North Fork of the Blackwater River Project

Contact Information

OSM/VISTA: Vacant
Supervisor: Judy Rodd
Sponsoring Organization: North Fork Watershed Project
Address: P.O. Box 378, Thomas, WV 26292
Phone: 304.463.4968
E-Mail: info@saveblackwater.org
Website: http://www.northforkwateshed.org
U.S. Congressional Districts: 1st
County: Tucker

The North Fork of the Blackwater River is located in the highlands of West Virginia in Tucker County. It is heavily impacted by acid mine drainage (AMD) and metal deposits caused by abandoned deep mines and strip mines. This degrades the quality of water used for drinking and for recreation, as well as the scenic potential of the river. The problem affects towns and communities adjacent to the river, but it also affects aquatic life and towns down stream.

The North Fork Watershed Project (NFWP), established in August of 2002, is committed to working with the community to find creative solutions to this problem. Solutions to the water pollution will take into account the rich cultural resources in the watershed. The area boomed in the early part of the 1900âs with the coal mining and timber industries. These industries are gone leaving these adverse environmental impacts as well as many historical landmarks. Some of the watershed projectâs goals include coordinating historical and educational projects and working with state and federal agencies to improve water quality in the North Fork and the amount of life the river can sustain.

The office for the NFWP is located in the Thomas Education Center. This building used to be the only catholic school in the area. Now it serves as a community center frequented by several community members and organizations. It is a great location for an office because it brings in a diverse range of community members.

The North Fork Watershed Project is located in the communities of Thomas, Douglas, and Coketon, West Virginia. Between 1887 and the 1920's the region experienced an enormous economic boom as a result of the activity of the Davis Coal & Coke Co. The extraction of coal resources continued through 1956.

Today Coketon and Douglas are inhabited by few residents, whereas Thomas is slowly making an economic recovery based on recreation and tourism. The growth is supported by interest in outdoor pursuits such as: fishing, hunting, boating, and skiing, in and around the nearby Blackwater Falls and Canaan Valley State Parks as well as the Monongahela National Forest. Many historic landmarks remain from the days of the Coal and Coke industry including the old company headquarters, the Buxton and Landstreet store and some of West Virginia's most easily accessible and well preserved coke ovens.

After the Coal and Coke industry ceased production in 1956, the two mile stretch along the North Fork of the Blackwater River between Thomas and Douglas was heavily affected by several environmental hardships: Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) seepage from deep mines into the river, substantial amounts of carbon based waste materials, hazardous highwalls, and several open deep mine entrances.

In 1993 the West Virginia DEP assessed the damaged area and started on a large-scale reclamation project in the North Fork Watershed. Safety issues like highwall structures, open pits, waste materials, and erosion were dealt with. The AMD issue was substantially more difficult to repair. The project was only partially successful with AMD treatment systems.

The existing NFWP community is comprised of only approximately 450 residents. Having staff as residents of the NFWP allows the organization to gain insight into the local vision of future planning and historical preservation of the area.

The OSM/VISTA's role in the community presently entails building capacity for the NFWP, developing ideas and solutions for implementing AMD reclamation, generating ways to educate and involve the local residents and youth, and working to preserve and share local history and culture.

The North Fork Watershed Project office houses over ten years of water quality data that were collected during the first year of operation. Staff and volunteers have been involved in many watershed education programs at schools, summer camps and local events and fairs.

Presently, the NFWP is excited to initiate the publication of a quarterly newsletter, to update brochures and business displays, to develop a mine pool task force, and write detailed report of the current state of the North Branch of the Potomac to build partnerships with Maryland.

In the coming months the NFWP will establish a community based water monitoring program and data entry curriculum. This data will be put on the webpage and sent to the DEP and NFWP Task Force.

The North Fork Watershed Project recently received an EPA Targeted Brownfieldâs Assessment grant to investigate treatment options for AMD discharge site mine #29. The assistance will aid in expediting the data collection process preceding several meetings on implementing new treatment systems for the area. The assessment provided by the Assessment Grant will help fill holes in the new Watershed based Plan. Long Run, a tributary of the North Fork that contributes 29% of the AMD load, will be a focus of the assessment.

During the 2006/2007 school year, the NFWP will continue to partner with Tucker County high school and home school groups to provide hands-on activities educating students about AMD and area history. There are several field trips planned for the spring. NFWP is also in the process of designing and printing eight nature series activity booklets for kids. We have completed two books in the series.

In partnership with Friends of Blackwater, NFWP has put out a new newspaper publication that focuses on the historical roots of the area to help bring oral culture involving the North Fork area to life for residents and tourists.

The NFWP will be a resource to the Monongahela National Forest during planning stages for a series of interpretive signs to be placed along the hiking/biking trail adjacent to the North Fork stressing the importance of environmental awareness in connection to the trailhead park. The NFWP has also been working with the State Park in developing a newly incorporated wetland property to be used as a trail or education and recreation.

• West Virginia Stream Partners
• West Virginia Humanities Council
• EPA's Targeted Brownfield Assessment
• Tom's of Maine
• National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
• Nisource
• Town Creek
• Norcrosse
• Generations United
• WV DEP
• Down Stream Strategies
• Paul Petzrick from MD Power Plant Research Program, MDOE
• West Virginia University
• US Forest Service
• TRAID Engineering
• WV DNR
• Tucker County Trails
• New Historic Society in Thomas
• Frostburg University
• Friends of the Cheat
• Friends of Deckerâs Creek
• Canaan Valley Institute
• OSM
• Blackwater State Park
• Karin and Phillip Nelson
• Individual Donors