Saving
Five Miles on the the Gauley
a 1336-acre land campaign in Nicholas County, WV
Project Cost: $3,654,572
Current balance yet to raise: $3,157,972- as of 6/4/2025
Stewardship Funds critically needed for WV properties
Here at the Arc of Appalachia, we have been buying and protecting wildlands for 30 years, primarily in southern Appalachian Ohio. In that span of time, we have created and continue to manage over 13,000 acres of protected natural areas, and we have closed on 185 properties. However, never in our history have we ever pursued a project as large, or with the degree of extraordinary beauty and national significance as Five Miles on the Gauley.
West Virginia is the third most forested state in the nation (79% forest cover) and is the only one in the three top states that is located in the Appalachian forest heartland. (Ahead of West Virginia is New England: Maine with 89% forest cover and New Hampshire with 83%). A stunning number of properties are listed on the West Virginia real estate market each year that have high conservation potential - properties made even more compelling by the fact that real estate prices in West Virginia are a third to a quarter of rural land values in neighboring states. Conservation dollars stretch far in West Virginia.
We maintain that preservation in West Virginia has been underfunded in the East for far too long. We have a deep desire to see more wildland philanthropy dollars flowing out of Eastern United States into West Virginia. We believe that Five Miles on the Gauley is spectacular enough to attract conservation donors who are committed to saving the beauty and biodiversity of the Great Eastern Forest. Dollar for dollar, no other Eastern state provides greater conservation returns. If the Five Miles on the Gauley campaign crosses the finish line by year's end, as planned, the Gauley property and our recent WV acquisition, 1200-acre Wild Rock Canyon, will be just the beginning of the Arc’s long-term commitment to buying and saving premier wildlands in West Virginia. Nothing would make us happier!
A World-Class River. The legendary Gauley River is one of the top ten whitewater rafting rivers in the world, attracting 60,000 boaters each year. Before Summersville Lake was constructed in 1965, the Gauley was entirely a wild and free river. Today, the dam releases water six weeks each fall, ensuring thrilling adventures for rafters who drop 688 feet in elevation as they travel the length of the 25-mile-long Gauley River National Recreation Area. Here rafters encounter no less than 100 whitewater rapids, many of them Class V. Each set of rapids has an evocative name, like Lost Paddle, Pillow Rock, and Pure Screaming Hell. Downstream of the recreation area, the river current slows as it approaches its confluence with the New River, just a few miles downstream of the New River Gorge National Park. Here, the waters of the Gauley and the New intermingle to form the Kanawha River, which then flows north to the Ohio River.
Rich in Water Resources. Five Miles on the Gauley is located immediately north of Summersville Lake in a peaceful, rarely visited portion of the river. A major tributary of the Gauley, Big Beaver Creek, runs through the property for the length of one mile. In addition, the last quarter mile of Crooked Run dissects the property. This exceptionally handsome waterway has carved out a deep, rhododendron-filled ravine boasting at least three waterfalls.
The Gauley’s Mountaintop Beginnings. Further upstream and eastward, three upper branches of the Gauley find their origin in the immense 919,000-acre Monongahela National Forest. As these mountain-fed streams form creeks, and the creeks merge into a single river channel, the Gauley gains its identity. After exiting the National Forest, it flows through roughly ten miles of privately owned lands, including Five Miles on the Gauley. before reaching Summersville Lake and the 25-mile long Gauley River National Recreation Area. The Five Miles on the Gauley property contributes protection to over 25% of the shoreline in this private stretch of the river. If the remaining 75% of shoreline can one day be preserved, the Gauley River would become nearly 100% protected, and one of the best-preserved rivers in all of Eastern United States. We can’t think of a river more beautiful or more deserving!
If we can complete the Five Miles on the Gauley project soon, we know of two more properties for sale on the Gauley that we could look into. There is no reason not to dream big, and there are lots of reasons to move fast so that our dreams can come true.
Below: Map of the Five Miles on the Gauley property
Below: Regional Map of SE West Virginia. Five Miles on the Gauley and the Arc’s Wild Rock Canyon Preserve (orange-hued in the center of the map), shown in context with nearby conservation lands. Although recreation and national forests are bountiful, this region has attracted little preservation activity other than at New River Gorge National Park, which is shown in sage green in the center of the map. The vast National Forest is managed for sustainable timber production. We are eager to add more acres of nature preserves to this region’s diverse conservation mosaic.
Photo gallery below shows Five Miles on the Gauley property’s major water features - Big Beaver Creek, Crooked Run, and the Gauley proper - as well as the type of intense rafting experience that takes place further downstream.
A haven for wildlife. As soon as we signed the purchase contract to buy Five Miles on the Gauley, staff and volunteers began making arrangements to perform field studies and set up game cams to inventory the wildlife. Field biologists from both Ohio and West Virginia mist-netted for bats, set up moth lighting stations, seined for fish, turned over rocks for salamanders, and listened for birds. They confirmed that Five Miles on the Gauley has an abundance of wildlife. Large numbers of lichen-colored Green Salamanders were found in rock crevices, and many other salamander species were discovered as well - always a dependable indicator of a healthy forest. Dozens of Red Efts, the immature terrestrial stage of the Eastern Newt, were enthusiastically photographed by our volunteer field biologists as they fearlessly lumbered along the forest floor.
Rhododendron tangles resounded with the cheerful call of the Swainson’s warbler, a species of conservation concern. The Swainson’s warbler is typically a denizen of low-elevation humid forests in the Southeast, where it is associated with rivercane. West Virginia lies in the bird’s northernmost range and here it characteristically adapts to rhododendron thickets. Two charismatic bird species, the common merganser and the kingfisher, rule the open waters of the Gauley River. The signature bird of the deeply forested hillsides is certainly the Hooded warbler, a species that requires large, unbroken tracts of forest to successfully breed. The Hooded Warbler’s vibrant “away, away withchu” song can be heard in nearly every glen and hollow, often against a backdrop of singing ovenbirds and Louisiana Waterthrushes. The etheric songs of the Wood Thrush, the flutist of the forest symphony, are ever present.
Game cams uncovered ample evidence of bear, bobcat, coyote, beaver, and deer. Unfortunately, the river’s high current during our field studies proved too vigorous to allow us to properly conduct aquatic inventories (it literally swept us off our feet), so fish studies have been temporarily deferred. However, we have been informed that this section of the river harbors hellbenders, and mudpuppies; and it is on the edge of the range for the federally endangered candy darter, We are eager to get into the river and continue our fish inventory, once we can safely do so.
Once & Future Forest. Ninety percent of forest at Five Miles on the Gauley was select-cut around 20 years ago. Today, these woodlands are in good health, providing a solid canopy and a wide range of tree ages. Oaks, beech, and hemlock, some of them quite large in size, dominate the forest. Rhododendrons border the Gauley and fill every hollow, nourished by the cool mists that frequently fill the river valley. In late May, a scattering of mountain laurels on the hillsides burst into glorious bloom. Four species of magnolias, all of them well represented on the property, are in residence: Fraser, Umbrella, Cucumber, and Tulip Poplar. Invasive plants are light in presence, limited primarily to the steam engine railway that bordered the river at the turn of the century to remove the region’s primeval forest. West Virginia’s forests were some of the last of America’s old-growth forests to be felled. On the property’s relatively flat ridgetop, the forest was select-cut and around 40 acres cleared a year ago - representing 10% of the property.
Riverscour. The most interesting habitat on the property is Riverscour, inhabiting sections of the cobbly/sandy shoreline of the Gauley. This highly disturbed vegetation zone alternates between being dessicated in the hot sun and submerged under high-velocity waters. Only a few plants and trees can adapt to these harsh extremes. Those that manage to survive make up the riverscour plant community.
Riverscour habitat has been destroyed across most of our Eastern waterways because the niche requires untamed, high-energy rivers without dams or development that flood several times each year. Some botanists claim that over 40% of West Virginia’s rarest plants reside in these Riverscour habitats. Species common in this zone include bluets, black gum trees, royal fern, ninebark, a variety of specialized asters, and the beautiful sweet azaela, Rhododendron arborescens, Just a few feet higher in elevation, the thorny and very peculiar Hercules Club, Zanthoxylum clava-herculis, grows along the sandy banks of the river shoreline.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the timeline to save this property? A sympathetic nonprofit is holding the Gauley property for the Arc of Appalachia and is giving us until December 31, 2025, to raise the campaign funds in full. Beyond that timeline, interest rates will kick in and our slowed-down pace will severely hurt both organizations. Regardless, we pledge to our donors that 100% of your donation will be applied to this campaign, and only this campaign. The Arc is precise about tracking and fulfilling donors’ restricted gifts.
What does the campaign total include? The campaign total of $3,654,572 includes the sale price, closing costs, and a small percentage of funds to cover the cost of preparing the closing papers, run the campaign, and process the credit card gifts and checks. All of this work is accomplished in-house with our own staff. There are now other costs. Stewardship funds are not included in this campaign and will be fundraised for separately. For more information on how the Arc cares for and funds its preserves, read this important article on “Stewardship Forever.”
How much should I give? Naturally, that’s up to you, but we encourage you not to set a goal so high you end up not giving. Please give at any level that is comfortable for you, whether large or small. Every earnest heartfelt donation adds magic to the campaign, whether it be $10 or $100,000. If you can afford it, consider buying an acre in your name or the name of someone you love at a cost of $ 2,736.00. Here’s another fun gift-giving fact. A wood thrush, which is common at Five Miles on the Gauley, can live and breed on as little as 2 acres. Consider supporting a wood thrush family’s summer home for a gift of $5472. Or you could support a chipmunk’s half-acre territory at a cost of $ 1,368.00, or provide a wood frog with its 477 square meter home for $320! Armed with a search engine and your favorite animals in mind, you could come up with some pretty unique gift amounts! Be sure to tell us if you do!
Can I ever visit the property? Although the Arc of Appalachia is renowned for developing some of Ohio’s most stunning trails, currently maintaining over 80 miles of them, we are not yet properly staffed to maintain trails in West Virginia. “Yet” is the operative word. Our stewardship capacity has more than doubled in the last two years thanks to separate fundraisers and the acts of particularly generous donors. We believe that “if we build the preserves, funding for stewardship will be forthcoming”. In the meantime, Five Miles on the Gauley is not currently suited for visitation because it has no road frontage and is accessed only through a locked gate on an easement lane. We will likely have the opportunity to someday expand the Gauley Preserve with a parcel that does have road frontage. There is a lot of historical precedent for this kind of growth happening in other Arc land-locked preserves. All it takes is time, patience, and access to funds when the opportunity presents itself. Meanwhile, we will be offering guided hikes into the Gauley from time to time, beginning next year. Be sure to subscribe to our education notices via email and Telegram (a phone app) by clicking the Subscribe button.
Is the Arc a reliable nonprofit? Naturally, we are just a wee bit biased, but we have a dynamic staff and a committed board dedicated to integrity, efficiency, hard work, and transparency. Our best review is the fact that most of our donors remain our donors long-term. Some of our supporters have been with us for 25-30 years. The Arc of Appalachia is an audited organization. Our auditor reports that our 2024 audit financials will be available any day now. As soon as we receive our audit-certified financials, we will link them to this webpage. We invite you to read more about our mission here, and check out our most recent annual news magazines - a celebration of the Arc’s energized land preservation progress annually, as well as some truly splendid nature art. We hope you will also consider visiting us at our headquarters, the 3,000-acre Highlands Nature Sanctuary in southcentral Ohio where we have 18 miles of trails and some very special overnight rental cabins.
Would you like to contact us? You can reach out to our office staff at 937-365-1935, or write arcpreserveinfo@gmail.com. Our office is hosted by REAL people (amazing, right?) 7 days a week from March 15 to November 15, and Monday-Friday during the winter.
Please help us spread the word of this remarkable campaign. It is claimed that each one of us is separated from each other by 6 degrees of synchronicity. In other words, every person is a unique networker - separated from every other human being by no more than six handshakes. That may be a bit of an exaggeration, but it is, nevertheless, a lovely concept of interconnectedness that we celebrate. If you would like to share your circle of handshakes with us to help us promote the Gauley campaign, please contact us above with your ideas and we will get right back to you by phone or email! We LOVE linking lands together and taking down boundary fences, and we LOVE linking up people, too, removing the boundaries that divide us.