The Monongahela National Forest has received $1,092,000 million in funding from the Great American Outdoors Act to support three projects in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia.
According to Kelly Bridges, spokesperson for the Monongahela, the three projects include the mountain bike trail improvements, repairs to a bridge in Webster County, and the installation of stream-crossing structures for trout fisheries.
Stream Crossing Structures for Trout Fisheries
In Greenbrier and Pocahontas counties, this project implements the Panther Ridge Wildlife Habitat Improvement Project and replaces undersized and deteriorating stream crossing culverts on Forest Road 999 in the Williams River watershed and Forest Road 296 and Forest Road 298 in Laurel Run. The project addresses passage barriers for aquatic species, which is particularly important because one of these crossings occurs on a stream in which an isolated trout population was recently found.
Tea Creek Mountain Bike Trail Improvements
In Randolph, Greenbrier, and Pocahontas counties, this project includes the repair of drainage structures, hardening trailway tread with aggregate, and replacing trail signs to provide a sustainable trail system at the forest's International Mountain Biking Association Ride Center.
Holcomb Bridge Repairs
In Webster County, this project addresses deferred maintenance and structural deficiencies on the Holcomb Bridge.
The investments are made from the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund established by the Great American Outdoors Act.
The projects support the recent announcement by the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and the Interior that propose a combined $2.8 billion in funding for fiscal year 2024 to improve infrastructure, recreation facilities, public lands access, and land and water conservation.
The Monongahela currently has nine Legacy Restoration Fund projects in various stages of development, including:
- Red Creek (Laneville) Bridge Replacement (Tucker County)
- Williams River at Tea Creek Bridge Replacement (Pocahontas County)
- Forest Road 209 Culvert Replacement with Bridge (Randolph County)
- Lake Sherwood Campground Rehabilitation (Greenbrier County)
- Tumbling Rock Bridge Replacement (Nicholas and Pocahontas County)
- Red Oak Fire Tower Lightning Protections and Improvements (Webster County)
Since 2021, the Forest Service has completed more than 122 deferred maintenance projects across 53 national forests in 25 states with more than 880 additional projects currently funded and in various stages of completion.
The Great American Outdoors Act addresses the growing $7 billion backlog of deferred maintenance on national forests and grasslands. The Forest Service currently administers more than 370,000 miles of roads, 13,400 bridges, 159,000 miles of trails, 1,700 dams and reservoirs, 1,500 communications sites, 27,000 recreation sites , and 40,000 facilities of other types across the United States and Puerto Rico.
For additional information about the forest service's implementation of the Great American Outdoors Act, visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/gaoa.
