Published September 1992 — Download PDF of the original newspaper column
Byrd's-Eye View By U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd Assisting Tourism and Natural Resource Development In West Virginia With its splendid scenic beauty and wide range of outdoor activities and resources, West Virginia holds the promise of being a tourist mecca. As part of my ongoing efforts to spur economic development and create more jobs for West Virginians, I recently added $48 million to a federal appropriation bill for tourism and natural resources initiatives in our state. For example, I added $20 million to initiate construction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) National Education and Training Center at Shepherdstown, Jefferson County. This brings to $64.5 million the sum that I have added to appropriation bills for this facility, which the FWS will use to provide training for its workers nationwide, as well as for the staffs of other federal agencies that conduct land management activities. I also added $8.4 million to the bill for projects at the New River Gorge National River, one of West Virginia's leading tourist attractions. Included among these projects are additional river access for whitewater rafters, planning and design of the Kaymoor mine site, and trails throughout the park for hikers and campers. For construction and improvements in the Monongahela National Forest, I added $1.3 million, including $325,000 to design a new visitors center at Seneca Rocks to replace the one destroyed by fire earlier this year. I also included in this bill $7.5 million for planning, design, and construction at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, and $2.3 million for further development of the Wheeling Heritage area. Besides funding for tourism industry initiatives, I added an extra $2.3 million to continue my Timber Bridge Initiative in West Virginia and to promote the use of hardwoods, such as those found in abundance in West Virginia, in the replacement of deteriorating rural bridges across the country. I also added $4.6 million to continue a model automation project at Weirton Steel, which will use computerization to track the entire steelmaking process, including managing the inventory. This system is expected to save the company $15 million annually, and to save as much as $400 million annually industry-wide. In addition, I added $1.5 million to continue two ongoing alternative fuel programs at West Virginia University. The funding that I added to this bill will help to strengthen and diversify West Virginia's economy. September 9, 1992