A forest for Beckley

Mar. 25—The City of Beckley is "growing" its own nature preserve, similar to a mini-national park, as it is poised to annex a possible 800 acres of forest into city limits.

Beckley Recreation Development Specialist Corey Lilly reported that the acreage, which is owned by West Virginia Land Trust, is in the Piney Gorge and borders the city.

It offers Piney Creek, forest land and multiple waterfalls for popular viewing.

Lilly is working with West Virginia Land Trust to enable the City of Beckley to have a forest that offers a minimally invasive recreational opportunity for residents and visitors.

"We're optimistic to form a partnership to open that up to the public," Lilly explained. "There's opportunities to bike and hike and hunt and fish," he added. "The hope and goal is to form a relationship that we can bring those types of activities you find in the national park to the City of Beckley."

Mayor Rob Rappold notified Beckley Common Council of the potential annexation on Tuesday during the regular Council meeting. Council would have to approve any annexation.

Rappold said Friday that, under the plan Lilly and WV Land Trust representatives are pursuing, the city would own the acreage, which is 800 to 1,000 acres. A metes and bounds survey has not yet been performed.

"It's a pretty big deal," said Rappold. "It has the potential to be wonderful for the City of Beckley as a destination and as a gateway city to the New River Gorge National Park."

Rappold said that the city will work with WV Land Trust to determine acceptable use and goals for the acreage.

Rappold said Beckley Sanitary Board General Manager Jeremiah Johnson had developed a relationship with the Land Trust organizers around seven or eight years ago, in the course of his duties, and that he had notified the city of the acreage.

"(They) talked about how the city can collaborate with the Land Trust to do something meaningful, both for the city and the property that the WV Land Trust controls," said Rappold. "The fact that it's located in the Piney Creek Gorge and has so many natural attributes of rock climbing and trail development and all the good things that go along with the Gorge has always been intriguing."

He said city officials have had meetings with WV Land Trust representatives. He characterized the meetings as "extremely positive."

When Lilly was hired as the city's recreation specialist, he continued the relationship with WV Land Trust and the discussions regarding the property that borders the city.

West Virginia Land Trust is a statewide nonprofit dedicated to protecting West Virginia's natural lands, scenic areas, water quality and recreational opportunities.

West Virginia Land Trust spokesperson Jessica Spatafore was not immediately available for comment on Wednesday.

Lilly said that the land trust had acquired the property within the past two years from a coal company. The land offers waterfalls, creeks and lush forestry.

He said the recreational offerings are being planned now.

"This is to be worked out, exactly how it will be managed," he said. "The opportunity that lies there is plentiful, from fishing to trails to go hiking, biking.

"There's lots of great views, rock climbing.

"There's historical significance in there, with coal heritage, so there could be some interpretative signage and experiences for cultural preservation."

Lilly said that, if the property is annexed, the city would cut trails.

"There'd need to be an outdoor infrastructure development to make a place to gain access to the property, such as trail heads and trails to areas of significance, like the creek and historical areas and climbing access and waterfall sightings and things like that," he explained.

The current plan is to establish the acreage as a nature preserve that would not permit bathrooms.

"It will simply be trail heads, parking lots and wilderness access," said Lilly. "It would be kind of like a mini national park.

"It holds all the significance of the park, on just a little bit less of a caliber, but all of the historical significance is there."