Elk Headwaters Plan Progressing, Needs More Funding

Wednesday October 08, 2008

Elk Headwaters plan progressing, needs more funding
Pamela Pritt
Editor

A comprehensive watershed plan for the Elk Headwaters is getting recognition from state and national entities, but it still needs a financial bump from local sources.

Tolly Peuleche and Ralph Beckwith told county commissioners Tuesday that, while they come from different backgrounds, they are committed to developing a plan for the Elk that includes the diverse uses of the river, as well as the business operations that surround it.

Peuleche said the association has garnered a $10,000 grant from the Division of Environmental Protection. The grant is the first in the state to be given to an association preventing degradation instead of rehabilitating a stream.

And on a national level, the Audobon Society has given the association another $10,000 as part of its Together Green program, Peuleche said. That money will be used for a visioning process to “preserve water quality while maintaining a thriving local economy,” she said.

The Elk Headwaters Watershed Association is the only West Virginia group to receive funds from the Audobon Society, she said.

“It’s quite a feather in our cap,” she said.

Peuleche said she hopes the Elk Headwaters model will be used throughout the county for other watershed associations.

The next few meetings, which will take place over the next year, will have guest speakers and a facilitated discussion period, she said.

“We want to rally as many diverse entities as we can, including state and local government,” she continued.

That path will lead them to a more advanced state of the watershed report, she explained.

According to the fact sheet Peuleche distributed, the plan should be implemented in 2009.

Beckwith said he has a lot of faith in the association and is “probably the most affected” company in the area because of his timber holdings.

“She and I come from different ends,” he said of Peuleche. “She wanted to save everything and I wanted to use it.”

But Beckwith acknowledged that water issues are important.

“We have to protect the river and want to protect the river as it flows by our operation,” he said.

The association picked up commissioner Martin Saffer as a participant in its activities and will also have a permanent appointee from the county commission each year.

The association has two important dates on its horizon.

The Audobon Society will present its donation at a reception October 21 at Elk River Restaurant and in early November will meet concerning water resources management.