Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 30, 1994 TAG: 9401300019
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It's just not a safe place to boat, said Robert G. Crockett, Westvaco's public relations manager at Covington.
Fishermen like Jim Brewer don't see it that way.
"Westvaco isn't interested in public safety," said Brewer, who runs a tackle shop in Charlottesville. "They just don't want the public to know what they're dumping in the river."
The paper company has submitted an application to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a restricted zone from river-mile 24 north to mile 25.7.
The upper half of this section contains trout, and the lower portion is coveted by anglers as habitat for trophy-size smallmouth bass, said Larry Mohn, regional fisheries manager for the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
The department had not completed its response to the Westvaco request last week, but it has a history of looking with disfavor on any action to put public water beyond the reach of outdoorsmen. The Corps of Engineers classifies the Jackson as navigable, and it is a rare case when there is any backpedaling from that ruling.
The section that Westvaco wants to restrict flows through an area that contains hazards associated with an industrial facility, said Crockett. Amid steep banks, there are two dams and a low-water bridge, a 1,500-pound high-pressure steam line and hazardous materials nearby, he said.
"In order to provide as little inconvenience as possible to floaters, fishermen and other users of the river, Westvaco will provide portage around the mill 24 hours a day for any who so desire," said Crockett.
The Corps of Engineers has solicited comments from the public on Westvaco's request, but many fishermen were just getting word of the issue when the comment period ended Thursday. Even so, the Corps district office in Norfolk had received about 150 phone calls and 40 letters, said Rick Henderson, a Corps spokesman.
Because of the high interest, the comment period has been extended, and a public meeting will be scheduled, probably for late February, said Henderson. He expressed surprise that calls and letters were coming from well beyond the Jackson, as far away as North Carolina and Virginia Beach. (Comments should be sent to the Norfolk District Corps of Engineers, Attention: CENAO-CO-R, 803 Front Street, Norfolk, Va. 23510.)
"We want to make certain the hazards do exist and the restriction is being requested for public safety," Henderson said.
If the request is granted, Westvaco would have to provide a take-out point at the upper end of the restricted areas and a put-in area at the lower end, along with a portage system between the two, he said.
Whatever the outcome, there appears to be a good chance that Westvaco will develop a take-out at the upper end of the property. The company has an honorable record of providing facilities for sportsmen on its property.
An access point there would mean another 3 1/2 miles or so of water for floaters, since it would be possible to put in upstream at the Petticoat Junction access and float down to the Westvaco property.
Public access and riparian rights have been a sensitive issue along the Jackson, which is rated one of the finest trout streams in the Southeast. A number of landowners have kept anglers from casting to the trout by claiming they have crown grants that give them ownership of the fishing rights even on a navigable stream.
Some of the landowners collectively have joined to seek an injunction against Chuck Kraft, a popular fishing guide who was arrested for trespassing while float-fishing the river. A fund-raising banquet for Kraft's defense has been scheduled Feb. 26 in Charlottesville.
"This isn't Kraft's battle; this is our battle," said Brewer, who pointed out that a significant portion of Virginia's trout water is located between Lake Moomaw and the Westvaco property.
by CNB