Participant Reflects on Historic Lower Big Sandy Deal
Editor's note: As reported in the previous Cruiser, a historic purchase in January will preserve land along critical parts of the Lower Big Sandy (Cruiser, January-February). With major gifts from paddlers, American Whitewater bought the land from Waterfront Group WV, a residential developer. AW will transfer the land to the West Virginia Land Trust. Additional fundraising is underway to cover the Land Trust's pre-final-purchase studies and to seed an endowment to protect the land in the future.
Longtime AW board member Charlie Walbridge, one of the organizers of this preservation effort, addressed questions from the Cruiser in email and phone conversations in March. The following is drawn from those conversations—condensed and largely paraphrased, with direct quotes as indicated.
Q. How common is it for interests with a paddling focus to purchase land to preserve river access?
A. "What's notable here is the scale." People have bought parcels to provide put-ins and takeouts, "but this is the largest private purchase I know of."
Q. How did this project come about?
A. The land for decades was part of the holdings of Allegheny Wood Products, a major West Virginia logger. Allegheny found that on its Big Sandy land, the steep slopes made it too expensive to get wood out. It did some logging on river right but not river left. Eventually Allegheny ran into financial trouble and sold much of its land to Forestland Group (which eventually sold it to the state). But Allegheny held onto some parcels until in 2020 they sold them to Waterfront Group—140 acres on river right, 100 on river left. The right was suited to development, but the left, the land in the AW purchase, was less so.
The land purchased is critical to maintaining river left access and portage routes at Wonder Falls and Big Splat. If not purchased, Waterfront Group would eventually have sold it—potentially to an unfriendly private buyer.
[Editor's note: Allegheny never overcame its financial difficulties. In February, it suddenly announced it was closing.]
Q. Were there any roadblocks encountered, and how were they overcome?
A. "The fundraising was started to support a broader Conservation Fund initiative. When that failed, we realized that enough money had been pledged to go for part of the land."
The problem for the Conservation Fund wasn't inability to raise enough money. Rather, official property value assessment, which limits what a nonprofit is allowed to spend, wasn't high enough to support a reasonably attractive purchase offer. Unfortunately, "scenic and recreation purposes are not valued the way potential development is valued." In West Virginia, "mining collapsed, logging collapsed, but still there's no appreciation for recreation."
Waterfront Group deserves a lot of credit for being willing to find a conservation-focused solution. "They were willing to step away from getting the absolute maximum dollar for every square inch."
Q. Does this experience hold promise for similar solutions to paddling access difficulties? Thinking, for example, about the notorious access problems for paddling the popular Shenandoah Staircase.
A. "Opportunities come up when they up." If Allegheny hadn't come into financial problems, it might have held onto the land longer. "It's helpful if people are alert to opportunities."
If a government agency is willing to step in, that's great, but you can't wait for government to undertake this—"you gotta take the bull by the horns." Government is more receptive to hunting and fishing needs as opposed to other types of recreation.
A relatively modest sum can get you land in rural West Virginia. By comparison, land on the Shenandoah at Harpers Ferry could be a lot more expensive. The National Park Service isn't interested, West Virginia probably isn't interested, and it's a question whether Maryland or Virginia could be enticed. Ultimately, "the Doah would be more complicated—but it also offers potential for allies."