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David Fuerst, PhDNew River Gorge National Park Service

P.O. 246

Glen Jean, West Virginia 25846David_fuerst@nps.gov

304.465.6530

Ranger Fuerst,

After notifying Ranger Cooper late last week, and consulting with him by phone the firstof this week. Ranger Cooper recommended that I forward the notice of these concerns on

to you. He stated that this type of complaint might best be reported to you and fall under

your auspices, authority and jurisdiction. I have since returned to the battlefield at Blairand photographically documented further destruction to the sites. Therefore I assume that

this letter will suffice to alert you of the recent destruction of a documented archeological

site on Blair Mountain, which is within the boundaries of the historic battlefield currentlyunder consideration for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

It is my understanding that under the law, any site that has been nominated for

consideration is supposed to be protected as if on the list. As such, the destruction ofarcheological site 46LG205 on Blair Mountain appears to be a direct violation of section

110(k) of the National Historic Preservation Act, 16 U.S.C. 470(h)-2(k) and 36 C.F.R.

800.9(c).

Unfortunately, that's all the information that I can provide regarding that site,except that although the State Historic Preservation Office ("SHPO") was apprised of the

situation some time ago, when one co-sponsor of the nomination called SHPO

archeologist Lora Lamarre to ask what her administrators were prepared to do to protectBlair Mountain, she apologetically explained "nothing", even though I believe the

damage had been reported directly to her agency by another archeologist several

weeks before that phone conversation.

Although I don't have access to the names of the land owners where the

destruction occurred, I am reasonably certain that the SHPO knows exactly who the land

owner is, as that agency has signed off on permits issued by the Department ofEnvironmental Protection for surface mining and other operations there. Please be

advised that if those two agencies are reluctant to cooperate with you, the Army Corps of

Engineers may be of some help in identifying the land owner and to which companypermit(s) have been issued.

After I learned of the destruction, I also found out that on Sept. 1, 2010, deputy SHPOPierce decided to act regarding this matter only after having been pressured by letters

from Ms. Elizabeth S. Merritt, Deputy General Council for the National Trust for Historic

Preservation ("NHTP") and the Sierra Club. Her office had been notified of thedestruction long before receiving those letters, via evidence gathered and documented by

mailto:David_fuerst@nps.govmailto:David_fuerst@nps.gov

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local archeologists. Yet only after receiving the letters from the NHTP and the SierraClub did she decide to act.

Unfortunately, thus far, her only known response has been to improperly notify JohnBennett of the Logan County Prosecutor's office, citing WV Code 29-1-8a(g) as her

justification for doing so, a law which obviously applies to the destruction ofcemeteries, but does not bestow jurisdiction to the local prosecutor regarding historicassets under the protection of the National Parks Service.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that common sense dictates that

an investigation and any subsequent law enforcement action stemming from thisparticular incident properly falls within the jurisdiction of the National Parks Service.

There is another matter related to a separate threat to Blair Mountain having to do withacts of fraud believed to have been committed during the nomination process.

Attached is documented evidence leading to the belief that the land companies knowinglysupplied the SHPO with a list of unqualified objectors to their property being placed on

the National Parks Register, causing Blair Mountain to be removed from it. In fact two of

the "objectors" are dead, one of which died over eight years ago!

Yet the SHPO has never reported the apparent fraud perpetrated by the land company

lawyers which indirectly threatens the historic resource by causing it to get removed from

the list.

I would greatly appreciate your quick response to this, and also ask to be kept apprised asI am concerned that yet another historic asset may forever be lost due to the combination

of over aggressive industry and the State of WV's completely negligent aforementioned

regulating agencies.

Sincerely,

(signed and sent Sept. 22, 2010 by)

Jesse Johnson