 pm). Friends of Blackwater has written an EPA approved Beaver Creek […]
On June 10th, 2020 from 1-5 PM, the West Virginia Division of Environmental Protection Division of Mining and Reclamation will host an informal conference regarding the proposed Keystone surface mining and reclamation permit on Corridor H North of Davis, WV. Due to concerns about the coronavirus, the public hearing will be hosted by the DEP […]
