Dominion, Trout Unlimited Team with Forest Service
to Construct Universally Accessible Fishing Pier and Trail Bridges at Sherando Lake
WAYNESBORO, Va. - Fishing Sherando Lake will be easier this
year for disabled persons thanks to the efforts of volunteers from Dominion
and Trout Unlimited.
Dominion, one of the nation’s largest energy companies,
and Trout Unlimited, a leading environmental conservation group, formed a partnership
to help the U.S. Forest Service complete a pier that will allow those with disabilities
to fish safely the waters of Sherando Lake Recreation Area. Volunteers also
constructed two new trail bridges at creek crossings on the hiking trail around
the recreation area’s upper reservoir.
“We have no shortage of ideas on how to improve the
Sherando Lake facilities for the thousands of visitors who come each year,”
said Glenn Szarzynski of the U.S. Forest Service. “What we typically lack
is the people-power needed to make those ideas a reality. The volunteers from
Dominion and Trout Unlimited helped bring these two ideas to realization.”
The volunteers completed the bridges, which will make the
hike around the upper reservoir easier for the scores of anglers. The Virginia
Department of Game and Inland Fisheries stocks the reservoir with trout. The
universally accessible fishing pier will be open once the Forest Service has
raised the lake level, which was lowered for construction.
The Sherando Lake projects are part of Dominion’s annual
volunteer efforts to improve the environment or outdoor recreational/educational
facilities.
About 25 volunteers from Dominion and Trout Unlimited were
working all day Wednesday with Forest Service employees to complete the bridges
and pier. In addition, as it does with all of its environmental day projects,
Dominion provided $2,500 for building materials and other supplies.
“A lot of people view Trout Unlimited as a group strictly
related to fly fishing for trout and cold-water fisheries conservation,”
said Jim Donovan, president of the Shenandoah Chapter of Trout Unlimited in
Waynesboro. “While that may be our focus, we believe that any project
that opens up fishing opportunities for the people with disabilities or introduces
youngsters to the sport will pay dividends down the road. We are developing
a new legion of anglers in tune with the need to protect and preserve our natural
resources.”
The volunteer project at Sherando Lake coincides with the
City of Waynesboro’s first “River Week,” which will be an
annual event highlighting Waynesboro as the fly fishing capital of Virginia.
Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers of energy,
with a diversified and integrated energy portfolio that includes 24,000 megawatts
of generation and 6.1 trillion cubic feet equivalent of proved natural gas reserves.
Dominion also serves 5 million retail energy customers in nine states. For more
information about Dominion, visit the company's Web site at www.dom.com.
Trout Unlimited is a national organization with more than
500 chapters. Its mission is to conserve, protect and restore North America’s
trout and salmon fisheries and their watersheds. For more information on TU’s
mission and other projects visit their Web site at www.tu.org.
