A project aimed at expanding recreation opportunities at the Big Cherry Reservoir in Big Stone Gap received $2 million Wednesday from the Virginia Department of Energy’s Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization program, or AMLER.
The grant was one of two in Southwest Virginia announced Wednesday. The second grant is going toward the expansion of a Dickenson County business, Bird Dog Distributors.
AMLER is a federally funded program administered by Virginia Energy and designed to help give new life to properties once mined for coal.
Big Stone Gap Town Manager Stephen Lawson calls the reservoir a “hidden gem” that includes a picturesque lake at the top of Powell Mountain and 3,253 acres of scenic land. He wants to enhance the property so residents and visitors can enjoy the mountain scenery and recreate there, with hopes it will also be an economic boom for the Wise County town.
Until recently, a gate kept most people out, and those who wanted to fish on Big Cherry Lake had to get a permit from the town. But the property has been opened to the public, and town permits are no longer needed for fishing, although a state fishing license with a trout stamp is still required. Kayaking is also allowed.
Boating is permitted, but only with trolling motors. Gasoline engines aren’t allowed because the lake serves as the source of water for the town, which also sells it to other localities in the region.
Eventually, the plan is to open it up to swimming, but the lake needs improvements and enhanced access because the site is filled with laurel, trees and undergrowth, according to Lawson.
The project, which is expected to total $3.4 million, is still in the environmental review stage, and more money is expected to come from the Virginia Tobacco Commission and the Virginia Outdoor Foundation. Once underway, the project is expected to be completed in about three years, according to Lawson.
However, the town’s park and recreation staff have been working to hand-clear several trails on the property so it is more accessible and connects to other trails in the area, the town manager said.
Other improvements will include a general store, rental cabins, safari tents and yurts. The current boat ramp and dock will also be improved.
U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, who attended a the news conference announcing the Big Cherry grant, said in a news release that the reservoir “continues to grow in popularity and get the recognition it deserves because its 250-acre lake is a fisherman’s paradise. As a recipient of this $2 million AMLER grant, the town of Big Stone Gap will build the reservoir’s brand further by expanding and improving recreational opportunities offered by the reservoir.”
The property was once home to a lumber operation that mined the coal on the land and used it for the power needed to bring the trees down and take the lumber off the mountain, Lawson said. There are railroad tracks somewhere on the property, but they haven’t been found, he said.
Later in the day in Clintwood, a second news conference was held to announce that a $525,000 AMLER grant will go to Bird Dog Distributors, which plans to expand its plastics manufacturing facility and create as many as 43 jobs over five years, according to a news release from Virginia Energy.
The money will help cover the costs of buying new manufacturing equipment and upgrading existing equipment.
“We found a home supported by a great workforce in Dickenson County,” Bird Dog Distributors founder and CEO Scott Maier said in a release. “The AMLER grant opportunity makes it possible to continue to provide opportunities to the people that live here and expand the number of quality products we provide our customers across the nation.”
The company, which opened in 2015, provides health care products to government agencies and manufactures industrial plastics.
“Adding 43 jobs through this project has a high impact on Dickenson County that aligns with our priorities to accelerate Southwest Virginia,” state Del. Terry Kilgore, R-Scott County, said in the release. “AMLER is a commitment to revitalize our coal communities and is a crucial part in bringing economic growth and new job opportunities for this region.”
The facility is in an area that was mined for coal before 1977, the news release states.
The AMLER program began in 2017 and is administered by the Office of Surface Mining and Reclamation Enforcement. The grants are managed by Virginia Energy’s Abandoned Mine Land, or AML, program.
Virginia Energy’s AML program was created in 1981 and is federally funded to reclaim issues left by coal mining that occurred before 1977.