Dear Friend of the Cheat,
We appreciate and need your support now more than ever!
In 2009 we attracted $59 in outside support for every $1 received in membership and donations. Your dollars “prime the pump” every year. We hope you’re primed to make our 2010 goals become reality!
While the country struggles to recover from the Great Recession, Friends of the Cheat has also faced unusual challenges. Our Executive Director, Keith Pitzer, continued to lead our efforts despite a year-long battle with cancer. With his guidance, the staff made real progress to “restore, preserve and promote” the outstanding natural qualities of the Cheat River watershed. Unfortunately, Keith is now forced to devote all of his energy to his health, so co-founder and former Executive Director Dave Bassage is returning as Interim Director to keep our momentum moving forward.
Acid mine drainage(AMD) remediation remains our primary goal, and this year we completed projects on Pringle Run at Jessop portals, the Middle Fork of Greens Run, and on Dream Mountain, which we started in September and just finished. It will restore seven tenths of a mile of Muddy Creek just above Route 26. We also completed maintenance to projects on Muddy Creek and Morgan Run. The schedule for 2010 includes a project which will make Sovern Run the first acid-polluted stream in West Virginia to be taken off the DEP’s “303d list” of AMD impaired streams.
In June, after years of negotiation, FOC purchased 17.5 acres just below the Cheat River “Narrows” in Preston County. A river access, parking lot, and picnic area were built by Patriot Mining as part of the sale. We were also awarded $17,000 in Brownfields mini grants to help develop the site. This land is the “anchor” of the proposed Cheat Narrows Rail Trail. FOC, working with the Preston County Rail Trail Committee and the Preston County Economic Development Authority, won a congressional earmark for $294,000 and has a $300,000 commitment from Greer Limestone to purchase the CSX Rail Corridor through the Narrows. We also hope to purchase the former Kingwood Northern rail corridor, which runs from Kingwood to Tunnelton, by January 2010. This will the first of three rail corridors in the area converted to rail-trails for non-motorized recreation.
In late August there was plenty of activity at the Cheat fest site. We broke ground on a rustic post and beam pavilion named for long time supporter Eloise Milne that will be the centerpiece of The Doug Ferris Outdoor Classroom. Other work includes invasive plant eradication, tree planting for stream bank restoration (including several blight resistant chestnuts), and construction of a limestone channel from an open mine portal which drains into a wetland on the property. This channel, combined with the wetland, will demonstrate a passive AMD treatment system with great potential.
As the snow begins to fly we’re hard at work planning next year’s projects. Your continued support is a terrific investment in these tough economic times! Please give as generously as you can so we can continue to bring new life to the lower Cheat River!
Thank you for your time. We wish you all a healthy & prosperous New Year. Happy Holidays!
Janet Lenox Charlie Walbridge
Associate Director Board Chair
