Mel Shafer, WVRI, Board Member Emeritus Mike Murphy, President Lisa deGruyter, Board Member Emeritus Jim Nedrow. Lambert Run Landowner James Allen (photo: WBOY)
The Guardians launched our new speaker series to celebrate 25 years of cleaning up the West Fork River and promoting recreation on the river. Senior Water Research Scientist, Mel Shafer, West Virginia Water Research Institute at WVU, explained the damage done to our river and others across West Virginia by polluted water from abandoned mine drainage and what is being done about it.
Coverage at Guardians of the West Fork celebrate 25 years and Speaker series highlights 25 years of West Fork watershed restoration
Guardians remembered our two previous Presidents:
John Eleyette was from Farmington and lived in Shinnston. He served in the Air Force in Korea and worked for 27 years for Consolidation Coal Company, retiring from Robinson Run Mine in 1991. After his retirement, he founded the Guardians. John developed the plan for the Guardians’ Lamberts Run restoration project, which was the first watershed-based plan in West Virginia. He passed away in September 2020.
John Ciesla, who served as President of the Guardians from 2018 to his death in April 2023. John was an engineer and contributed technical knowledge and experience, in working with the WV Water Research Institute on Lambert Run. John’s also had the vision for “Float the Fork”, which has educated people about the West Fork and helped people get on the water.
The Guardians honored our land owners who have given up parts of their woods and fields for wetland and pond treatment systems at Lambert Run:
In the order of the projects – the first three, all in 2004
Site 3 The Muzzleloader Club, leased from James Allen
Site 8 Pat Oldaker
Site 9 Blake Cox
in 2005
Site 5 also owned by James Allen
in 2009
Site 6 Tammy and Jake Gwinn
starting in 2010 , our largest site and the one which removes the most iron, Site 7 which is mostly owned by Don Barnhart, with the portals and several small ponds on the land of Chad Hutson and Melinda Harold
Our latest two projects are Site 4, finished this fall, also owned by James Allen
and a reworking of Site 7, where work started this winter with brush and tree clearing.
And we honored our long-time volunteers who made the Lambert Run project possible and spent years planning, testing the water regularly, and working with the landowners, contractors, and WVWRI staff.
Jim Nedrow and Mike Murphy who worked as a team with the Guardians for more than 20 years, not only doing water testing for Lambert Run, but also mowing and cleaning up 18 river access points all up and down the river, and were both long-time Board members. They have both retired from the Guardians and the Board, and have proved to be irreplaceable so far.
Chris Byrd, who served many years as Treasurer and volunteer
Paula Bomhoff, who has served many years as our bookkeeper, and as Treasurer
Guardians of the West Fork Watershed 