1200-acre
Wild Rock Canyon

What is most impressive about Wild Rock Canyon’s natural history?
We sponsored a bioblitz at Wild Rock Canyon last summer that was attended by sixteen Ohio field biologists and naturalists. They seined the creeks, turned over stones, keyed out plants, set up mist nets for bats, launched drones, and set up 18 game cameras to catch glimpses of mammals. Highlights from that weekend include the mist-netting of an Eastern Small-footed Bat, a bat that is very rare throughout its range. It is so tiny it weighs only 6 grams, one gram less than a ruby-throated hummingbird! Biologists also netted the large 16-inch winged Hoary Bat, bringing us to a total of four observed bat species over the weekend. Thirteen species of amphibians were recorded, most of them salamanders. Salamander species include the Cave Salamander (an endangered species in Ohio), Seal Salamander, and Allegheny Plateau Salamander.

Mothing light stations were set up each night and the number of moths swarming around those lights was exhilarating to behold. At one station alone we drew in over a dozen Luna Moths in one night, just some of the many stunning silk moths we witnessed that weekend. But the most thrilling of our wildlife finds were the mammals that were captured in video on our game cams. There were so many black bear videos!! And those bears loved smashing our cameras! We recorded multiple females with cubs. and several solo boars. The most outstanding feature of Wild Rock Canyon, however, is its sheer size.

Where do the waters of Wild Rock Canyon go?
Wild Rock Canyon lies in the same Ohio River Watershed as all of our Arc of Appalachia preserves. In other words, a person could sit on top of the ridge at the Arc’s Ohio River Bluffs Preserve outside Manchester, Ohio, and watch the waters of Wild Rock Canyon drift by as a component of the Ohio River. The waters of Wild Rock Canyon journey as follows: Pigeon Hollow to Renick Creek nearly wholly contained on the property), to Kitchen Creek, to Muddy Creek, to Greenbrier River, to the New River, to the Kanawha River, to the Ohio River, to the Mississippi River, and onto the Gulf of Mexico.

Is Wild Rock Canyon open to the public?
Until we have staff nearby to steward trails, Wild Rock Canyon will be maintained as an Arc of Appalachia Forest Reserve that is primarily dedicated to habitat protection for native plants and animals. The forest will be permitted to mature into old-growth forest status. If we remain active in West Virginia, , however, which we hope we will, we trust the philanthropy will eventually follow that will support trail stewardship. Once that happens, we would be delighted to build a parking trailhead and offer hiking trails at Wild Rock Canyon, just as we do in Ohio, It is a vision we intend to invest in. In the immediate future, we plan to host guided hikes into Wild Rock Canyon so that others can see it firsthand. The nearby county seat, Lewisburg, has to be one of the most beautiful and historic little towns in the nation, and it offers a wealth of dining and lodging opportunities.

You can save an acre for $1200, or you can preserve 1% of the Wild Rock Canyon for $15,000. Regardless of the size of your donation, please give what you can. Here’s a fun fact. You can buy a square yard for just 25 cents!! That’s one really big tree or a bushel of wildflowers with a chipmunk thrown in for free! Do your own math and have fun with it.

Let’s take this project across the finish line!