Have you noticed any round, white flowers blooming along the West Fork?
In mid to late summer, buttonbush blooms distinct creamy white ball-shaped flowers. Even into late fall and winter, these seed balls can still be easily recognized.
Buttonbush is a common shrub found in wet areas near streams and in wetlands.
Numerous types of wildlife rely on buttonbush: Ducks and other water birds consume their seeds. The fragrant flowers attract pollinators such as butterflies and moths. Wood ducks use the shrub limbs for nesting.
Not only is Buttonbush great for wildlife, but it also helps preserve water quality by stabilizing stream banks.
Buttonbush is also a great shrub to plant in your rain garden.
Buttonbush seed in late fall after the first frost.
Impaired water flows into a constructed wetland designed to improve water quality.
Water is our most precious resource. Water sustains all live on Earth, and we can’t live without clean water.
The Guardians of the West Fork, WVU Water Research Institute, WV Department of Environmental Protection, and other partners have worked to improve water quality in the West Fork watershed for over two decades.
Acid mine drainage, or AMD, is an on-going threat to water quality in our watershed. AMD describes polluted water that seeps out from mines. During mining, water comes into contact and transports heavy metals such as iron, aluminum, and magnesium. The metals change the color of the water, oftentimes displaying orange, milky white, or aquamarine blue discoloration.
Treating AMD before it enters the West Fork mainstem is a high priority.
AMD remediation projects divert impaired water through a network of constructed wetlands to slow the flow, allowing suspended metals to drop out of the water and settle at the bottom of the pond.
How are these AMD projects constructed? Through partnership, planning, and volunteer efforts.
Identifying impaired streams require water samples to be collected and analyzed.
WVU Water Research Institute staff member filters a water sample that will be sent to a lab for analysis.
Field work also involves estimating the flow of the water. Knowing how fast the water flows allows us to estimate the impact of impaired waters within a watershed.
WVU Water Research Institute staff member estimates the flow of a small tributary using the stopwatch and bucket method.
After identifying an impaired stream, our partner organizations work together to design, fund, and construct the project. After construction, these projects need post-restoration monitoring to ensure the wetland is functioning as intended.
The goal is to improve water quality so we can ensure the West Fork River remains fishable, swimmable, and drinkable for future generations.
Constructed wetlands are designed to slow the flow of water to improve water quality.
Thank you to our partners and volunteers for dedicating your time and energy to improving the water quality of West Fork.
Have you ever spent time along a river and noticed how most rivers change along their course? Oftentimes, rivers display alternating patterns of calm flatwater and turbulent faster moving water.
This pattern is not by accident.
Learning to read the river can help you navigate the channel while paddling, or help you know where to cast your line to catch your next fish.
For most of its course, the West Fork lazily meanders through the landscape. The river is sinuous, with large bends and curves where the water is deep and slow. These areas are known as pools.
Riffles are the opposite of pools. Here, the water is shallow and fast moving. Riffles form when larger rocks gather and accumulate, forcing water to flow over them and creating more turbulent movement.
It’s not just about the water. The creatures that live beneath the water’s surface respond to these physical changes. In riffle areas, stream bugs known as benthic macroinvertebrates cling to the rocks, where as fish typically find refuge in deep pools.
One of the most notable sections that displays the alternating pattern of riffle and pools is from Weston to Jackson’s Mill. This 5.5 mile section float offers an exceptional display of the West Fork’s riffle & pool pattern.
The put-in is near the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, just downstream of the Weston Dam. While there is no boat ramp, there is public parking (39.036797, -80.470335). The take-out is at Jackson’s Mill and has a paved concrete boat ramp (39.095907, -80.465556).
The West Fork River flows through Weston near the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum.
At the put in, the water flows quickly as you float through Weston. After a half mile, the river deepens and slows as you float through a more rural section. Towards the take out, the water picks up speed again as it flows through a riffle section near Jackson’s Mill.
Next time you float on the West Fork, be sure to admire the riffle and pool personality of the river.
Thank you to everyone that joined us on Saturday for a float from Worthington to Monongah. We had 17 floaters from Fairmont, Morgantown, Clarksburg, Lost Creek, and Jane Lew join us.
Floaters prepare to launch at Worthington City Park below the Worthington Dam.
We had beautiful weather as we took in the sights and sounds along the West Fork.
The first half of the float takes paddlers through a large horseshoe bend. While most of the river is slow and deep, there are a few section of faster flowing riffles.
Floaters giving directions to other paddlers.
Interested in floating Worthington to Monongah? Check out the trip details below.
Trip Details
Distance: 5 miles
Duration: 2 – 4 hours (+/- depending on paddling pace and water levels)
Difficulty: beginner friendly flatwater interspersed with short rifles
Put-In: Worthington City Park (39.450509, -80.265246)
Take-Out: Monongah Public Access Site (39.460533, -80.215734)
The flatwater rivers of North-Central West Virginia provide excellent paddling opportunities. The major tributaries (West Fork, Tygart Valley, Buckhannon, and Cheat Rivers) and the Monongahela River are a hot-spot for water based recreation.
Community members in Fairmont and Morgantown started their own social paddle groups to take advantage of the abundant recreational opportunities. The Fairmont Flotilla and the Morgantown Area Paddlers have both attracted numerous members since their inception, helping people get on the water and sharing the beauty of nature while also getting healthy exercise.
Bruce Slabaugh says he and other friends founded the Fairmont Flotilla in 2019 as a way to get on the water. The social group even has its own logo, featuring a great blue heron and Fairmont’s Million Dollar Bridge that crosses the Mon River. Bruce says, “The group expanded through the years due, in no small part, to the Facebook page “Fairmont Floatilla” pioneered by Kymberly Byers. The page now has 440 members! The group has paddled many lakes, streams, and rivers in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky. The group loves the natural beauty of the rivers and wildlife such as bald eagles, osprey, beavers, and even gar. Overall, the group has been a great way to get out and enjoy the great outdoors.”
The group even helps pick up trash as they float, leaving the river better than they found it.
The Fairmont Flotilla meets every Tuesday at 6PM at Prickett’s Fork, as well as hosts Moonlight paddles on the Mon at Palatine Park. All are welcome to join the group!
These local paddle groups inspired members of the Guardians of the West Fork to start their own paddle group in Clarksburg. The group meets every week at the Veterans Park Boat Ramp in Clarksburg at 6PM. We float upstream and downstream on the calm waters of the West Fork making new friends and enjoying the beauty of the river. Come out and join us this summer!
Check out these groups on Facebook for more information on community paddle groups:
Monongahela River – Morgantown Area Paddlers
Monongahela River – Fairmont Flotilla
West Fork River – Guardians of the West Fork & West Fork Water Trail
Tygart River – Save the Tygart Watershed Association
Buckhannon River – Buckhannon River Watershed Association & Buckhannon River Paddlers
In the midst of summer when dusk arrives and the coolness brings relief to the hot day-time temperatures, glowing speckles of light emerge out of the darkness.
Known as fireflies, lightening bugs, or glowworms, these small critters are a favorite summer past time.
Did you know there are different types of fireflies, each with their own pattern and color of flashing? Just as there are different breeds of dogs, there are many types of fireflies.
Fireflies display their light pattern among the dark night.
Interestingly, not all fireflies light up at night. To be considered a firefly, a species must illuminate at some point in their life. Some species glow in their early life stage as larvae, while other glow as adults.
There are at least 25 species of fireflies found throughout West Virginia, but because new species are continuously being documented and others are threatened, we are unsure how many species are in West Virginia. Many firefly species are declining due to habitat loss, light pollution, pesticide use, and other environmental changes.
The most common firefly is the big dipper firefly (Photinus pyralis). This species is found in lawns and yards throughout the state. Other types of fireflies prefer forested areas or other habitats such as wetlands, meadows, or near streams.
Check out the resources below to learn more about fireflies of West Virginia and how to identify them based on their habitats, flashing pattern and color, and the time of year they are present.
Join the Guardians of the West Fork for our upcoming events this week!
– Thursday Pop-Up Paddle – happening every Thursday at 6pm at the Clarksburg Veterans Park Boat Ramp!
– Worthington to Monongah – Saturday July 15 at 10 AM, we will meet at Worthington City Park for a casual 5 mile float.
Both events are beginner friendly! We welcome all friendly faces to join our group of river folks. Come on out, make new friends, and enjoy the beautiful waters of the West Fork River!
The West Fork River is some of the best small mouth bass fishing in the state.
When people ask why I fish the river so much, I simply reply you never know what you’re going to catch.
I have caught musky, small mouth, drum, catfish, rock bass, largemouth, and carp all in one day.
There isn’t one stretch of river I haven’t caught fish in from Good Hope to the Monongahela.
The sights, the sounds, and the pure adrenaline from catching a 20 pound musky in a kayak is unmatched.
If you looking for great fishing in your backyard look no further than The West Fork, grab a kayak and a pole and float a few miles of this beautiful river.
You will not be disappointed.
Interested in submitting a blog post? We are always looking for community members to share interesting stories related to local history, fishing, paddling, or wildlife along the West Fork. Feel free to contact us at admin@guardiansofthewestfork.org
The Tygart Valley United Way hosted 35 volunteer projects as part of the annual United Way Day of Action. The Fairmont Floatilla, a recreational paddle group based in Fairmont, hosted a stream clean up on the Monongahela River near Palatine Park.
Members from the Floatilla, along with members from the Morgantown Area Paddlers, the Guardians of the West Fork, WV Department of Environmental Protection staff, Manchin Law Group staff, and other community members joined in the fun.
Volunteers pulled an assortment of items out of the river including tires, plastic chairs, and a hedge trimmer.
When we love our local rivers for recreation and personal enjoyment, we are more likely to care about their quality and become involved in environmental stewardship = kayakactivism!
Thank you to the volunteers that dedicated their time and energy to improve the integrity of the Mon River.
Did you know Palatine Park is the official end point of the 75 mile West Fork Water Trail? Check out the Water Trail interactive map to plan your next paddling trip along the West Fork.
Guardians of the West Fork Watershed 