Lessons learned in the conservation of the Chesapeake Bay should be applied to the Ohio River, the commissioner of agriculture in West Virginia said.
“I want to focus on the Ohio River to improve the quality of the waters in this part of the state,” said Commissioner Kent Leonhardt, who serves on the West Virginia Conservation Agency.
The Chesapeake Bay watershed covers six states, West Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland and New York. Conservation efforts began in the late 1960s.
What has been learned on the eastern side of West Virginia can be applied to the other side of the state, Leonhardt said.
The aim is to improve the Ohio River and its tributaries for fishing, recreation and particularly as a source for drinking water and the soil for agricultural purposes, he said. Five million people, about 2% of the nation’s population, rely on the river for drinking water, he said.
Leonhardt, a Republican, was in Parkersburg Thursday for a fundraiser at the Rocky Peck Sales and Marketing auction house on Old St. Marys Pike. The commissioner also went to the Mister Bee Potato Chip Co., a large user of potatoes and the only chip maker in West Virginia, and the Stone Road Winery in Elizabeth.
A focus has been the expansion of local farmers’ markets, Leonhardt said. Local availability of food reduces energy usage by eliminating transportation, helps the economy and improves the health of residents, he said.
Leonhardt said he has encouraged food production in West Virginia, of which part of that was to increase the number of meat processing facilities. Food consumed here should be produced here, he said.
Source:theintelligencer.net
Photo Credit: West Virginia Conservation Agency
Categories: Ohio, Government & Policy