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Clyde CraigClyde Craig

Clyde Craig is a staff writer for West Virginia Explorer. Born in Parkersburg, West Virginia, he traveled with his family across the globe with the U.S. Army before returning to the Mountain State in 2011. He has been a writer with the explorer since 2018. He can be reached at 304-575-7390 or at craig@wvexplorer.com.
An illustration contrasts two American frontiers—the forested mountains of early West Virginia and the open prairie later immortalized by Laura Ingalls Wilder—revealing how pioneer life unfolded across very different landscapes and generations.
History / Prehistory

Loved Little House on the Prairie? Discover West Virginia’s earlier frontier

by Clyde Craig

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Netflix’s new adaptation of Little House on the Prairie is introducing a new generation to the hardships and hope of life on the American frontier. Viewers are following the Ingalls family as they struggle to build a home on the Kansas prairie, where survival depends on hard work, perseverance, and family strength. For West Virginians—and … Read more

George Washington and the Seneca leader Guyasuta overlooking the Ohio River near the mouth of Big Sandy Creek during Washington's 1770 expedition through the Ohio Valley. The two longtime acquaintances camped together before discussing the frontier lands that would later become part of West Virginia.
Travel / Transportation

George Washington’s lost West Virginia: Five places you can still visit today

by Clyde Craig

RAVENSWOOD, W.Va. — Long before he became the first president of the United States, George Washington was an explorer, surveyor, soldier, and ambitious young land speculator drawn to the vast wilderness beyond the Appalachian Mountains. Much of what is now West Virginia was then the Virginian frontier—an untamed wilderness of towering forests, broad rivers, and … Read more

September view at Dolly Sods Wilderness, Tucker County, Allegheny Highlands Region
National Forests

More road closures coming to Monongahela National Forest as fall travel season begins

by Clyde Craig

ELKINS, W.Va. — Travelers heading into the Monongahela National Forest during West Virginia’s fall recreation season will encounter two more road closures, including restrictions along Cranberry River Road near Richwood and Forest Road 19 along the eastern side of the Dolly Sods area. U.S. Forest Service officials announced the closures Wednesday as construction continues on … Read more

West Virginia Wesleyan student photographer
Higher Education

West Virginia Wesleyan College chosen to nurture state’s top young artists through 2030

by Clyde Craig

BUCKHANNON, W.Va. — A small private college in the Appalachian Mountains will remain a summer gathering place for some of West Virginia’s most promising teenage artists through the end of the decade. West Virginia Wesleyan College has been selected to host the West Virginia Governor’s School for the Arts for another three-year cycle, extending the … Read more

The spotted lanternfly (Lycorma deliculata) is an invasive species native to Asia. It showed up in Pennsylvania in 2014. Above, a spotted lanternfly visits a log in Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area in Lancaster County, Pa., on Oct. 5, 2018. (Photo by Caitlyn Johnstone/Chesapeake Bay Program)
Wildlife / Conservancy

Spotted lanternfly spreads across West Virginia, threatening vineyards, forests and farms

by Clyde Craig

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A fast-moving invasive insect that has spread across much of the eastern United States is continuing its march through West Virginia, where experts warn it threatens vineyards, orchards, hardwood forests, and other economically important crops. The spotted lanternfly, an invasive species native to Asia, was first discovered in Berkeley County, West Virginia, … Read more

An AI concept based on a press release from WVU envisions Appalachia as a future hub for advanced energy innovation, where research, resilient electric grid technologies, and modern manufacturing coexist with the region's forests, rivers, and mountain communities.
Economic Development

$321 million science initiative aims to make Appalachia America’s next energy innovation hub

by Clyde Craig

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A new $321 million investment from federal and private sources has been established to position West Virginia as one of the nation’s leading centers for next-generation energy technology, artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, and electric grid innovation. The U.S. National Science Foundation has announced that the Resilient Energy Technology and Infrastructure (RETI) Consortium … Read more

Panoramic view of New River Gorge from Grandview Overlook in New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, West Virginia.
Opinion

Is New River Gorge worth visiting? Here’s why millions of travelers think so

by Clyde Craig

FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. — The New River Gorge National Park and Preserve is worth visiting for anyone who enjoys scenic landscapes, outdoor recreation, Appalachian history, or small-town travel. Even visitors who don’t hike can enjoy dramatic overlooks, one of America’s longest steel-arch bridges, historic coal towns, scenic drives, and some of the nation’s best whitewater rafting. … Read more

A bobcat watches visitors from its woodland habitat at the West Virginia Wildlife Center near French Creek. The facility, home to native wildlife species from across the Mountain State, will host its 10th annual Rendezvous Celebration on July 31 and Aug. 1, combining living-history demonstrations with opportunities to experience West Virginia's natural heritage.
Wildlife / Conservancy

W.Va. Wildlife Center rendezvous celebration returns with history, native wildlife

by Clyde Craig

FRENCH CREEK, W.Va. — Frontier blacksmiths will hammer glowing iron. Scouts will demonstrate wilderness survival. Cooks will prepare meals over open fires while historical reenactors recreate life as it unfolded in the Appalachian backcountry. Yet perhaps the most authentic part of the experience won’t be the encampment itself. Just beyond the demonstrations, visitors can walk … Read more

Smoke gathers above the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve during a wildfire. Researchers at West Virginia University are developing an artificial intelligence system that could help satellites detect and track wildfires more quickly across rugged, heavily forested landscapes.
Botany and Forestry

WVU develops AI wildfire detection system for one of America’s most forested states

by Clyde Craig

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — In West Virginia, where forests cover nearly four of every five acres, a wildfire can ignite on a remote mountainside far from roads, fire stations, cameras, or anyone likely to report the first signs of smoke. Engineers at West Virginia University are developing a satellite-based artificial intelligence system that could help change … Read more