CHEAT LAKE ENVIRONMENT AND RECREATION ASSOCIATION
DRAFT—please comment a.s.a.p. Date: March 2, 2009
Charles L. Simons, Recreation & Environmental Affairs
Allegheny Energy Supply Company
4350 Northern Pike
Monroeville, PA 15146-2841
Subject: Lake Lynn Hydro Station FERC Project No. 2459, License Article 417.
2009 RECREATION PLAN UPDATE
CLEAR agrees with the conclusion that the “winter boat launch facility” near the Park headquarters, on the peninsula, should be open for usage only after the “summer pool height” season has passed. That is when it is needed, and that is when it’s usage will not interfere with the users of the Park and Trail.
CLEAR believes that significant upgrades are needed at the end of the South Trail, for year-round support of trail users. First, the “observation deck” formerly located there should be re-established with a floating platform in the Lake to permit temporary tie-ups for small boats, as canoes or small motor craft, so as to provide access from the Lake to the end of the trail. This would also serve security, law-enforcement and recreation activities. Secondly, a bicycle rack and a picnic table should be located at the end of the trail to serve the recreational activities already present. If trail users were able to lock their bicycles to a rack, this would free the individual(s) for walking into the Cheat Haven Wildlife Viewing Area.
CLEAR is supportive of a “primitive walking trail” in the Cheat Haven Wildlife Viewing Area. We have had some involvement with the on-going effort to establish this trail, which would benefit from appropriate signage and/or postings.
CLEAR believes that the “privileged permit sites” should be administered via a set of rules that are known to the public and that annual statistics should be reported on the exact number of sites, the number of years each site has been leased by the same individual or family (with a limit of 5 years in the future for each site), and the charge made by AE for each site. Procedures which are fair and just to the public would involve a rotational procedure that provided an opportunity to the public to participate in these sites. At present, we suspect that a family can hold a site indefinitely passing it down from one generation to another. The current condition of many sites is “poor”. That is, there is substantial debris on a number of the sites, there are permanent structures on a number of them, and there appears to be no common standard for their maintenance.
CLEAR believes that the gate at Manning Run which limits access to the South Trail during the winter months could be opened during the daylight hours so as to permit hiking or cross-country ski access. There is little or no demonstrated security risk that justifies excluding hikers or skiers during the winter months. The primary facilities that need to be protected are north of the Manning Run gate.
CLEAR believes that the Lake level should be reduced by one or two feet during the summer boating season, particularly on week-ends and holidays, to reduce the shore-line erosion from boat wake, given that the current level of strong waves during these periods is substantially eroding the shoreline at many locations.
CLEAR recommends and is supportive of a study of the “carrying capacity” of Cheat Lake for boating (various types), fishing (various types), hiking, camping, docking, etc. The 19 picnic sites on the hillside loop are rarely used, so this area could be restructured to permit overnight camping for individual families, with a limit of three days stay, for example. AE admits that “the least used facility is the picnic tables located in the picnic loop and near the Lake.” [See page 7 of the AE Recreation Plan Update, dated February 2009.]
CLEAR believes that it is important to note that swimming is occurring in Cheat Lake, at a number of locations. This is primarily off boats moored in the Ruble Run and Morgan Run backwaters, at the Emma Kaufmann Camp, and off many of the various docks around the Lake. Swimming is not uncommon at the Old Iron Bridge, under the Interstate Bridge, and off the old piers of the former bridge over the Manning Run backwater. It would be reasonable to authorize CLEAR to establish a limited swimming area for children at the Mill Stone Point, which is adjacent to the “day-use boat docks” and the “fish cleaning station”.
CLEAR believes that a Ranger should be hired to work five days each week during the summer months in support of recreation, health and safety, and security at the Park and Trail. This ranger would be knowledgeable in the fields of recreation and the environment as well as the history of the region. The ranger would also be authorized to provide security functions for the Park and Trail. Given current level of usage of the Park and Trail as well as the level of boating and fishing involved with the Lake, this is an overdue feature for the facilities involved.
CLEAR is supportive of the establishment of a “Sheepskin Trail” that would extend from north of the area, to interface with the Cheat Lake Park and Trail at the Dam, that would extend over to and through Pt. Marion, PA, and then south along the Monongahela River to the WV State Line.
We are submitting these “initial comments” by the published deadline of March 2, 2009 and intend to participate in the Public Meeting at the Cheat Lake Fire Hall on Wednesday, March 11, 2009. We reserve the opportunity to extend or clarify our comments for two weeks after the Public Meeting.
Duane G. Nichols
Duane G. Nichols, President
Cheat Lake Environment & Recreation Association
330 Dream Catcher Circle
Morgantown, WV 26508