National Forests and State Parks

 

 By the early twentieth century, exploitation of West Virginia ’s lumber and mineral resources had caused catastrophic damage to the natural environment. Within a few years of the beginning of the lumber industry boom, rapid run-off and soil erosion led to increasing problems with floods, particularly after heavy rains and during quick melting of snow in the winter and spring seasons (Thomas 1998:15). 

Private organizations, including the Appalachian Mountain Club, Appalachian National Park Association, and American Forestry Association, lobbied for the establishment of forest reserves to combat problems associated with forest degradation.

A 1902 study overseen by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture James Wilson and endorsed by President
Theodore Roosevelt warned that continued stripping of Appalachian forests would create an economically and ecologically barren landscape. Their efforts met with resistance among both private interests and political leaders. In March 1907, however, a disastrous flood struck the Monongahela River basin, causing damages in excess of $100 million. Pittsburgh alone suffered $8 million in losses. An examination of the flood and its aftermath led engineers to conclude that it had been caused by the destruction of forests on the watersheds of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers (U.S. Department of Agriculture [USDA], Forest Service, Eastern District
1930:2, 4-5; Pierce 2006:1625; Irwin 2006:123).

The state parks and forest system in West Virginia began in January 1925, when the State Game, Fish, and Forestry Commission purchased land in Pocahontas County as a wildlife and timber preserve. This preserve later became Watoga State Park. 

The Game, Fish, and Forestry Commission went on to recommend that areas of “outstanding scenic and natural attractiveness” be purchased and administered by them. Additionally, lands that
had been devastated by poor timbering, mining, and farming practices began to be identified for acquisition. Such lands typically could be acquired at low prices, and restoration of their environmental quality provided an important public benefit. Among the numerous properties recommended during the 1927 state legislative session were Cooper’s Rock, Cranberry Glades, Hawk’s Nest, and Pinnacle Rock. The Commission also recommended aquisition of several monument sites as well as designation of historical areas; the latter were to be recommended by the State Historical Society. All of these sites combined to form the basis for West Virginia’s current state park system (Gioulis 2008:9).

The first historic area purchased consisted of 125.5 aeres at the Droop Mountain Battlefield in 1928. John D.Sutton, a member of the state legislature from Braxton County, had fought in the battle at Droop Mountain and was instrumental in the purchase. Droop Mountain Battlefield thus became West Virginia s first state park (Gioulis 2008:9). The onset of the Great Depression inhibited further land acquisitions for several years as state revenues plummeted and the entire country plunged into a severe economic crisis.

In 1933, the CCC and other Federal programs were formed under President Franklin D. Roosevelt to alleviate unemployment while developing long-term natural resoures and recreational opportunities.

Establishment of national forests reflected a growing awareness of the need to preserve and protect natural
resources. The first national parks were authorized by Congress during the late nineteenth century. John Muir,
Robert Underwood Johnson, and William Colby founded the Sierra Club in 1892. A variety of efforts were undertaken to limit or regulate environmental damage caused by industrial and agricultural practices. Wildlife protection laws also were enacted, such as the Lacey Act, which regulated interstate traffic in endangered bird species. Upon taking office in 1901, President Roosevelt made conservation one of his administration’s priorities.

Roosevelt created the first National Bird Preserve (the beginning of the Wildlife Refuge system) on Pelican
Island, Florida. The Antiquities Act of 1906 granted presidents the power to designate national monuments on
their own accord, giving them nearly the same protection as if Congress had declared them national parks or
wilderness areas. In all, by 1909, the Roosevelt administration created 42 million acres of national forests, 53
national wildlife refuges and 18 areas of “special interest,” including the Grand Canyon. The NPS was created by
the Organic Act of 1916, during Woodrow Wilson ’s administration (Kovarik 2009).
West Virginia followed the national trend toward designating lands worthy of conservation as state parks and
forests. A historic context for West Virginia ’s state parks and forests was presented by Michael Gioulis Historic
Preservation Consultant (2008) in New Deal Historic Resources Survey. It originally was taken and paraphrased
from two sources: Ney C. Landrum, ed.. History of the Southeastern State Park Systems, History of the West
Virginia State Park System (Association of Southeastern State Park Directors, October 1992) and Where People
and Nature Meet: A History of West Virginia State Parks (Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, Charleston,
West Virginia, April 1988).
The state parks and forest system in West Virginia began in January 1925, when the State Game, Fish, and
Forestry Commission purchased land in Pocahontas County as a wildlife and timber preserve. This preserve later
became Watoga State Park. The Game, Fish, and Forestry Commission went on to recommend that areas of
“outstanding scenic and natural attractiveness” be purchased and administered by them. Additionally, lands that
had been devastated by poor timbering, mining, and farming practices began to be identified for acquisition. Such
lands typically could be acquired at low prices, and restoration of their environmental quality provided an
important public benefit. Among the numerous properties recommended during the 1927 state legislative session
were Cooper’s Rock, Cranberry Glades, Hawk’s Nest, and Pinnacle Rock. The Commission also recommended
aequisition of several monument sites as well as designation of historical areas; the latter were to be
recommended by the State Historieal Society. All of these sites combined to form the basis for West Virginia ’s current state park system (Gioulis 2008:9).

The first historic area purchased consisted of 125.5 aeres at the Droop Mountain Battlefield in 1928. John D. Sutton, a member of the state legislature from Braxton County, had fought in the battle at Droop Mountain and was instrumental in the purchase. Droop Mountain Battlefield thus became West Virginia s first state park (Gioulis 2008:9). 

The West Virginia Legislature established the Division of State Parks in 1933, hoping to utilize the CCC, WPA, and other Federal programs to continue developing the state system. The State allowed for $75,000 in 1934 to purchase park lands in addition to those acquired during the 1920s. The NPS provided the technical knowledge to get the system under way, including engineers, planners, architects and others who designed the state parks (Gioulis 2008:9).

Hundreds of young men employed by New Deal relief programs were put to work in the state’s parks and forests. Most worked for the CCC, which developed the majority of West Virginia’s state parks during the 1930s and early 1940s. The WPA, however, was responsible for the complete development of Holly River State Park in Webster County and several dams and lakes, such as at Tomlinson Run State Park in Hancock County. The land at Holly River was initially purchased by the federal government and leased to the state until 1954, when it wastransferred to the State under the Bankhead-Jones Act (Gioulis 2008:9-10).

Depression-era land acquisitions were responsible for approximately 30,000 acres, or about half of the present-day state park system. Much of the land was purchased for $5.00 or less per acre, and had been ravaged by timbering, forest fires, and poor agricultural practices. Absentee owners, primarily coal and lumber companies,ranked among the largest landowners in the state. Beset by a variety of economic forces, ailing companies proved willing to sell large tracts already denuded by clear-cutting or coal mining (Thomas 1998:15). The land’s degraded condition, however, also made it prime acreage for reforestation. Most of the state parks and forests were also established as game refuges. Native game populations, such as deer, turkey, and grouse, had been lostto habitat destruction and over hunting. The parks and forests began breeding programs for these species and distributed the results statewide, restoring much of the native game to the state (Gioulis 2008:10).