Meadow Bridge — Overlooking the New River in Raleigh County, Irish Mountain was an outdoor playground for years for James Word and his family.
Word’s father and one of his uncles went in together to purchase 963 acres of property on the mountain in the 1970s. Growing up, Word and his cousin hunted deer and grouse in the dense forest and fished the plentiful waters.
“My parents and an uncle bought the property. They were going to split it up and sell it, but they just never did. They timbered it a little bit one time. All of them died, and I ended up with the trust, along with my cousin,” Word said.
Word is the third-generation owner and president of the Beckley Loan Co.
“It was a good playground for me and my cousin,” he said.
Now, the property will be a good playground for the thousands of people who visit the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. An acquisition by The Conservation Fund increases the amount of public land available for hunting and outdoor recreation, while yielding a variety of other public benefits, officials said during a dedication ceremony Monday.
Clearly visible from the east bank of the New River, the land within the added parcel extends steeply up in elevation from 1,600 feet to 2,700 feet, offering a sweeping view of the upper river canyon.
“Formerly the largest private landholding within the park’s authorized boundary, it will both enhance the recreational opportunities in this section of the park and preserve views of the largest waterfall on the entire New River,” New River Gorge National Park and Preserve Superintendent Charles Sellars said.
In 2020, members of West Virginia’s congressional delegation — Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito and Rep. Carol Miller — led an effort to redesignate New River Gorge as a national park and preserve, which allowed hunting and fishing to continue on the property.
“Wanting to preserve that tradition is very important to me,” Capito said. “Apparently, there are lots of wild turkeys up there. I asked if there was bear. They’re not really sure. There’s deer everywhere.”
The property will conserve the resources and natural beauty, as well as protect the traditional recreational opportunities for which New River Gorge National Park and Preserve was established, Manchin said.
“The preserve part of the park is where we can still keep the culture and tradition of hunting and fishing,” Manchin said. “This is 960 more acres for us to enjoy in West Virginia to go hunting and fishing and just to be out in the outdoors.”
Word said he is pleased that hunting, something he enjoyed so much about the land, will continue on the property into the future.
“What I love about it is the preserve part of it. You can still go up and hunt on that property, which is a great thing for this state,” Word said.
The Conservation Fund acquired the land in November 2021 and recently transferred it to the National Park Service, with funding from the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
“This is a place with ancient geology, a cultural history of immigration, hard work and community — and a river that flows through the very heart of West Virginia,” Conservation Fund Vice President and West Virginia Director Joe Hankins said.
Hankins added, “The Conservation Fund is honored to help assure that a family land legacy will continue, now permanently conserved and newly made part of the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.”
The Land and Water Conservation Fund was established by Congress in 1965 and uses earnings from offshore oil and gas leasing to protect land, waters and historic sites. The LWCF was fully and permanently funded by the Great American Outdoors Act in 2020, having to rely solely on government appropriations before that, Manchin said.