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By Cassie Shaner - The Dominion Post

Nearly a dozen entities are working together to keep the Monongahela River’s Hildebrand and Opekiska locks open for 28 days this summer, at a cost of about $40,000.

Barry Pallay, president of the Upper Mon River Association (UMRA), said their ultimate goal is to boost recreation and commerce on the Mon to keep those locks open daily. The Morgantown lock is already open from 7 a.m.-3 p.m. seven days a week.

“This is all the community pulling together, to work together, to use one of the great resources we have in the area,” Pallay said. “This is a beautiful, 30-mile stretch of river, in mostly Mon County, that the public can take advantage of.”

The Hildebrand and Opekiska locks were closed to recreational traffic, except by appointment, in 2012. They re-opened last summer for 18 days, after nearly two years of negotiations with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Pallay said the locks re-opened — and remain open even longer this year — thanks to a coalition of about nine groups. That includes the Mon and Marion county commissions, Mon County Development Authority, Morgantown Area Chamber of Commerce, Greater Morgantown Convention and Visitors Bureau, Marion County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Granville, Westover and Morgantown.

Pallay said there were 115 commercial passages at all three local locks last year. That equates to about 3,600 trucks that weren’t on area roadways, he said.

Expanding river recreation offers even greater economic opportunities. Pallay said there are 600-plus fishing tournaments in West Virginia each year, but few are held on the Mon, because of lock limitations.

The Bass Federation’s Mid-Atlantic Bass Tournament, slated for September, is expected to bring $100,000 to the region, Pallay said.

“We have this enormous opportunity to re-grow the recreation side,” Pallay said.

Another possibility is a boat rental business along the water. Mary Wimmer, of Morgantown Area Paddlers, said she has repeatedly been asked about rentals and shuttles along the Mon for kayakers.

Wimmer’s kayaking group went through seven lockages last year — five at the Morgantown lock and two in Point Marion, Pa. The group has not been through Hildebrand and Opekiska because of the limited hours. But she’s been assessing access points for a trip this year.

“Considering the interest we’ve seen in flatwater boating — and I hope to see in kayak fishing — I think we’re going to see recreational use of the river increase,” Wimmer said. “As that happens, it’s nice to do some longer trips. … Having that stretch of the river open from Uffington south to Pricketts Fort is a beautiful stretch of river.”

Wimmer’s group is an example of the growth in river recreation. Morgantown Area Paddlers, formed last year, now has 174 people on its email list, which grew by 15 just in the last month.