TUCKER COUNTY, W.Va. — The new headquarters facility at the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Tucker County, part a larger $7 million refuge improvement project, was expected to open to the public this fall, though no exact date had been set as of this week.
“There’s still a little bit of work left to do on exhibits, but we’re working towards completion,” said Ron Hollis, refuge manager for the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge.
Hollis talked with MetroNews on Thursday morning before a scheduled visit from Kate MacGregor, U.S. deputy secretary of the interior, Aurelia Skipwith, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.).
Both Manchin and Capito, who helped secure project funding in the Department of Interior’s budget for FY 2018, visited the site when it was under construction in July 2019 with David Bernhardt, U.S. secretary of the interior.
“By opening up the new visitor center and increasing new fishing opportunities, we hope our visitors have the best of experiences here in beautiful Canaan Valley,” Deputy Secretary MacGregor said in a statement.
This week’s visit, designed to highlight the importance of access to public lands, was to include a tour of the new multi-purpose facility which replaced the former aging visitor center.
“It’s LEED silver which means it has energy-efficient measures such as solar panels, radiant floor heat, really good windows, top-of-the-line insulation,” Hollis explained.
“It has an area where the public or the community coming can have meetings in one side of our room and in the other side we can show the video and it’s all contained.”
In addition to public space for meetings and programs, the 8,380-square-foot facility houses or will house separate administrative space for refuge staff, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, West Virginia Ecological Services and the Office of Law Enforcement.
Before now, the Office of Law Enforcement had been located in Elkins.
“It really gives the image of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service what I think it deserves in this area,” Hollis said.
Skipwith, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service director, agreed.
“This investment at Canaan Valley exemplifies the Trump Administration’s and the Secretary’s commitment to connecting people with nature through hunting, fishing and outdoor experiences,” Skipwith said.
Under the recently-passed Great American Outdoors Act, Skipwith said there were plans to open up refuge fishing while expanded hunting, as permitted under state regulations.
Because of COVID-19, an opening date for the visitor center was dependent on compliance with guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Plans were being made for a grand opening celebration in 2021.
The building was just one of the improvements in the Canaan Valley Wildlife Refuge.
Two trails have recently opened to the public.
Hollis said the renovated Freeland Boardwalk, which is compliant with requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act and accessible for wheelchairs and strollers, is the most widely-used trail in the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge.
Additionally, the Farm View Trail was also available for hikers and bikers.