Charles Evans of SHARC Provides Us with an Update of Their Season Accomplishments

We recently interviewed Charles Evans, the Division Chief of the Snowshoe Highlands Area Recreation Collaborative (SHARC,) who briefs our listeners about recent accomplishments of the SHARC Team. For those not familiar with SHARC, they are dedicated group of outdoor professionals who maintain our hiking and biking trails, and provide both wildland fire response and backcountry rescue and medical response.

Good afternoon, Charles, can you tell our listeners about the recent award SHARC has received?

Yeah, absolutely,” answered Evans. “We’ve headed to the WV Governors Conference every year. This year while we were there during the awards dinner, we were actually recognized for the “Future of Tourism” (award), so that basically means, Mr. Morrisey himself (Governor Patrick Morrisey) recognized the work that is being done not only by SHARC, but in the community here that we represent in Pocahontas County and specifically working towards the betterment and improvement of our trails, but also just the innovation that we’ve been working towards and land management altogether.”

What other SHARC updates can you provide?

“Man, its been a busy season,” said Evans. “Honestly, we haven’t been able to slow down at all, which is a good thing. The trail crew has really been hammering away both in the north and the south zones here, and that’s in the Greenbrier District, and in the Marlinton, White Sulphur and Gauley Ranger Districts in the Monongahela. So, they’ve wrapped up a nine-mile trail doing some re-tread work there. We’re on Kennisen Mountain and the Cranberry, and that turned out to be really great, getting some good feedback on that trail itself.”

“Also in the North zone, the Shavers Fork Trail, got a piece of equipment down that and did a lot of good mitigations in the drainage, and getting water off the trail. And currently they are on Turkey Point to wrap up the season here in the Tea Creek area. So, that’ll  be a really be a tremendous effort of getting some good improvements of not only the mountain biking, but just the back country access for our residents and our tourists alike. Beyond that, we’ve been really expanding what we provide our community with.”

“And (we are) really taking ahold of wildland fire suppression. We got a new X6 Engine, which basically is your most agile and most nimble engine, if you will. I’m able to reach the areas we work in most. So this is going to provide us with the opportunities to work with the Monongahela and maybe some fuel managements and prescribed fire. Also, have this as a resource that responds nationally.”

“We did spend some time over in Virginia, helping our neighboring state out on the Taylor Hollow incident this year. Then sent the fire crew up to Minnesota, and they spent some time up there in the Boundary Waters area on the Beartrap and the Sioux fires. We worked closely with the Forest Service for that, but also with the Division of Forestry of the state. So that’s just been a cool partnership that we’ve been able to watch blossom, and it continues to grow.”

“And, also, we do REMS, which is Rapid Extraction Module Support. And what that is, ios basically technical rope rescue in the back country where an ambulance can’t really reach. And that’s where we take in stokes and ropes and get that patient to where an ambulance can reach. So, that been really cool. We were able to help not only here in the county on a few incidents, one on the Tea Creek, and then on the helicopter incident down there in July.  But also rthis was deployed out to Montana on the Beaver Head Deer Lodge National Forest, and we were able to provide some technical support there. So, its just been an absolutely busy season, but a fulfilling one.”

Is there anything else Charles that you would like to add?

“No, we’re just really thankful. That Future of Tourism Award isn’t a showcase of SHARC alone, but really the community that we represent, and so just all the support that everyone gives us. So we are just thankful to be able to work in such a supportive environment, and a beautiful one as well, in God’s country.”

Thank you.