From the Field

• Little Kanawha RC&D
• Mountain RC&D
• Northern Panhandle RC&D
• Potomac Headwaters RC&D

Little Kanawha RC&D

Submitted by Kurt Simon

Planning Efforts

Little Kanawha RC&D is in the final stages of completing its Area Plan. Originally, the area was formed out of public concern with the intent “to conserve and develop natural resources for the use and benefit of the general public”.

The original Area Plan created in the early 1970’s provides some useful insights into some of the needs and opportunities for the region that still exist today. More recently, the RC&D Council has identified current issues during local planning meetings, interviews, small group participation, and questionnaires.

Information gathered will establish a baseline for the Councils Area Plan of Work for the upcoming five years beginning in 2005. Questions asked during the period relate to what citizen’s view as the pressing needs for the area and what opportunities exist to make our region a better place to live.

The original Little Kanawha RC&D Area was made up of five counties that included Calhoun, Ritchie, Roane, Wirt and Wood. It was formed in October 1966. In 1973 efforts were made to expand the RC&D area, by adding Jackson, Pleasants and Tyler Counties. This expansion was approved by the United State’s Department of Agriculture on April 23, 1974. Wetzel County was later added to make up the existing nine county region served by the Little Kanawha RC&D area.

Issues from the public based on needs and opportunities for the RC&D Area were categorized into four major topical areas. These areas include: Land Conservation, Water Management, Community Development and Land Management. Public comments from each of these four categories were then formulated in to goals, objectives and strategies for projects to be worked on in the coming years.

Goals are defined as a broad end statement that, when attained collectively, will result in the achievement of the vision for the planning period.

Objectives are defined as specific, measurable achievements that when obtained result in the accomplishment of a goal.

Strategies are defined as the kinds of activities and individual projects that the RC&D Council envisions pursuing in order to accomplish objectives.

Mountain RC&D

Submitted by Mike Gasper

WVU Extension Dinner Meeting
Steve Bogash Regional Horticultural Specialist from Penn State University presented a marketing program that outlined opportunities for producers of specialty crops. Mountain RC&D working with WVU CES conducted this three meeting series around the RC&D area. The meetings were greatly appreciated and approximately 120 participants attended.

Foods Processing Workshop
Mountain RC&D received a $5,000 grant from WV Small Business Administration to help offset the cost of continuing education. The Foods Processing Workshop was offer statewide to agribusiness individual help to keep current food processing procedures.

Berwind Vol. Fire Dept. Workshop Mountain RC&D provided fund to Berwind and surrounding area fire departments for a continuing education class on proper containment of hazardous materials.

Wild and Wonderful Advertisement
Mountain RC&D supported Agritourism businesses in the Braxton County area with the advertising in the WV Wild and Wonderful magazine. The RC&D Council received a $2,400 grant from WV Department Tourism to assist with this project. Media distribution was 360,000 copies.

Charlotte Christmas Show Mountain RC&D working with WV Dept of Ag , and WV Dept Tourism sponsored some 50 WV Agritourism Businesses to supply produces to the Charlotte, NC annual products show. Over 100,000 buyers attended this annual event which WV producers sold over $40,000 in direct sale with an additional $20,000 in follow up orders. This project was a huge success not only for home produced products but for West Virginia.

Fairdale Elementary Mountain RC&D provide financial assistance to this parent-teacher organization (PTO) to acquire and install new play ground equipment for their students. Total cost of the project was over $60,000. This PTO showed us all how to get the job done.

Neotropical Birding Festival
Mountain RC&D provided assistance to Fayette County Commission with financial management on this fledgling festival in this it’s second year. The festival is an outgrowth of the Appalachian Regional Commission’s efforts to promote sustainable tourism growth in the region. Promoters were excited about the 300 percent increase in this year’s participation figures.

WV Specialty Foods Co-Op
Mountain RC&D partnered with WV Specialty Foods Co-Op and WV Dept of Ag on this year annual conference held at the Tamarack Center. The conference brought speakers together that relayed training materials on marketing. A professional photo opportunity was also available for member’s product lines. WV Small Business Work Force provided a grant of $2,100 towards the conference.

Foods Recall and Bioterrorism Workshop
WV Dept of Ag, WV Small Business Administration, and Mountain RC&D sponsored a continuing education workshop for producers of WV food products. The workshop focused on recall procedures for food contamination and consumer safety.

Northern Panhandle RC&D

Submitted by Jim Ali

WV Hosts 2005 Mid-Atlantic RC&D Association Conference

The 2005 Mid-Atlantic RC&D Association Annual Conference was held in Wheeling, WV at Oglebay Park. Over 100 RC&D Representatives from six states attended the 2 ½ day session. Guests at the Conference included Sharon Ruggi, President of the National RC&D Association, Gerald Willis, Special Assistant to the Chief, NRCS, and Lillian Woods, WV State Conservationist. Several RC&D Program Managers also attended. Program emphasis at this year’s conference was providing training to RC&D Council Members. An optional evening visit to the newly completed Cabela’s Retail store was a popular function.

During the Mid-Atlantic business meeting, Howard Coffield from the Northern Panhandle RC&D Council was elected President of the Mid-Atlantic RC&D Association. The Mid-Atlantic Conference rotates among the six member states. The 2006 meeting will be held in the state of New York. During the Awards Diner Awards were presented to a RC&D Council, a RC&D Council Member, and RC&D Coordinator.

Howard Coffield Sharon Ruggi Gerald Willis	Awards Dinner

Potomac Headwaters RC&D

Submitted by Roger Boyers

Agriculture was a primary effort of the Council. Work continues in Jefferson County – with the launching of a major Economic and Marketing Feasibility study for locally based value-added products. The Jefferson County Development Authority was supported as it developed an Ag Development Officer Position. Both projects were fully supported by the County Commission. Other RC&D-wide efforts included farmer-producer meetings, farmland protection, and ag tourism and educational tours.

Tourism continued to be important. The Council assisted with recruitment of volunteer-workers for the Appalachian Forest Heritage Area (AFHA). AFHA has centered on achieving Congressional designation as a National Heritage Tourism Area. AFHA includes West Virginia counties in and outside the PH RC&D and in Maryland. A long-term planning and feasibility study of the Allegheny Highland Trails network in Maryland, Pennsylvania and West Virginia has begun. Other work included establishment of information kiosks along the American Discovery Trail at Dolly Sods and Greenland Gap (Grant Co.), Fort Ashby (Mineral Co.), Paw Paw (Morgan Co.) and Harpers Ferry (Jefferson Co.).

Park planning and development work included Bayard Veteran’s Memorial Park (Grant Co.), Tuscarora Creek Linear Park (Martinsburg), Barnum Rail Trail, Keyser’s Mill Meadow Park, and Swisher Trail and Natural Ares (Mineral Co.), Brighton and Baker Parks (Hardy Co.), Warm Springs Middle School Trail and Paw Paw Town Park (Morgan Co.), and Riverside Park (Pendleton Co.). An EP Trails Coalition has been initiated for Berkeley, Jefferson, and Morgan Counties.

The long standing Dry Hydrant Installation Program was wrapped up mid-year, upon the retirement of the program coordinator. But, the final report’s ink had hardly dried, when the WV Division of Forestry offered an opportunity for the Council to administer a state-wide program. The two-year project will commence in the fall and will focus on providing fire protection for the urban-forest interface. Simultaneously the US Forest Service approached the Council to ask for help in developing internet-based safety training for loggers, sawyers, and the value-added forest product industry. That project will be unfolding in the early part of FY-2005.

Council activity in the water quality arena centered around two existing and one new project. The Berkeley Co. Source Water Assessment Plan (SWAP) was supported by grant administration and contract work to prepare the SWAP report. A final product – a public education booklet – is awaiting final approval and funds for printing and distribution. The Potomac River Tributary Strategy was coordinated by the WV State Division of Environmental Protection. The Council worked on the plan over a 15-month period in a variety of ways, including report editing, mailings and educational support for local units of government. Finally, the Council moved at its Annual Meeting to support staff work in the development of remediation plans for Acid Mine Drainage in Grant and Mineral Counties.

A new endeavor of the Council was administrative support of land use planning. The Council made available matching funds and grant writing to two counties for reviews and rewrites of their county comprehensive plans. The Council also supported several educational workshops and tours for Concord College. Teachers taking continuing education geography courses visited the Eastern Panhandle to experience first hand what double digit growth looks like.

Finally, flooding problems still remain important. Three projects are taking shape – two in Grant County and one in Berkeley County. More partners are needed as each of these will be long term projects, with no easy or cheap fixes in sight.

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