Submitted photo Larry Jent, deputy director for Appalachian Forest National Heritage Center (AFNHA), addressed the Rotary Club of Elkins.

ELKINS — Larry Jent, deputy director for Appalachian Forest National Heritage Center (AFNHA), addressed the Rotary Club of Elkins. AFNHA is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and promoting the forest heritage of West Virginia and western Maryland.

AFNHA conserves, interprets and promotes forest heritage to enhance landscapes and communities in the highlands of West Virginia and Maryland. The region was designated a national heritage area in 2019 by the John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management and Recreation Act. The organization works to:

* Build community capacity

* Identify, preserve, conserve and enhance assets that reflect forest heritage. In 2024, AFNHA supported nine historic preservation projects, maintained nine historic sites and preserved 24 acres of forest land.

* Share authentic stories of forest heritage through guided tours, interpretive signs and exhibits and educational experiences.

* Support heritage tourism and community economic development by developing forest heritage experiences, products and tools to welcome visitors, keeping communities vibrant and growing a healthy economy. In 2024, 4,258 people participated in eighteen educational and interpretive projects

* Support organizations with Forest Heritage Grants. In 2024, AFNHA disbursed 34 grants totaling $141,666 which leveraged $188,836 to implement heritage area activities.

* Connect and support partners by convening gatherings, sharing information and providing technical assistance while providing direct support to build capacity and accomplish projects and programs. In 2024, AFNHA provided assistance to 142 organizations through trainings and workshops.

* Host the Appalachian Forest Discovery Center in Elkins. In 2024, 3,091 visited the discovery center.

* Manage the AFNHA pollinator initiative to combat habitat loss, increased pesticide use, disease and climate change.

* Partner with tourism initiatives such as Highlands Creative Economy and Mon Forest Towns.

Jent joined AFNHA at the same time the organization was beginning work on an indigenous Appalachia emphasis. “It’s been my job to build relationships, get out in the communities, make connections and get to know people,” said Jent.

The AFNHA encompasses lands in eighteen West Virginia and western Maryland counties. Each forest site reveals American history from indigenous peoples to early settlers, from industrial innovation to modern sustainable practices. AFNHA preserves the stories of these areas through site restoration, interpretive trails and documentation of traditional practices. “These age-old Appalachian lands have earned their place among America’s treasured national heritage areas,” said Jent. “Here, where isolation carved character from stone and survival shaped tradition, our mountain culture blooms as wild and resilient at the forest itself.”

Currently, thirty AmeriCorp members work with AFNHA in West Virginia (Maryland has its own AmeriCorp group) to guard the stories etched in this area and nurture wisdom for tomorrow’s minds. These workers also welcome visitors to the Discovery Center in Elkins and strive to document and preserve traditional forest skills.

AFNHA embraces mountain traditions to inspire, educate and support local communities while preserving crucial chapters of Appalachian history for future generations. “This is where history doesn’t just live, it grows wild and free, nurtured by those who understand that in Appalachia forests, past and future flourish as one,” stated Jent.

AFNHA also works with various organizations such as Arthurdale Heritage, providing subgrants for renovations at that site, Access On The Go to provide accessibility for trails and historical sites and the Highland Creative Economy that networks people to provide opportunities to discuss successes, ongoing issues and problems and possible solutions in the Potomac Highlands region of West Virginia.

Jent commented on the close alignment of AFNHA and Rotary International efforts. Both groups are working on monarch butterfly habitat restoration – Rotary doing so from Mexico to Canada and AFNHA concentrating its efforts in its designated area by creating demonstration plots, offering classroom education and providing resources to local communities involved in the effort. Both groups also work to sustain the rain forests and provide services to improve habitat and sustainable farming practices. “When we make a site more accessible, make it better for all people, when we include more cultural insights, we all benefit from those insights. Modern forest management is learning ancient wisdom from the original keepers of this land who learned best practices from thousands of generations of experience. Our AFNHA charter calls us to share the stories of those who have often been overlooked or written out of history. This helps all of us to speak what is true, what is fair to all concerned, it builds better relationships and benefits all concerned,” concluded Jent.

More information about AFNHA can be found at the organization’s website, www.appalachianforestnha.org or by calling 304-636-6182.

Rotary is a global network of 1.4 million neighbors, friends, leaders and problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change — across the globe, in their communities, and in themselves. Visit www.Rotary.org to learn more about Rotary International, visit the club’s Facebook page — Rotary Club of Elkins — or contact club president Tammie Rizzio at tammierizzio@gmail.com for more information about the Rotary Club of Elkins.