The Monongahela National Forest… Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge… Blackwater Falls State Park… these landscapes contain the most beautiful natural areas in West Virginia and the Allegheny Highlands. Biking, hiking, and paddling are great ways to explore the region. FOB works with land managers and civic groups to promote and maintain these trails.
One of our current projects is the Olson Fire Tower area, to the west of the North Fork of the Blackwater River. Despite being easily accessible from Thomas and U.S. Route 219, this area has a remote “backcountry feel.” FOB volunteers are upgrading several trails in this area, with plans to reopen abandoned corridors and establish new ones.
We are also working with the Forest Service, Blackwater Falls State Park, and other local stakeholders to create a management strategy for trails in the Dobbins House area. Sandwiched between the town of Davis, the North Fork of the Blackwater River, and Blackwater Falls State Park, this area houses six miles of easily accessible, beginner-friendly trails.
Our goal is to develop an area-wide network of trails, linking towns and local attractions together.
Congratulations to Pam Lutz for receiving the Friends of Blackwater’s 2020 Volunteer of the Year award! Pam was a tremendous help this past fall as FOB began the botanical restoration project along the Blackwater Rail Trail. She volunteered on several Wednesday mornings and tagged many of the invasive species that were later cut down and […]
Recently, Friends of Blackwater, in collaboration with historian David Vago, have made some vinyl banners that are currently hanging along the Blackwater Rail Trail. These banners focus on the history surrounding the city of Thomas, particularly about the railroads and the various industries that helped make the town boom in its hay day. The first […]
A new grant from the WVDOT to support the Blackwater River Loop Trail was announced on Monday! These WVDOT Recreational Trails Program funds, totaling $125,000, will fund trail surface improvements, the design and construction of trailheads in Davis City Park, Blackwater Falls State Park and along the portion of the Blackwater River Loop Trail that […]
You may hear a lot about the need to remove invasive species from your property, from public lands, from city parks- anywhere they may be growing, but why? If they are growing well and serve some sort of purpose, from hedging to pretty fall foliage, why exert massive amounts of time and energy to rid […]
Friends of Blackwater was recently awarded a grant from the National Forest Foundation to begin the Blackwater Rail Trail Botanical Restoration project. Today, non-native “invasive species” like autumn olive, stilt weed, multiflora rose, garlic mustard, Tartarian honeysuckle, and Japanese barberry are choking out native plants like milkweed, an essential host for migrating Monarch butterflies. This […]
