Heritage
Benjamin Duvall-Irwin
Sharing Upshur County History with "An ...

The Upshur County Historical Society: An Occasional Newsletter was just published mid-April. The annual journal is dedicated to providing educational articles on historical topics related to Upshur County. As the AFNHA member serving with the UCHS this year, I had the opportunity to contribute an article on Bush’s Fort, the primary frontier fort in the region that would become Upshur County. Readers have requested an article on this topic for years, and so I was glad to help see that request fulfilled.

Sharing Upshur County History with "An Occasional Newsletter"
Community Development, Heritage
Benjamin Duvall-Irwin
WV Governor’s Cup Race History: The Legendary ...

Over the years, the WV Governor’s Cup Ski Race has played an important role in the ski history of Tucker County, WV. Considered the longest running race throughout the southeast, Alpine Festival, Inc. will be presenting its 64th race in 2024. Racers will have a chance to win some amazing prizes and only a select few will get their names placed on the famous WV Governor’s Cup Trophy.

WV Governor’s Cup Race History: The Legendary Skiing of Canaan Valley
Benjamin Duvall-Irwin
Haikus from the Monongahela National Forest

This year AFNHA is assisting the forest service in completing the National Visitor Use Monitoring Survey. Being a surveyor is providing a wonderful opportunity to travel around the state and enjoy the beauty of our forest as well as write a few haikus!

Haikus from the Monongahela National Forest
Conservation
Benjamin Duvall-Irwin
A Year in Canaan Valley

My year at Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge has been incredibly rewarding and something I will always remember fondly. I am very grateful for my time as an AmeriCorps member and I am lucky to have served at two different National Wildlife Refuges. I felt that I was able to learn more and really advance my skill set through my year-long position with AFNHA. I highly recommend AmeriCorps and AFNHA to anyone that is looking to get their foot in the door in the field of conservation and gain valuable experience.

A Year in Canaan Valley
Heritage, Conservation
Benjamin Duvall-Irwin
School Visits at Seneca Rocks

This year for the first time the Seneca Rocks Discovery Center and the USDA Forest Service hosted 4th graders from Pendleton County for a day full outdoor recreation, cultural heritage, and fun! 56 students from the surrounding area visited stations set up on the Discovery Center grounds focusing on cultural heritage of the area and outdoor recreation activities in the hope to encourage more exploration of the public lands around them.

School Visits at Seneca Rocks

Conservation

A Year in Canaan Valley

A Year in Canaan Valley

My year at Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge has been incredibly rewarding and something I will always remember fondly. I am very grateful for my time as an AmeriCorps member and I am lucky to have served at two different National Wildlife Refuges. I felt that I was able to learn more and really advance my skill set through my year-long position with AFNHA. I highly recommend AmeriCorps and AFNHA to anyone that is looking to get their foot in the door in the field of conservation and gain valuable experience.

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School Visits at Seneca Rocks

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School Visits at Seneca Rocks

This year for the first time the Seneca Rocks Discovery Center and the USDA Forest Service hosted 4th graders from Pendleton County for a day full outdoor recreation, cultural heritage, and fun! 56 students from the surrounding area visited stations set up on the Discovery Center grounds focusing on cultural heritage of the area and outdoor recreation activities in the hope to encourage more exploration of the public lands around them.

Two Years of a Little Extra Life

Two Years of a Little Extra Life

One of the most enduring and inspiring aspects of living and working in West Virginia is that there is a collective understanding to uphold both the heritage and natural ecosystems that we all know, use, and love. With fishing, hunting, and outdoor recreation being such an ingrained part of the generational history and tourism, it is hard to not feel like I have the privilege of living a little extra life every time I go to serve.

While my first year had given me a new understanding of the importance of stream habitat and protecting aquatic species like the enigmatic endangered Candy Darter and jaw dropping Eastern Hellbender, my second has year allowed me to find my niche in conservation: true science that goes into surveying and monitoring terrestrial wildlife and resurrecting habitat that was lost during the timber and mining booms of the 20th century.

Red Spruce Restoration and American Chestnut Planting Projects

Red Spruce Restoration and American Chestnut Planting Projects

The WV Division of Forestry has managed the Red Spruce Restoration project at Kumbrabow State Forest for the past three years. Local 4-H students have been helping them plant roughly 1,000 red spruce saplings each May. This project is part of the Central Appalachian Spruce Restoration Initiative (CASRI). Red spruce now covers about 178,000 acres at high elevations in the Allegheny Mountains and places on North Fork Mountain.

Read how Kacey is helping to restore Red Spruce and American Chestnut forests!

Northern Saw-whet Owl Banding

Northern Saw-whet Owl Banding

On a cold clear night, when the moon is dark and a north wind blows, northern saw-whet owls take wing for their fall migration. Bird banders across the US and Canada set up their nets in strategic locations and watch the weather closely for good conditions, checking their nets regularly for birds.

Learn how volunteers at Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge identify and track owls for study.

Red Spruce Indicator Species

Red Spruce Indicator Species

Wild and wonderful West Virginia contains a wondrous and unique ecosystem of red spruce. This species of tree and the ecosystem it creates is historic to West Virginia. In the 1800s and into the 1900’s it was a highly sought-after tree for lumber. Now, it’s the focus of some of the conservation work taking place in West Virginia and the Central Appalachians. The lumbering industry took a heavy toll on this ecosystem, reducing the acreage of red spruce forests from over 500,000 to just a little under 30,000. This means the other species that rely on this ecosystem for habitats, like the endangered cheat mountain salamander and the West Virginia northern flying squirrel, also suffered. Today, conservationists are working to restore this ecosystem in order to create healthy spruce forests and bring back the biodiversity this ecosystem creates. So, how do we know the actions being taken are working? That's where indicator species come in.

Candy darters, brook trout, and hellbenders – oh my!

Candy darters, brook trout, and hellbenders – oh my!

Before joining AFNHA AmeriCorps, when I thought of West Virginia’s freshwater systems I imagined trout, forested streams, and crayfish – there is so much more to them than just that! While I have plenty of snorkeling experience, I have never been able to immerse myself in such diverse freshwater systems until I came to work in the Monongahela National Forest. Snorkeling allows you to experience the stream in a completely unique way; fish are accustomed to predators approaching from above similar to how a kingfisher or heron would hunt so when you join them in the water to swim alongside them, they are less skittish.

 

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