Citizens of Cacapon State Park in West Virginia have rallied against a proposal for a 350-spot RV campground by Blue Water Development.
According to a local news report, over 70 people gathered at the park’s upper lake on Monday to voice their concerns about the potential damage the proposed campground could do to the natural beauty of the park and its hunting and fishing grounds.
The citizens have vowed to return with more supporters on April 3 at 6 pm at the upper lake.
In addition to the proposed RV campground, Blue Water Development has plans for a beach, fishing piers, water slides, an Aquabana, a kayak dock, a mountain bike training area, a lawn area with cabanas, and miniature golf around a parking location for local food truck vendors on the west side of the upper lake.
While the proposed amenities have generated some interest, a range of concerns have been raised about their potential impact on the park’s environment.
According to Jim Michael, the president of the Cacapon State Park Foundation, the foundation is “very concerned” about the Blue Water proposal.
Michael, who talks frequently with Brad Reed, the Chief of the West Virginia State Parks, says that “his hands are kind of tied,” and the decision is being made “from up above” in the Commerce Department. Michael has asked for more attention from the Department of Commerce people, but it is unclear whether his request will be heard.
Local resident and lawyer Bruce Goldstein has called on West Virginia Governor Jim Justice to withdraw the request for proposals (RFP).
Goldstein believes that the RFP was drafted without adequate public input and that there was no valid reason for the failure to give the public the opportunity to submit suggestions for an RFP that could have such huge impacts on this park.
The RFP’s contents are fundamentally inappropriate in several ways, he wrote. Overall, the RFP’s approach virtually guaranteed that the only successful proposal would be one that included a very large development of recreational vehicle sites and recreational facilities.
Despite the concerns raised by citizens and the opposition from the park foundation, private campground owners and operators in the nearby area may view the proposed campground as an opportunity to attract more visitors to the region.
However, there are still some who argued that the development of the proposed campground may affect the local ecosystem and create competition for other private campground owners in the region.
The citizens of Cacapon State Park are planning to meet every Monday until April 18, when the state has scheduled a public hearing on the proposal at the Cacapon Lodge at 6 pm.
Douglas Waugh, a local resident who fishes the Cacapon park lakes five or six days a week, said that he and all of his fishing buddies are opposed to the Blue Water proposal.
Waugh believes that the proposed development will not benefit the fishermen, and will only create more problems for the park.
Sadie Dingfelder, another citizen who attended the meeting, encouraged people to learn about the endangered wood turtle that she has seen in the park near the Nature Center.
She believes that citizens should take care of the park’s environment and protect it for future generations of outdoor enthusiasts.
Tom Ambrose, the former superintendent at the park, wrote in a letter to the Morgan Messenger last month that parks were never intended to be major profit centers.
He emphasized the need to be good stewards of the park and to preserve and protect its historical and environmental legacy.
The citizens of Cacapon State Park and the private campground owners and operators in the nearby area are waiting to see how the proposed campground will affect both the region’s ecosystem and economy.
The public hearing on April 18 will provide an opportunity for citizens to voice their concerns and for Blue Water Development to address them.