Big Draft Wilderness

Big Draft Wilderness
Part of Monongahela National Forest
Wilderness Area
Big Draft Wilderness
Country	United States
State	West Virginia
Counties	Greenbrier

Elevation	1,920 ft (585.2 m)
Coordinates	37°55′15″N 80°15′55″W / 37.92083°N 80.26528°W / 37.92083; -80.26528Coordinates: 37°55′15″N 80°15′55″W / 37.92083°N 80.26528°W / 37.92083; -80.26528
Highest point	Greenbrier Mountain
- location	east of Anthony
- elevation	3,121 ft (951.3 m)
- coordinates	37°52′57″N 80°18′5″W / 37.88250°N 80.30139°W / 37.88250; -80.30139
Lowest point	Anthony Creek
- location	at the Greenbrier River
- elevation	1,800 ft (548.6 m)
- coordinates	37°53′30″N 80°19′33″W / 37.89167°N 80.32583°W / 37.89167; -80.32583

Area	5,144 acres (2,081.7 ha) ^[1]

Established	2009-03-30
Management	Monongahela National Forest
Owner	US Forest Service

IUCN category	Ib - Wilderness Area

Nearest city	White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia

Location of Big Draft Wilderness in West Virginia
Website: Monongahela National Forest Special Places

The Big Draft Wilderness is a 5,144-acre (2,082 ha) U.S. Wilderness area in the Monongahela National Forest of southeast West Virginia, USA.^[1] Its name derives from the nearby Big Draft, a tributary of Anthony Creek which is a tributary of the Greenbrier River. Big Draft Wilderness occupies the southern-most acreage of the Monongahela National Forest and is located just south of the Blue Bend Recreation Area. The town White Sulphur Springs lies about 5 miles south of the Wilderness and about 15 miles northeast of Lewisburg.

Geography

The Big Draft Wilderness is located entirely in Greenbrier County. The Wilderness is drained by the Greenbrier River's Anthony Creek and its tributaries Big Draft and Laurel Creek. The Greenbrier River flows into the New River at Hinton, West Virginia. The New River flows into the Kanawha River, a tributary of the Ohio River.

The Wilderness is located Allegheny Mountains, a part of the Appalachian Mountains chain. The highest point in the Wilderness is along Greenbrier Mountain at 3,121 feet (951 m) near the southern boundary of the Wilderness Area. The lowest elevation in the Wilderness is at 1,800 feet (550 m) along the Greenbrier River at the mouth of Anthony Creek where it exits the Wilderness.

History

The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 created the 5,144 acres (2,082 ha) Big Draft Wilderness.^[2] This area is located between Anthony Creek and the southern boundary of the Monongahela National Forest. It protects Anthony Creek watershed which is a popular trout stream. The hiking trails are part of the extensive Monongahela National Forest trail system.^[3]

Hiking trails

Blue Bend Trail - 5.0 miles (8.0 km)
Anthony Creek Trail - 3.8 miles (6.1 km)
South Boundary Trail - 4.8 miles (7.7 km)^[4]

References

1 2 "Big Draft Wilderness". Monongahela National Forest. Retrieved January 6, 2010.
↑ "Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009". Library of Congress. Retrieved May 14, 2009.
↑ deHart, Allen; Sundquist, Bruce (May 1999). Monongahela National Forest Hiking Guide (7 ed.). West Virginia Highlands Conservancy. p. 342. ISBN 0-961-65532-1.
↑ "Big Draft Wilderness brochure" (PDF). Monongahela National Forest. Retrieved January 1, 2013.

External links

Monongahela National Forest

National Recreation Areas	Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area

Wilderness areas	Big Draft Wilderness Cranberry Wilderness Dolly Sods Wilderness Laurel Fork North Wilderness Laurel Fork South Wilderness Otter Creek Wilderness Roaring Plains West Wilderness Spice Run Wilderness

Mountains and summits	Allegheny Front Allegheny Mountain Back Allegheny Mountain Backbone Mountain Barton Knob Bickle Knob Champe Rocks Cheat Mountain Gaudineer Knob Mount Porte Crayon North Fork Mountain River Knobs Seneca Rocks Shavers Mountain Spruce Knob Spruce Mountain

Rivers and creeks	Black Fork Blackwater River Cheat River Cranberry River Dry Fork Elk River Gauley River Glady Fork Greenbrier River Laurel Fork Seneca Creek South Branch Potomac River Shavers Fork Tygart Valley River Williams River

Canyons and valleys	Blackwater Canyon Canaan Valley Germany Valley Smoke Hole Canyon

Lakes and bogs	Lake Sherwood Spruce Knob Lake Summit Lake Cranberry Glades

Observation towers	Bickle Knob Olson Tower

Other features	Bear Rocks Preserve Camp Allegheny Cheat Summit Fort Fernow Experimental Forest Gaudineer Scenic Area Highland Scenic Highway Mill Point Federal Prison Sinks of Gandy

US Forest Service

Protected areas of West Virginia

Federal

National Historical Parks	Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Harpers Ferry

National Forests	George Washington and Jefferson Monongahela

National Recreation Areas	Gauley River (NPS) Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks (USFS)

National Wildlife Refuges	Canaan Valley Ohio River Islands

National Trails System	Appalachian National Scenic Trail

Wilderness Areas	Big Draft Wilderness Cranberry Wilderness Dolly Sods Wilderness Laurel Fork North Wilderness Laurel Fork South Wilderness Mountain Lake Wilderness Otter Creek Wilderness Roaring Plains Wilderness Spice Run Wilderness

National Rivers	Bluestone NSR New River Gorge

State

State parks	Audra Babcock Beartown Beech Fork Berkeley Springs Blackwater Falls Blennerhassett Island Bluestone Cacapon Resort Camp Creek Canaan Valley Resort Carnifex Ferry Battlefield Cass Scenic Railroad Cathedral Cedar Creek Chief Logan Droop Mountain Battlefield Fairfax Stone Greenbrier River Trail Hawks Nest Holly River Little Beaver Lost River Moncove Lake North Bend Rail Trail North Bend Pinnacle Rock Pipestem Resort Prickett's Fort Stonewall Jackson Lake Tomlinson Run Tu-Endie-Wei Twin Falls Resort Tygart Lake Valley Falls Watoga Watters Smith Memorial

State forests	Cabwaylingo Calvin Price Camp Creek Coopers Rock Greenbrier Kanawha Kumbrabow Seneca

Wildlife management areas	Allegheny Amherst-Plymouth Anawalt Lake Bear Rock Lakes Becky Creek Beech Fork Lake Berwind Lake Beury Mountain Big Ditch Big Ugly Bluestone Burches Run Burnsville Lake Castleman Run Lake Cecil H. Underwood Center Branch Cheat Canyon Chief Cornstalk Conaway Run Lake Cross Creek Dents Run Dunkard Fork East Lynn Lake Edwards Run Elk Creek Elk River Fairfox Pond-Rehe Fort Mill Ridge Fox Forest Frozen Camp Green Bottom Handley Hilbert Hillcrest Horse Creek Hughes River Huttonsville State Farm Lantz Farm and Nature Preserve Laurel Lake Lewis Wetzel Little Indian Creek McClintic Meadow River Mill Creek Moncove Lake Morris Creek Nathaniel Mountain Panther Pedlar Pleasant Creek Plum Orchard Lake Pruntytown State Farm R.D. Bailey Lake Ritchie Mines Sand Hill Shannondale Springs Short Mountain Slatyfork Sleepy Creek Smoke Camp Snake Hill South Branch Stonecoal Lake Stonewall Jackson Lake Stumptown Summersville Lake Tate Lohr Teter Creek Lake The Jug Thorn Creek Tug Fork Turkey Run Upper Deckers Creek Upper Mud River Valley Bend Wetlands Wallback Widmeyer Woodrum Lake

Other WVDNR sites	West Virginia State Wildlife Center

Non-
governmental

Nature Conservancy preserves	Brush Creek Bear Rocks Cranesville Swamp Greenland Gap Hungry Beech Ice Mountain Mount Porte Crayon Murphy Panther Knob Pike Knob Slaty Mountain Upper Shavers Fork Yankauer

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