Published: September 11, 2009 09:13 pm      

Blackwater Falls State Park

Many of us enjoy Black Water Falls State Park for the pristine nature of the hemlock, ferns, and moss. That plus the beauty of the overlooks is enchanting, to say the least.

If you remember your last walk from the Falls Trading Post out along the canyon rim to the Pendleton overlook you need to cement that memory clearly in your mind, because it is no longer there in the form that you knew it.

Our great park officials have chosen to bulldoze that area on the right of the road. The plan is to build 13 cabins along that road. Gone are the hemlocks, ferns and other fantastic plant life that made the walk beautiful in the past.

When 13 cabins get filled up, gone will be any resemblance of a peaceful and quiet walk. It will have been interrupted by the extra cars, kids riding their bikes, and a general congestion created by stuffing so many folks into that area.

I’m not sure who chose that particular spot for the cabins to be built when there are a number of places much more suitable, sparing the most beautiful area of the park.

On the other side of that section, over toward the camp ground, would have been a much more appropriate area for the cabins and the population they will bring.

My guess is that the park system was given some of the stimulus money to beautify the areas. Then, very quickly, a few folks in the system made the decision to build cabins in order to bring in more revenue.

It seems a shame that a couple of people can make decisions that affect public land. Land that belongs to you and I just as much as it does to them.

A public hearing on the use of those funds, or where to build the cabins, would seem to have been in order. But then, since when did our “Leaders” in the Department of Natural Resources ever address needs as seen by the general public?

Lloyd O’Brien Jr.

Capon Bridge W.Va.