Community Comes First
Across West Virginia’s Monongahela National Forest region, communities are taking stock of what they have, what they need, and where they want to go. And they’re doing it together.
These questions aren’t new for Mon Forest Towns Partnership. Even before its founding in 2019, MFTP has been rooted in local voices, built on the premise that community agency isn’t just good practice, it’s fundamental to sustainable, long-term growth. The partnership was formed by asking communities what they wanted and needed, and that orientation has never changed.
In 2025, with support from an Appalachian Regional Commission POWER grant, MFTP developed a new multidimensional community self-assessment program. A tool designed not just to gather input but to identify strengths, surface gaps, and measure the partnership’s progress toward its mission and goals.
Gathering input from nearly 80 local stakeholders across our partner towns, including Franklin, Petersburg, Marlinton, Elkins, Thomas, Davis, Durbin, Cowen, Richwood, Seneca Rocks, and White Sulphur Springs, MFTP facilitated focus group conversations where residents and local leaders examined their communities across six pillars of the outdoor recreation economy. Rather than starting with answers in mind, the goal was to put local knowledge in the driver’s seat. Throughout the conversations, common goals emerged.
What Our Towns Are Saying
While nearly a decade has passed since the first community discussions began shaping what would become the Mon Forest Towns, the founding ethos of the partnership remains the same — each town shares the goal of leveraging the outdoor recreation economy to improve the quality of life for people who already call the region home. The details may vary from town to town, but the focus on people, place, and future remains the same. People want to build communities where the next generation can stay, live, and thrive.
As Bo Belshee of White Sulphur Springs put it, “What we have, we want to keep. What we got, we want to improve so that everyone who comes here remembers something to be proud of.”
“What we have, we want to keep. What we got, we want to improve.”
Bo Belshee, White Sulphur Springs Resident
The six pillars of the self-assessment dove deep into the unique strengths of each community, highlighting strengths and next steps. In a nutshell, here’s what the data revealed across the six pillars:
Community & Recreation Infrastructure: Towns are surrounded by incredible outdoor assets, but those assets are rarely connected to downtowns. Most require a car to reach. Communities want walkable, connected recreation that serves both residents and visitors.
Amenities & Hospitality: Programs, festivals, and events are a genuine regional strength. To make the most of this momentum, towns envision more outfitters, guide services, and local food options within walking distance.
Capacity & Partnerships: Towns have active MFTP representatives and local outdoor recreation leaders. But they need more matching funds, grant writing support, trail stewardship resources, and networking opportunities to grow their capacity.
Strategy & Planning: Many towns have comprehensive plans in place or in development, but they need help with growth management, workforce development, and engaging more residents in their outdoor recreation vision.
Marketing & Branding and Social & Environmental Stewardship round out the picture, with communities eager to promote their assets responsibly while protecting the landscapes that make them special.
Each town had their own stories, strengths, and needs, but the common threads from all towns reinforced that the Mon Forest Region truly is a region with its own character, defined by connection to the National Forest.
What Comes NExt?
Now that the first phase of the self-assessment process is complete, MFTP is using these stories and data points to drive strategic planning and investment decisions that reflect what communities actually need.
Because of what MFTP learned, we’re funding planning and engineering for new trail systems, pursuing and acquiring construction funding for new trails, providing funding for comprehensive planning in towns, and funding community coaching for several towns in order to build planning capacity. We offer project management to towns for these projects and marketing and connectivity support, all of which were key needs that surfaced in those community conversations.
In other words, we’re taking what we learned from the self-assessments and letting towns guide our next steps. The conversation won’t stop here. This year, we’re planning a series of Community Action Meetings where more town members can engage with the self-assessment data and jump into ongoing volunteer opportunities in their hometown.
As we continue this journey, MFTP sees the outdoor recreation economy as a tool and a path, not the destination. The destination is a thriving, resilient region that is home for generations to come.
Stay tuned as we share more about the regional actions taking shape within the Mon Forest Towns Partnership.
If you’re interested in learning more about the details of the self-assessment process, please feel free to reach out to Community Projects Manager Emily Lynn Cook at ecook@woodlandswv.org.