Feb. 25—The years of Plum Orchard Lake being plum are long gone, some local residents and officials say.

In recent weeks, several southern West Virginia leaders and residents have expressed their concerns to state officials about the conditions at Plum Orchard, which is a wildlife management area operated by the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources Wildlife Resources Section. They have reached out to Tourism and DNR officials urging improved operating conditions and/or a new direction for the WMA, and members of the local legislative delegation met with DNR Director Brett McMillion and others earlier this month.

Deplorable conditions

Former state legislators David Perry and Bill Laird, as well as Leonard Bickford, an ex-Fayette County magistrate, have been among those seeking support for changes to the facility. Among the areas of concern with Plum Orchard they have expressed are lack of camping, a “deplorable” shooting range, absence of watercraft rental and a deficit of children’s play equipment, which hinders the family experience.

The recreational facility has significantly deteriorated, Perry said. “The restrooms are gone; there’s only one restroom for the whole facility. The lights are not working. Docks have disappeared. The shooting range lacks target mounts and so forth. The road, you can get lost on the road going around there.” He called the facility “unsafe,” adding that “it doesn’t lend itself to family camping,” he added.

Perry said the men inquired about the possibility of obtaining interagency monies or a legislative appropriation, as well as for the transfer of Plum Orchard back to the parks and recreation division.

While the various outdoor opportunities that could be enjoyed by families and individuals at Plum Orchard is a primary focus, Perry says the economic ramifications of an improved Plum Orchard could be huge. “First of all, we need to realize that the national park is a destination point, and (a spruced-up Plum Orchard) will add additional amenities to the area, such as fishing licenses, fuel, gas, food, bait, and if the boats are restored, you’ve got rental there,” Perry said this week. “Then you’ve got rental in the camping area.

“So, definitely, indirectly there has to be an impact. And if you look at the petition, there are petitioners from Raleigh County, Summers County, Fayette and even out-of-state people who’ve signed the petition.”

Businesses at both Mossy and Pax (located along the approach to Plum Orchard) right off the West Virginia Turnpike offer gas, food, ice and other items which visitors to Plum Orchard might need, Perry noted. “As people would get off those exits, they would stop on the way to the lake.” The economic impact would be “immediate,” Perry said.

“National park status has to be considered in anything that Fayette County does in terms of additional amenities and reasons for people to spend an extra day,” he added.

Gov. Jim Justice, for one, says something needs to happen to change the landscape at Plum Orchard.

“From my standpoint, I know this is hard for you to believe, but I used to go to Plum Orchard Lake a long time ago with a fly rod and popping bugs and catch bluegills,” Justice said recently. “It was fantastic; that’s all there is to it.

“Now, we’ve got this federal-state conflict there, and Plum Orchard Lake has kind of drifted away from us. We need to do something about that. I can’t imagine we can’t find a way to recapture it back on the state level. That’s really what I think we should do, recapture it back if we can on the state level and go back to a park, and all the different things we could maybe do. That would be my desire. I don’t know if we can pull it off. Sometimes with this federal stuff, you just get roadblocked everywhere you go.

“With a new administration on the way, Trump’s elected and we’ve got a new administration on the way, I think we’ll have a real, real shot at that. We’re trying now, but then I think we’ll have a real shot.”

“Plum Orchard is a wildlife management area, not a state park, and we are obligated to follow specific federal regulations that guide our management practices,” read a DNR response at the time of the recent letter of concerns/petition. The response was supplied at request by the governor’s office. “These regulations are essential for ensuring the long-term health and sustainability of the area’s wildlife populations and habitat.

“However, this input is valuable to us and we want to assure the residents of Fayette County that we will carefully consider public feedback when making decisions about Plum Orchard. We will certainly take their comments into account as we move forward with future management plans. If the county would like to entertain an agreement to operate the recreational components, we can begin that discussion. This is a common solution for properties that face dual purpose management difficulties.”

Adresing the issues

West Virginia House of Delegates member Elliott Pritt, R-50th District, is the lead sponsor of recently-submitted House Concurrent Resolution 79 about the situation. He said Perry and Bickford met with him and other legislators regarding the issue recently. Because of its newer designation, the facility is not considered a park any more, he pointed out. “And, because the park does not create any of its own revenue, it is pretty much flatlined,” Pritt said. “They blamed the shape of the roads around the park on lack of county maintenance, and said they had plans to improve and replace the broken docks.

“We asked them flat out if they had plans to just abandon Plum Orchard and let it become derelict, and they said they had no such plans and were committed to working to improve the area. We brought up pretty much the state of everything: the shooting range, docks, lake itself, the trash situation, the deplorable condition of the road, and just the overall total neglect of the entire area.”

Pritt’s resolution requested repairs for Plum Orchard Lake as a “cherished natural resource and recreational haven for the community.” Necessary repairs are “essential to preserve the ecological balance of the lake and ensure its continued viability” and “for these reasons, renovation and repair of the lake and surrounding property is essential,” a portion of the resolution read. The lake would be “best served to transfer its control from Wildlife Management to Parks and Recreation,” the resolution suggested.

Perry and others have reached out to local municipalities to support a resolution in support of improvements. They also are of the hopes a public hearing can be set up at some point.

A letter from McMillion to Perry and Laird traced some of the timeline of Plum Orchard’s status. The WMA was previously co-managed by the WVDNR’s State Parks Section and Wildlife Resources Section, he noted. In January 2015, State Parks removed staff and resources, and full responsibility of Plum Orchard shifted to the WRS, McMillion said.

McMillion said the WRS “would be very willing to entertain discussions with the Fayette County Commission regarding potential opportunities to enter into an agreement to provide enhanced campground operations, maintenance services and other wildlife-associated recreational activities on the Plum Orchard WMA.” The director noted that any agreement would require review and approval of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Primitive camping opportunities exist at Plum Orchard, McMillion said in the letter. The Beech Bottom Campground, which has 17 camping spots, has remained open, and bathroom facilities were improved two years ago with a new roof and siding, he said. The Dog Way Ridge Campground was closed due to low usage and proximity to the shooting range.

The shooting range itself is maintained by WRS staff and cleanups are conducted two times per week on average, he said. “Target frames and back stops are repaired as needed,” said McMillion. “This range receives a high volume of shooters, and vandalism unfortunately does occur frequently.” He said necessary improvements at the range will be made once findings and recommendations of a statewide range evaluations review by a contracted consulting company are received.

Under the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s federal Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration (WSRF) program, federal excise tax on the sale of firearms, ammunition, archery equipment, fishing tackle and the like can be used only to “conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, their habitats, and the hunting and sport fishing for such, as well as other wildlife-related recreation, e.g. bird watching,” McMillion explained in the letter. Using the revenue for non-wildlife-associated recreation could jeopardize the funding.

He also said aquatic vegetation is a “crucial part of all lake ecosystems and is important for fish shelter, reproduction, forage and many other components of the lake ecosystem and associated fish populations.” That said, fish management personnel must balance the aquatic vegetation while ensuring it doesn’t block angler and boat access at Plum Orchard.

District 4 personnel are currently working to refurbish/replace existing piers and docks at the lake, he stressed. Some of that work could be completed by early summer.

McMillion also said the DNR will reach out to the West Virginia Division of Highways to discuss options for improving county roads which provide vehicular access to the WMA.

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