Eastern Box Turtle

The Bluestone River and the rugged and ancient gorge it has carved is a richly diverse and scenic area of the southern Appalachian Mountains. Time spent in thoughtful solitude along this little mountain river offers the visitor a vestige of primitive America. There are over a thousand species of plants growing in several diverse Appalachian forest habitat types. Two hundred species of birds have been spotted in the park. The Bluestone also provides excellent areas for watching many mammal, amphibian, reptile and insect species. The riverbed habitat is alive with a carpet of macro-invertebrate aquatic species, and supports healthy populations of many warm water game and non-game fishes. The Bluestone River is classified as a High Quality Warm Water Stream by the state of West Virginia.

Learn more about the fishes of the Bluestone River by reading the Bluestone Fishes - 2006 fisheries report (3 MB Adobe Acrobat File).