The National Park Service has agreed to buy a pair of privately owned Gauley River put-in and take-out sites to help ensure public access to the 26-mile stretch of world-class whitewater in Nicholas County between the Summersville Dam and Swiss.

The access sites - Woods Ferry and Mason Branch - lie within the proclamation boundaries of the Gauley River National Recreation Area, which is administered by the National Park Service's New River Gorge National River.

Woods Ferry is a 177-acre tract with a gravel access road to the river that lies 11.5 miles below Summersville Dam. Mason Branch is a three-acre parcel that includes a paved roadway and take-out site 9.5 miles downstream from the dam.

An independent appraiser working under an agreement with The Nature Conservancy set the purchase price for the two tracts at $1.1 million, based on both the value of the property and its commercial potential as river access.

The access sites are owned by Lost Paddle Inc., whose principals include Class VI River Runners managing partner Dave Arnold; Imre Szilagyi, founder of Appalachian Wildwaters; and his wife, Janet.

The National Park Service and the landowners have discussed the sale of the land for the past several years, but had failed to come to terms on a purchase price.

"The landowners and Park Service were willingly talking to one another, but both needed more information to assure that their interests were met," said Rodney Bartgis, state director of The Nature Conservancy, which commissioned the new independent appraisal that led to the sale agreement.

Woods Ferry and Mason Branch provide the only reliable road access into the mid-canyon section of the Gauley River between Summersville Dam and Swiss. Arnold and the Szilagyis say they have spent more than $400,000 during the past 15 years to build and maintain access roads to the sites.

"While much of the public has been ably served by the commercial raft companies with river access, the National Park Service can now ensure access for a variety of recreational users," Don Striker, superintendent of the New River Gorge National, said in a statement announcing the purchase.

The National Park Service has agreed to buy a pair of privately owned Gauley River put-in and take-out sites to help ensure public access to the 26-mile stretch of world-class whitewater in Nicholas County between the Summersville Dam and Swiss.

The access sites - Woods Ferry and Mason Branch - lie within the proclamation boundaries of the Gauley River National Recreation Area, which is administered by the National Park Service's New River Gorge National River.

Woods Ferry is a 177-acre tract with a gravel access road to the river that lies 11.5 miles below Summersville Dam. Mason Branch is a three-acre parcel that includes a paved roadway and take-out site 9.5 miles downstream from the dam.

An independent appraiser working under an agreement with The Nature Conservancy set the purchase price for the two tracts at $1.1 million, based on both the value of the property and its commercial potential as river access.

The access sites are owned by Lost Paddle Inc., whose principals include Class VI River Runners managing partner Dave Arnold; Imre Szilagyi, founder of Appalachian Wildwaters; and his wife, Janet.

The National Park Service and the landowners have discussed the sale of the land for the past several years, but had failed to come to terms on a purchase price.

"The landowners and Park Service were willingly talking to one another, but both needed more information to assure that their interests were met," said Rodney Bartgis, state director of The Nature Conservancy, which commissioned the new independent appraisal that led to the sale agreement.

Woods Ferry and Mason Branch provide the only reliable road access into the mid-canyon section of the Gauley River between Summersville Dam and Swiss. Arnold and the Szilagyis say they have spent more than $400,000 during the past 15 years to build and maintain access roads to the sites.

"While much of the public has been ably served by the commercial raft companies with river access, the National Park Service can now ensure access for a variety of recreational users," Don Striker, superintendent of the New River Gorge National, said in a statement announcing the purchase.

Those recreational river users, Striker said, include "commercial rafting companies and private boaters who own their own rafts, kayaks and canoes, as well as fishermen, hikers and others who want to experience this fabulous natural resource."

For the past 15 years, the nonprofit West Virginia Rivers Coalition, in cooperation with the access site owners, has provided a shuttle service for private boaters using the Mason Branch take-out. The shuttle service, provided for a $5 donation, has been used as a fundraiser for the Rivers Coalition.

The Rivers Coalition is likely to continue to offer the $5 shuttle service during the fall Gauley River whitewater season, Striker said, since the National Park Service, even with the Mason Branch-Woods Ferry purchase, does not "own enough property to provide adequate and safe parking" in the mid-canyon area.

"I have asked our chief ranger, Gary Hartley, and my assistant Lorrie Sprague to immediately form a team to determine our interim use strategies for Mason Branch and Woods Ferry," Striker said.

"We are grateful for the volunteer services of the West Virginia Rivers Coalition to maintain access to this property for many years and are thankful to The Nature Conservancy for facilitating the appraisal work for the sale of the property," said Arnold. "We believe that this open access is good for the rafting industry, individual boaters and the National Park Service."

"Providing public access to the Gauley in this area is what I envisioned when sponsoring the federal legislation which established the national recreation area back in 1988," said Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va. "This agreement will enhance tourism and the local economy by making the river more accessible to the general public."

Nearly 10,000 private kayakers and whitewater canoeists paddle the Gauley River annually, in addition to about 50,000 customers of whitewater rafting outfitters.

To contact staff writer Rick Steelhammer use email or call 348-5169.