Gauley River Access Granted
“Our role in conserving this beautiful land was to commission a critical independent appraisal to help bridge negotiations in a reasonable manner,” said Rodney Bartgis, the group’s West Virginia state director. “The landowners and Park Service were willingly talking to one another, but both needed more information to assure their interests were met.”
“We are grateful for the volunteer services of the West Virginia River Coalition to maintain the access to this property for many years and are thankful to The Nature Conservancy for facilitating the appraisal work for the sale of the property,” said Dave Arnold, one of the partners of Lost Paddle Inc. “We believe that this open access site is good for the rafting industry, individual boaters and the National Park Service.”
West Virginia Rivers Coalition provided shuttle service for private boaters at the Mason Branch take-out site since the early 1990s. The coalition operates the shuttle with volunteers, primarily during the fall Gauley Season when large numbers of whitewater enthusiasts are on the river. The coalition took on this volunteer operation to help reduce traffic congestion along narrow Panther Mountain Road and as a fundraising opportunity to support its efforts to help protect and conserve the state’s exceptional rivers and streams. The coalition asked boaters to make a voluntary $5 donation for each boat that used the shuttle service.
CONTACTS
Lost Paddle/Class VI
Dave Arnold, managing partner, at 304-574-4909 or Dave.Arnold@800classvi.com
Imre and Janet Szilagyi. Landowner, at 304-454-2475 or imreszil@aol.com
American Whitewater
Mark Singleton, executive director, at 828-586-1930 or mark@amwhitewater.org
National New River Gorge National Park
Lorrie Sprague, public affairs specialist, at 304-465-6521 or lorrie_sprague@nps.gov
The Nature Conservancy
Rodney Bartgis, state director, at 304-637-0160 or rbartgis@tnc.org
West Virginia Rivers Coalition
Shanda Minney, executive director, at 304-637-7201 or sminney@wvrivers.org
Congressman Nick J. Rahall
Jim Zoia at 202-225-6065 or Jim.Zoia@mail.house.gov
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