New Addition to Monongahela Ntl. Forest (WV)

White Sulphur Springs, WV, 2/20/2004: The Trust for Public Land (TPL) recently purchased 361 acres from the MeadWestvaco Corporation and transferred the land to the United States Forest Service to be managed by the Monongahela National Forest. The acquisition was the second phase of a two-phased transaction that included approximately 6,172 acres of forestland within the Greenbrier watershed. Both properties will now be available to the public for recreational pursuits. Funding for both properties was provided by the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund through the leadership of Senator Robert Byrd and Congressman Nick Rahall.

TPL and the Monongahela National Forest took advantage of the opportunity presented by MeadWestvaco Corporation’s strategic divestiture of land.

These acquisitions build upon TPL’s 20-year history in conserving land in the Monongahela National Forest, including the conservation of over 65,000 acres of high priority natural, historic and wilderness lands within the Cheat, Greenbrier, Gauley, and Potomac watersheds.