From left, Friends of the Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge board member Tucker Daugherty, Braeden Harpool’s father Kent and Harpool’s stepsister Adelyn Nottingham chat while looking at the wetland trail area dedicated Saturday in honor of Braeden Harpool, who passed away in 2022. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

WILLIAMSTOWN – The opening of a new wetland trail was celebrated Saturday at the Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge with volunteers and a family whose donation in memory of a loved one helped make it possible.

Although federal rules prevent the trail from being named after him, there will be a sign dedicating it in honor of Braeden Harpool, a former Williamstown resident who worked with wildlife and conservation efforts before passing away in 2022.

“This is really a joy and a pleasure for us (and) for Braeden,” his father Kent Harpool of Williamstown said.

Harpool said his son worked with wildlife while at West Virginia University and was employed as a pesticide inspector in Maryland, recognizing the role such chemicals have while wanting to ensure the environment and animals were protected.

“He understood the role everyone has in creating space, conserving space,” he said.

Williamstown resident Kent Harpool looks at a sign honoring his son, the late Braeden Harpool, while speaking at a dedication event Saturday for the wetlands trail the family contributed to in his memory at the Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge outside Williamstown. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

A donation from a memorial fund in Braeden Harpool’s name helped complete the project, which started six years ago in what was, at the time, a gravel pit.

Michael Schramm, visitor services manager for the refuge, said they used grants from DuPont to line it with clay. A boardwalk and retaining wall were constructed, then vegetation planted.

“If we can create the perfect habitat, then the wildlife will come,” he said.

That’s proven true already, Schramm said, as he’s been noticing birds that don’t usually make stops at the refuge when they migrate, including solitary sandpipers and a yellow-breasted chat.

“We’ve never had sandpipers up here before,” he said.

Friends of the Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge board member Nicole Racer discusses some of the plants along the new wetland trail Saturday at the refuge outside of Williamstown. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

Dawn Hewitt, a board member for the not-for-profit Friends of the Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge group that supports the refuge’s mission and managing editor of Bird Watcher’s Digest, accompanied Schramm and others on a bird walk along the trail Saturday morning. She said they identified 40 species of birds, including some that aren’t attracted to the feeders set up at the refuge.

“This wetlands trail is going to add so much,” Hewitt said. “This is really going to benefit both wildlife – birds, especially – but also humans as well. You can, I think, find solitude there and get away from city noise.”

Kent Harpool said the family was glad to contribute but noted money only goes so far without people to execute the plan.

Friends board President Mark Krivchenia said a number of people helped make the trail a reality, even after AmeriCorps volunteers who were supposed to help with the project were recalled early as a result of cuts made under the federal Department of Government Efficiency initiative. Refuge staff, volunteers, AmeriCorps volunteers from other agencies and members of the Dark Side Robotics team – which includes students from Williamstown and Parkersburg Catholic high schools and homeschool students – pitched in, he said.

Although one of the refuge’s main focuses is on aquatic habitat for endangered mussels, Schramm said they also want it to be an educational resource for the community.

“It’s not just coal barges on the river and factories,” he said. “It’s also this amazing, rich ecosystem that I don’t want people to take for granted.”

Kent Harpool described the refuge as “an emerald gem just outside of Williamstown.

“It’s an oasis where plants and animals are not endangered,” he said.

Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.