, an Ohio-based land conservancy nonprofit, plans to extend its conservation mission into West Virginia with the acquisition of the remote, undeveloped 1,270-acre tract.
, an Ohio-based land conservancy nonprofit, plans to extend its conservation mission into West Virginia with the acquisition of the remote, undeveloped 1,270-acre tract.
FOXFIRE REALTY | Courtesy photo
Arc of Appalachia — an Ohio-based land conservancy nonprofit that has protected 11,115 acres of forest in Southern Ohio — plans to extend its conservation mission into West Virginia with the acquisition of a remote, undeveloped 1,270-acre tract in Greenbrier County.
As of Monday, Arc of Appalachia had raised about $1 million of the $1.5 million needed to buy its planned Wild Rock Canyon forest preserve on Renick Creek, between Smoot and Blue Sulphur Springs.
A closing date on the property is tentatively set for Sept. 9.
“With 12 days of fundraising behind us and three weeks to go, I think we’ll get there eventually,†Arc of Appalachia Director Nancy Stranahan said.
For the past 30 years, Arc of Appalachia has focused on saving the most intact forest segments remaining in Appalachian Ohio. So far, the organization has acquired 28 preserves across Southern Ohio, only one of which is larger than the tract being sought in West Virginia.
This family of black bears was captured on game cameras in Wild Rock Canyon.
JOHN HOWARD | Courtesy photo
They ‘bioblitzed’ the tract, IDing 640 species
A surge of post-COVID land buying drove prices for undeveloped forest land upward, while reducing the number of available tracts suitable for Arc of Appalachia’s conservation purposes.
“We’re trying to save highly biodiverse, intact forests that are not infiltrated by invasive species,†Stranahan said.
Such tracts are becoming more difficult to find, and more costly to buy, in Southern Ohio, prompting her organization to look across the Ohio River.
“Prices for forest land in West Virginia are about one-third the cost of similar land in Appalachian Ohio,†she said.
“Never have we seen a forest for sale that was so large, diverse, affordable in price, intact and drenched with wildlife,†she said of the Greenbrier County tract.
This small-footed bat lives in Wild Rock Canyon. It is rare and lighter in weight than a hummingbird.
AARON CRANK | Courtesy photo
Before opting to raise money to buy the Wild Rock Canyon preserve, Arc of Appalachia organized a “bioblitz†of the property, involving 16 biologists and naturalists, who installed game cameras, seined creeks, flew drones and mist-netted bats to inventory the tract’s plant and wildlife species. During the one-day, two-night event, 640 plant and animal species were identified.
“Wild Rock Canyon has a stunning number of bears,†Stranahan said, as well as 15 species of amphibians, most of them salamanders. There also is a synchronous firefly population, and four species of bats.
“To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to unite the forests of Southern Ohio and West Virginia in a focused preservation region,†Stranahan said. The start of fundraising for the preserve followed consultations with the West Virginia Land Trust and West Virginia Nature Conservancy, who encouraged Arc Appalachia’s effort to acquire the Wild Rock Canyon preserve, she said.
If the Ohio conservancy succeeds in acquiring the Greenbrier County tract, there are no immediate plans to build trails on the property or open it to the public.
“Right now, there’s no place to park and our nearest staff is more than 100 miles away,†she said.
That situation could change in coming years, if Arc of Appalachia buys additional conservation land in West Virginia and stations staff and maintenance gear here.
“We like trails — we have 80 miles of them at our Ohio preserves,†she said.
Wild Rock Canyon includes a 5-mile-long segment of Renick Creek, which flows through a nearly 1,000-foot-deep ravine. It lies about 12 miles east of the south end of the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.
