Number: 1983-12
WHEREAS, Canaan Valley contains more than 6,000 acres of unimproved wetlands that represent 40 percent of the total wetland acreage in West Virginia; and
WHEREAS, Canaan Valley provides habitat for over 590 different plant species, 40 of which are listed by the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources as rare or endangered; and
WHEREAS, Canaan Valley provides habitat for at least 162 bird species and at least 55 mammal species, including the state’s only known nesting sites for Northern Goshawks and American Bitterns, the state’s largest Beaver populations, the state’s largest breeding population of Woodcock, and abundant populations of Ruffed Grouse, Wild Turkey, and White-tailed Deer; and
WHEREAS, Canaan Valley provides some of the state’s finest hunting, fishing, trapping, hiking, bird-watching, and other wildlife-related recreational opportunities; and
WHEREAS, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recommended in 1979 to establish the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge by acquiring 28,000 acres of unimproved wetlands and uplands in Canaan Valley; and
WHEREAS, Canaan Valley continues to be threatened by Davis Power Project, a proposed pump-storage hydroelectric facility that would inundate the valley floor; and
WHEREAS, Canaan Valley is also threatened by accelerated oil and gas, residential, and recreational development in and around the valley;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation, in annual meeting assembled March 17-20, 1983, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, continues to oppose construction of the Davis Power Project; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation supports federal legislation to incorporate Canaan Valley into the National Wildlife Refuge System.