![]() Promote conservation by preserving and protecting natural areas of unique or exceptional scenic, scientific, cultural, archaeological or historical significance, and to provide outdoor recreational opportunities for the citizens of this state and its visitors. In alignment with the national trend and written into the state’s code were the goals to: The legislature formed the Division of State Parks during 1933 to take advantage of CCC labor. Although the West Virginia state legislature began acquiring land in the 1920s, they accelerated purchases during the 1930s for the state park system. Land prices in the state during the 1930s were low not only due to the Depression but also because timbering, poor agricultural practices, drought, and fires had taken their toll. Through the impetus to memorialize the last significant Civil War battle in the state, the first state park purchase was at the site of Droop Mountain, which was established in 1928, although it would not be completed until after the CCC built facilities and amenities there. The Commission recommended in 1927 that the state legislature purchase more land in especially scenic areas. This later became part of Watoga State Park. The park system began in West Virginia when the Game and Fish Commission purchased land in Pocahontas County in 1925 for a timber and wildlife preserve. The National Park Service not only planned, designed, and provided technical assistance for the national park and recreational developments, but also oversaw seventy percent of the work the CCC did in over 560 non-federal parks in forty-seven states between 19. Although the original plans were to concentrate on forestry and soil conservation, it was quickly determined that the CCC enrollees could undertake the creation of recreational facilities and buildings, thus improving national and state parks, and giving the men an opportunity to learn new skills. From the outset it was inextricably connected to the National Park Service and the National Forest Service with representatives from these agencies on the advisory committee that formed the CCC program. The CCC was one of the first New Deal programs established when President Franklin Roosevelt took office in 1933. Sixteen of West Virginia’s state parks and their amenities-ranging from forest roads and hiking trails, to fountains and firepits, to cabins and lodges in a rustic style-were mainly created through the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) as part of the Emergency Conservation Work through the New Deal programs during the Great Depression. Key to West Virginia’s successful park and forest system is not only the abundance of natural landscapes, but also the man-made designs that rehabilitated formerly depleted land and added facilities and structures. ![]() Traveling along West Virginia’s country roads, Hawks Nest State Park (established 1935) beckons with its picnic amenities its forested wilderness of 2,800-foot-high mountain peaks can be experienced from valley cabins in Holly River State Park (established 1939) and standing on the picturesque overlook at Coopers Rock State Forest (established 1942) yields one of West Virginia’s most sublime views, the Cheat River Gorge. ![]() In a state with a population of 1.8 million, over 7.1 million in- and out-of-state sightseers visited West Virginia’s 36 state parks, 8 state forests, 5 wildlife management areas, and 2 river trails in 2015. Contributing to this indelible association is West Virginia’s state park and forest system, wherein each park averages over 3,900 acres. It is no coincidence that West Virginia’s slogans, “The Mountain State,” “Almost Heaven,” “Wild Wonderful West Virginia,” and its association with the John Denver song, "Take Me Home, Country Roads," underscore the state’s identification with the land.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |