A $25.00 donation is suggested.
The Hillbilly Gypsies were recently featured in a musical documentary
called "The Music Culture of the Appalachian". This film was produced and
narrated by Steven Brady. The film recently got it's debut at the New York Film
Festival.
The band is made up of Trae Buckner, guitar & banjo, Jamie Lynn
Buckner, vocals, Jason Teel, bass fiddle & banjo, Dave Asti, banjo &
guitar, and Ty Jaquay, fiddle & vocals. An added treat for the evening will
be an appearance by Lindsey Clear, to sing a couple of her songs.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
ANNOUNCEMENT
You are cordially invited to attend
a
Cheat Canyon Preservation
Fundraiser
“Great Music, Great Food,
Great Wine”
Forks of Cheat
Winery
(On Old Stewartstown Road, north of
Morgantown)
Thursday August 3, 2006 from 6 - 9
pm
A
$25.00 donation is
suggested.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
We must raise funds to pay for
a snail habitat study in the Cheat Canyon and to cover legal fees for our court
case this coming September. Through these efforts we seek (a) to protect
endangered species including the Cheat three-tooth snail and the Indiana bat (b)
protect the natural and scenic character of the Cheat Canyon, and (c) maintain
or improve the water quality of the entire Cheat watershed, down to and
including Cheat Lake.
Background:
On September 4, 2004 a Coalition
of Conservation Groups called for halt to illegal logging that threatens Cheat
Canyon Wildlife. The Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of Blackwater,
Sierra Club (West Virginia Chapter), the Cheat Lake Environment and Recreation
Association (CLEAR), the West Virginia Rivers Coalition, and Coopers Rock
Foundation notified Allegheny Wood Products (AWP) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service (“Service”) of AWP’s violations of the Endangered Species Act in an
attempt to save the critically imperiled Indiana bat and Cheat three-toothed
snail from AWP’s logging and roadbuilding in Cheat River Canyon.
The Cheat River Canyon encases a 16-mile
stretch of the Cheat River, the largest undammed river east of the Mississippi
River, as it runs northwest from Albright in Preston County to Cheat Lake in
Monongalia County. Throughout the canyon, the Cheat River is bordered by steep,
sandstone walls and is forested by a variety of tree stands, including oak, red
maple, mountain laurel, and sourwood. The portion of canyon impacted by AWP’’s
activities provides crucial habitat for the Indiana bat and the Cheat
three-toothed snail, both protected species under the Endangered Species Act.
The Indiana bat is migratory, with a range
extending throughout the eastern half of the United States. The bat hibernates
in limestone caves and abandoned mines in West Virginia an spends the summer in
the forest feeding and raising its young. During the swarming fall period they
gather near these caves to mate and forage to put on fat for the winter. The
Service has recognized a five mile radius around Indiana bat caves as a zone of
concern.
Both male and female bats are believed to
have a strong fidelity to particular summer colony, foraging, and winter
hibernating habitat. One of the bat’s key breeding and hibernating areas,
Cornwell Cave, is in close proximity to AWP’s road building, tree-removal and
habitat disturbance.
The Cheat three-toothed snail is a land snail found only
in Cheat River Canyon. It is found in sheltered, wooded areas typically
associated with sandstone boulders or cliffs, and is often hidden in crevices or
cave-like structures. AWP’s property in Cheat River Canyon comprises
approximately one- third of the three-toothed snail’s habitat in the entire
world.
Although the Service informed AWP after it
acquired the land that it contained Indiana bat and three-toothed snail habitat,
AWP has initiated road building and logging activities in Cheat River Canyon
without conducting adequate surveys for the species or even applying for a
permit to harm the Indiana bat and Cheat three-toothed snail in conjunction with
preparing a detailed Habitat Conservation Plan (“HCP”) to minimize and mitigate
these impacts on federally protected species.
AWP has converted the narrow hiking trail into
a haul road near the town of Albright in Preston County, West Virginia and has
logged a significant portion of the Canyon. Through their notice letter, the
conservation groups have warned AWP that it is in current violation of the
Endangered Species Act and must cease all of its offending activities. The
Service is also on notice that it must enforce the law.
Like the Blackwater Canyon, the Cheat Canyon is
one of West Virginia’s unique ecological treasures and also a recreation
destination. AWP has ignored Fish and Wildlife’s request for endangered species’
surveys in their rush to get out the cut. Now the Service must stop this
dangerous project.
Sandy Cress of the West Virginia Chapter of the
Sierra Club said, “The Sierra Club believes that preservation of wildlife is of
paramount importance, particularly the protection of endangered
species."
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
For more information contact: Duane Nichols,
President, Cheat Lake Environment and Recreation Association, 330 Dream Catcher
Circle, Morgantown, WV 26508.
Contributions should be sent to:
Donna Weems, CLEAR Treasurer, 320 Dream Catcher Circle, Morgantown, WV 26508, or
bring them to the Fund
Raiser.