Part 10 in a series: What’s the next national park?
When Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia requested last July that the National Park Service (NPS) conduct a reconnaissance survey of areas in and around Tucker County, WV, he hoped that the lands might eventually become a unit of the park service.
His plans for High Allegheny National Park, however, did not involve the loss of recreational use of these lands, some of which are now part of Monongahela National Forest. They also did not involve property owners losing the rights to their own land.
That’s why Manchin sent a letter on Thursday, Feb. 2, to NPS Director Jon Jarvis to clarify the senator’s expectations, and to secure an agreement in writing from the park service that all of these land use rights and privileges would not be disrupted by the creation of a national park.
“I have become very troubled by comments from your agency’s representatives questioning whether these rights would be respected,” the letter states. “My concerns have been echoed by my constituents, who are also concerned that the creation of a new National Park Unit in our great state will result in the closure of cherished hunting and fishing lands that have been enjoyed by generations of West Virginians.”
In addition, the letter references comments from “members of the Farm Bureau, a joint committee from the state legislature, mineral rights owners, and timber owners,” fearing that the rights they now own to these lands will be taken from them if High Allegheny National Park goes forward.
On first glance, it may seem as if Senator Manchin’s constituents have good reason to fear these losses. As it turns out, however, creation of a new NPS unit does not automatically end hunting, fishing, mineral rights and even oil and gas rights to these federal lands.
Hunting is actually permitted in 69 national park units across the country. “In general, National Park Service (NPS) regulations do prohibit hunting in national parklands—i.e., unless Congress specifically states otherwise in the unit’s founding or enabling legislation,” notes the Mojave National Preserve website. Where hunting is permitted, it tends to be regulated according to the rules of the state in which the park resides; it may also be one tool in controlling certain animal populations that reproduce aggressively, like white-tailed deer in the eastern states.
The same is true for fishing, a popular and encouraged pastime in many national parks. Manchin’s letter, however, calls for “the stocking of non-native fish like rainbow, brown, and brook trout, which have become an important part of the enjoyment of the Monongahela National Forest.” One of the most controversial wildlife management topics in the National Park Service, the phasing out of non-native fish stocking is required by NPS charter, which calls for the park service to conserve the park’s natural resources unimpaired for future generations. Non-native fish can have a destructive effect on the natural ecosystem in each park, often devouring food supplies and crowding out native species. Some parks, like Yosemite, have ended fish stocking altogether—especially in high-altitude lakes that are naturally fishless—and are now working to eradicate the non-native species from their lakes and rivers.
Mineral rights have considerable precedent as well, including some in West Virginia. New River Gorge National River and Gauley River National Recreation Area both have non-federal oil and gas operations within the federal lands. Currently, NPS is working to revise its regulations—which are more than 30 years old—to “ensure that nonfederal oil and gas operations conducted in National Park System units avoid or minimize, to the greatest possible extent, adverse effects on natural and cultural resources, visitor uses and experiences, park infrastructure and management, and protect public health and safety,” according to the NPS web page on this topic.
No new mining claims may be located within a unit of the National Park Service, according to the NPS Mining Claims web page, but existing mining claims that were established before the park was created can continue, subject to park permits and requirements.
Commercial timber harvesting is not permitted in national parks, as clarified in the Wilderness Act of 1964. An exception may be made where “the cutting of timber is required in order to control the attacks of insects or diseases or otherwise to conserve the scenery or the natural or historic objects in a natural area,” according to NPS Administrative Policies for Natural Areas, 1968.
At the end of his letter, Senator Manchin states, “Without unequivocal statements from the National Park Service that allay my concerns and those of my constituents, I will not support this effort moving forward whatsoever and see no point in continuing this process.”
Unless the senator and his constituents are wiling to follow laws and rules that have been in place since the 1960s, it seems likely that High Allegheny National Park will be scrapped before it begins.
Update 3/9/12: Senator Manchin ended his support of the High Allegheny National Park process today with a letter to NPS Director Jon Jarvis. Read more about his decision here; you can read Director Jarvis's letter to Manchin here.
Comments