By GREG JORDAN
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
March 25, 2009 10:01 pm
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PRINCETON — A new destination for visitors took a step closer to fruition Wednesday when the Mercer County Commission approved a location for the Hatfield-McCoy Recreational Trail.
The Hatfield-McCoy Trail was established in 1996 by the West Virginia Legislature to provide trail-based outdoor recreation to nine southern West Virginia counties. Sections of the trail are currently open in McDowell, Mingo, Wyoming, Mingo, Logan and Boone counties. Plans call for extending the trail into Mercer, Lincoln and Wayne counties. Approximately 550 miles of trails are currently open.
Wednesday’s action will bring the trail into Mercer County.
“We voted to locate it, the trail head, in a region called Area 1 on the map, and that area is located along Route 52 outside the Bramwell town limits,” said Mercer County Commissioner Karen Disibbio. “Then there is an area called Area 2 where the rest of the trail will be located. In Area 2 we will have a connector, hopefully in the future, to Montcalm and Matoaka.”
Funding for the Hatfield-McCoy Trail is generated by the sale of permits, and Mercer County could contribute some funds, she said.
User fees on the trail system increased more than 20 percent in 2008, and permit revenue for the trail was up by 25 percent so far in 2009, according to officials with the Hatfield-McCoy Trail.
“The county will be happy to put in some money from the hotel/motel tax if requested,” Disibbio said.
Having the trail, which can attract ATV riders and other visitors, can help the local economy, she said.
“This will be a large economic boost for Mercer County,” Disibbio said. “Instead of going through Mercer County, they’ll stop in Mercer County.”
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