Over the years, the WV Governor’s Cup Ski Race has played an important role in the ski history of Tucker County, WV. Considered the longest running race throughout the southeast, Alpine Festival, Inc. will be presenting its 64th race in 2024. Racers will have a chance to win some amazing prizes and only a select few will get their names placed on the famous WV Governor’s Cup Trophy.

My year at Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge has been incredibly rewarding and something I will always remember fondly. I am very grateful for my time as an AmeriCorps member and I am lucky to have served at two different National Wildlife Refuges. I felt that I was able to learn more and really advance my skill set through my year-long position with AFNHA. I highly recommend AmeriCorps and AFNHA to anyone that is looking to get their foot in the door in the field of conservation and gain valuable experience.

This year for the first time the Seneca Rocks Discovery Center and the USDA Forest Service hosted 4th graders from Pendleton County for a day full outdoor recreation, cultural heritage, and fun! 56 students from the surrounding area visited stations set up on the Discovery Center grounds focusing on cultural heritage of the area and outdoor recreation activities in the hope to encourage more exploration of the public lands around them.

Elkins, West Virginia has the unique distinction of being home to many musicians who play traditional Appalachian “old time” music. Elkins is also home of the Augusta Heritage Center, a non-profit organization that began conducting music, crafts and dance workshops as well as concerts, dances and audio and video documentation beginning in 1973 and celebrating its fiftieth year in 2023. AmeriCorps Member Josh Wanstreet is helping Augusta preserve traditions through archives, music lessons, and more.

“This year as an AmeriCorps member has been one full of learning. I have experienced much of what I expected and an equal amount of things I did not expect, but am endlessly grateful for. One experience I anticipated with enthusiasm was the opportunity to work hands-on with an exhibit at the Randolph County Museum. As with any new job, however, crafting a museum exhibit, especially for the first time, can be an intimidating task.”

The annual ArtSpring Festival celebration in Tucker County was a huge success this year with live music, a pop-up ArtSpring Shop in Davis, the Thomas arts walk, a pub crawl, food and so much more!  This year, the Lantern Parade returned for the first time since Covid.  As per tradition, the lanterns were created during a free workshop to the public and displayed proudly within the community during a parade throughout Thomas.

Sammy Ryder recently had the opportunity to participate in a plaster stabilization workshop at the Beverly Heritage Center. Chris Mills, a plaster expert, came to work on the second floor of the Crawford Building, which served as McClellan’s headquarters in Beverly. She worked with him for a few days learning about how to stabilize plaster and the proper way to uncover Civil War era graffiti.

One of the most enduring and inspiring aspects of living and working in West Virginia is that there is a collective understanding to uphold both the heritage and natural ecosystems that we all know, use, and love. With fishing, hunting, and outdoor recreation being such an ingrained part of the generational history and tourism, it is hard to not feel like I have the privilege of living a little extra life every time I go to serve.

While my first year had given me a new understanding of the importance of stream habitat and protecting aquatic species like the enigmatic endangered Candy Darter and jaw dropping Eastern Hellbender, my second has year allowed me to find my niche in conservation: true science that goes into surveying and monitoring terrestrial wildlife and resurrecting habitat that was lost during the timber and mining booms of the 20th century.