The Dolly Sods Region (DSR) is located between Canaan Valley and Seneca Rocks within the Monongahela National Forest of West Virginia. High upon the Allegheny Plateau, with elevations ranging from 2,600 to 4,100 feet, the region of more than 18,600 acres is well known for its extensive rocky plains, upland bogs and sweeping vistas. The DSR is comprised of three distinct areas: Dolly Sods Wilderness (DSW), Dolly Sods North (DSN), and Dolly Sods Scenic Area (DSSA).

The 10,215 acre DSW was created by an act of Congress in 1975 to preserve and protect the area with special opportunities for solitude, recreation and other scientific, educational, scenic and historical values. During 1992 and 1993, 6,168.5 acres located north of the DSW were purchased by the U.S. Forest Service; this area is known as DSN. To the immediate east of DSW and DSN, 2,268 acres along Forest Road 75 have the designation of National Scenic Area; this area is known as DSSA.

The DSR is today known to offer some of the best hiking opportunities in the eastern U.S. During 1943-44 however, the region was part of the West Virginia Maneuver Area, and at that time offered the U.S. Department of the Army (USDoA) an opportunity to conduct artillery and mortar practice as training for World War II. Although the USDoA conducted ordnance clearances immediately following the war, potential hazards still exist in the DSR, as illustrated by one injury caused by unexploded ordnance (UXO) detonation during 1951, and a sporadic but continuous discovery of UXO since then by recreational visitors. To further reduce the risk posed by UXO to the public, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) cleared all DSR designated trails and inventoried campsites of ordnance during 1997-98. The USACE Huntington (West Virginia) District has project management responsibilities, and project technical support is provided by the Army Engineering Support Center located in Huntsville, Alabama. Since 1998, no UXO have been discovered along designated trails or at inventoried campsites, and this indicates that the USACE removal action is functioning as intended. When enjoying the DSR, visitors should remain on designated trails and camp at established campsites. Visitors should not create new trails or campsites since it is possible that UXO could be encountered.

The USACE is implementing a broad Public Awareness Program to educate the public on how to safely enjoy the DSR. The program provides the public with informational brochures, presentations, videos, and safety messages delivered by Wally the Woodchuck – the newly developed project mascot whose objective is to better educate children. The program also educates local officials and volunteers on how to safely respond to an emergency in the DSR. One tool of the program is to provide visitors with an accurate trails map for the DSR, for the purpose of facilitating use of trails that have been cleared of ordnance; the USACE, with assistance from the U.S. Forest Service developed the new map. The detailed 11x17 inch map provides information on topography, trail locations and distances, landmarks, regional boundaries, roads, and Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) NAD83 coordinate values. Nineteen trails which have been cleared for ordnance, and which total almost 50 miles in length, were plotted on the map using global positioning system (GPS) data. USACE plans to begin distributing color copies of the map as part of an educational brochure in the DSR during late 2004.

The map will also be available for download from the USACE’s Formerly Used Defense Sites website at: http://www.lrh.usace.army.mil/projects/current/derp-fuds.

For additional information about the map contact the USACE Huntington District at 1-800-822-8413.

When enjoying the DSR, and in the unlikely event that you should spot UXO or something that you believe could possibly be UXO, please be sure to follow these steps: 1) do not touch, move, or dig near or around the item, 2) walk away in the direction that you came, 3) identify the area on a map or by a terrain feature, and 4) report the item immediately by calling: 1-888-283-0303.