By David Esteppe
The push for West Virginia’s first and only national monument is getting a powerful boost on a national level by the major outdoor gear company, Keen Footwear.
Keen is dedicated to building stronger communities and a healthier planet. “As a business rooted in the outdoors, we feel it is our responsibility to take action, to speak up for what we believe is right, and to share that conversation with outdoor enthusiasts around the world,” says Keen’s mission statement in its website.
Targeting five new national monument designations, Keen started a two-month Live Monumental Tour Campaign this summer. Along the way, the campaign is raising awareness for and generating more than 100,000 signatures for petition to encourage the Obama administration to use its powers under the Antiquities Act to declare all five of these areas as national monuments.
A national monument is a section of public land set aside for its natural, historical or cultural value. They range from structures to oceans to large tracts of land and make up some of America’s most celebrated icons, from California’s Giant Sequoia National Monument to New York’s Statue of Liberty.
Once a national monument is designated, most pre-existing public and commercial activities continue, including access to private property and rights of way for roads and public utilities. Recreational activities such as hunting, fishing, rafting, boating, horseback riding, camping, hiking, biking and even the use of motorized vehicles on designated routes, all continue.
The public needs to be behind national monument movements, but the Antiquities Act the President of the United States has the power with the stroke of a pen to create a national monument.
The new monuments being supported with the Live Monumental Tour compose over three million acres and include Gold Butte, NV; Boulder-White Cloud, ID; Owyhee Canyonlands, OR, Mojave Trails, CA; and of special interest to West Virginian’s: Birthplace of Rivers, WV.
Simply put, six rivers spring forth high in the Yew Mountains of the Monongahela National Forest. This intersection of humanity and nature is home to a tightly-packed complex of West Virginia’s most iconic and ecologically significant features including most dramatic vistas, tallest waterfalls and cleanest waterways. Its center is the Cranberry Wilderness, the largest federally-designated wilderness area in the Eastern United States.
As reported in the Idaho Mountain Express, at the same time the tour kicked off, the United States Senate passed, the House of Representatives approved, and subsequently President Barack Obama signed the Sawtooth National Recreational Area and Jerry Peak Wilderness Additions Act in August. This created 431 square miles of protected wilderness within the targeted Boulder-White Clouds monument. The remarkably quick passage of this wilderness bill was motivated by the potential of the president providing monument status to the area, which would have protected twice the acreage.
With one area now protected, the Live Monument Tour is focusing on the remaining four, and is being hosted in Lewisburg on Sept. 18 from 1 to 5 p.m. at Hill and Holler Bike Works at 204 North Jefferson Street.
The event is free and open to the public. The local band Snake Doctor will be performing, there will be free beer from local breweries, petition signing and photo booths.
Lewisburg Mayor John Manchester says, “I am excited about the Keen Monumental Tour Stop in Lewisburg. Lewisburg stands to gain a lot from additional tourism dollars if the Birthplace of Rivers is named as a national monument. I hope their visit adds to the momentum leading toward national monument status of this beautiful area.”
If you cannot attend the festivities on the 18th, but would like to sign the petition, visit www.keenfootwear.com/livemonumental/petition.
