Tourism Potential Revealed at Captina Watershed Workshop
RAVEN ROCKS – Over 60 area residents along with state and federal personnel gathered July 30-31 in Wayne Township to brainstorm a better future for southern Belmont County along the Captina Creek watershed from the headwaters in Barnesville to the Ohio River at Powhatan Point.
Belmont County’s economy has long depended on natural resources – coal, oil and gas – industries that have experienced ups and downs over the past two centuries. The pristine Captina Watershed offers an opportunity to pivot towards an economy based on the natural beauty of the creek, hills and communities.
The workshop is part of a federal Environmental Protection Agency-funded planning grant through the Recreation Economy for Rural Communities initiative. Crystal Lorimor, director of the Community Improvement Corporation of Belmont County, initiated and submitted the grant in 2025.
There were 200 applications from throughout the country submitted for the program. The EPA winnowed that down to 50 whose committees were interviewed and from that group, 20 projects were approved.
The Captina Watershed Initiative Committee, a coalition of the villages of Barnesville and Powhatan Point, CIC of Belmont County, Captina Conservancy, Raven Rocks, Belmont County Tourism Council and Belmont County Soil and Water Conservation District, is the only project funded in Ohio. Two other projects in Pennsylvania and Kentucky were also funded in the EPA’s Region 5 headquartered in Chicago.
Members of the planning committee are Crystal Lorimor (CIC of Belmont County), Chris Bryan (Village of Powhatan Point), Steve Clark (Ohio Valley Trail Committee), Ellie Ewing (The Ohio State University), Micah Fuchs (Barnesville School District), Jake Hershberger (Village of Barnesville), Turner Provost (Captina Conservancy), Jackee Pugh (Belmont County Tourism Council), Rich Sidwell (Raven Rocks), Patricia Meyer (Village of Powhatan Point) and Bruce Yarnall (Barnesville Depot Committee, Main Street Barnesville and Watt Center for History and the Arts).
Representatives of other local organizations, government agencies and businesses taking part in the workshop included Belmont Savings Bank, Belmont County Trustees Assn., Buckeye Trail Association, Olney Friends School and Belmont County GIS.
Emily Eisenhauer of the EPA shared two important data points at the workshop. First, over 153,000 jobs in Ohio are tied to the recreation industry. Second, that over 4 million people live within a two-hour drive of Belmont County and third, 31 million U.S. residents live within a five-hour drive of the area that includes the cities of Detroit, Indianapolis, Buffalo and Washington, DC!
Federal and State funding agencies represented at the workshop included Ohio EPA, Belomar Regional Planning Agency, OMEGA (Mid-East Ohio Governments Assn.), Ohio University Small Business Development Center, US EPA, US Department of Agriculture Rural Development and the Ohio Governor’s Office of Appalachia. Each agency urged reaching out for possible funding once projects are devised.
Next Steps
Committee members and attendees are invited to participate in three additional post-workshop planning sessions (Zoom) that will take place in the near future.
Final goals of the Captina Watershed Rural Economy Initiative are:
GOAL OPTION A – Build a unified Captina Watershed recreation identity: Position the Captina Watershed as a connected outdoor recreation destination anchored by towns and the surrounding rural landscape.
GOAL OPTION B – Connect outdoor recreation to downtown and small business revitalization: Use recreation and visitor activities, along with local pride, to support investment in Main Street, storefront activity, entrepreneurship, and business growth.
GOAL OPTION C – Increase awareness, access and participation in Captina’s outdoor assets: Help residents and visitors understand, find, and use the watershed’s trails, creek access, biking routes, parks, heritage sites, farms, schools, and natural areas.
GOAL OPTION D – Protect Captina’s natural and rural character while growing recreation: Advance outdoor recreation in ways that protect Captine Creek, support stewardship, respect the rural way of life and strengthen public health.
Individuals, organizations and business owners with questions or interested in joining the initiative, are asked to contact Crystal Lorimor of the CIC of Belmont County at lorimor@belmontcic.com or 740-695-9678.
__________
(Disclaimer: The writer is a member of the Captina Watershed Steering Committee0
Barnesville Area News Needs Your Support!
We're dedicated to providing coverage of the local happenings in Barnesville and the neighboring communities.
As a non-profit entity, we rely on the donations of readers like you.
Make a donation today and you'll be helping keep local news alive in the Barnesville area.