Photo by Michael Erb Chief Scout Executive Michael Surbaugh of the Boy Scouts of America was the featured speaker Thursday night at The Nature Conservancy of West Virginia’s Corporate Council for the Environment Annual Dinner in Morgantown.

MORGANTOWN — Members and guests of The Nature Conservancy of West Virginia, along with business leaders from throughout the state, gathered Thursday in Morgantown for the Corporate Council for the Environment Annual Dinner.

The event, held at the Morgantown Marriott at Waterfront Place, celebrates successes, plans future projects and connects with business and industry to preserve the natural beauty of West Virginia.

Joyce McConnell, West Virginia University provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, is chair of the West Virginia Chapter of the Nature Conservancy Board of Trustees.

“The Nature Conservancy is a global organization with a chapter in West Virginia,” she said. “We have such a long history of protecting West Virginia and people just don’t know it.”

That history includes projects in some of the state’s most iconic areas, such as the Gauley River, the New River, Dolly Sods and Canaan Valley, she said.

Photo by Michael Erb Members and guests of The Nature Conservancy of West Virginia, along with business leaders from throughout the state, gathered Thursday in Morgantown for the Corporate Council for the Environment Annual Dinner.

“Those are all places that are essential to tourism, and the Conservancy has been working for 50 years to preserve those places,” McConnell said.

Thomas Minney, state director of the Nature Conservancy of West Virginia, said finding that balance between nature and economic opportunities is key to the organization’s work.

The dinner “is a chance to for us to engage those who support us and to engage the businesses we want to support us,” he said. “It helps us get the message out. This is a place where we find solutions.”

Officials Thursday announced the purchase of 1,143 acres along the Allegheny Front in the Dolly Sods and Canaan Valley region.

About 500 acres of the Allegheny Front project borders the Conservancy’s popular Bear Rocks preserve-477 acres of high-elevation land that is known for its cool climate, windswept forests and biological diversity. Minney said the acquisition will double the area of the preserve and expand hiking and wildlife viewing opportunities.

Photo by Michael Erb Thomas Minney, state director of the Nature Conservancy of West Virginia, announced the purchase of 1,143 acres along the Allegheny Front in the Dolly Sods and Canaan Valley region Thursday during the Corporate Council for the Environment Annual Dinner in Morgantown.

The project was made possible through significant donations from the Ann C. and Robert O. Orders Jr. Family Foundation and a private donor, Dave Montgomery of Maryland.

“It is an important landscape in terms of animal and plant diversity,” Minney said. “It is an iconic destination in West Virginia with its great views and scenery. We view it as a place that exemplifies nature and economics working together.”

McConnell said such opportunities would not be available without the aid of business and industry, and the constant hard work of the Conservancy and its supporters.

“We have tremendous support throughout the state, but we are always looking for new members and new partners,” she said.

Chief Scout Executive Michael Surbaugh of the Boy Scouts of America was the featured speaker of the night. His remarks emphasized the importance of nature and access to the outdoors in building skills and character for youth that will make them the leaders of tomorrow.

Surbaugh praised the Conservancy’s efforts to preserve nature and the cooperation of West Virginia businesses to aid in that endeavor.

“You are recognizing this is a collaborative effort,” he said.

Surbaugh said there is often a knee-jerk reaction to the idea of preserving nature which assumes those who are for preservation are anti-business and those in business have no interest in keeping nature intact while they pursue profits.

“I think this group is such a beautiful example of how you get past that dialogue and some of that immediate concern,” he said. “There can be a lot of synergy when people come together.”

Other notable speakers at the Corporate Council dinner were Robert Steptoe Jr., member at Steptoe and Johnson and past board chair of the Conservancy in West Virginia, and Kevin Ellis, Antero Resources’ vice president of government relations and board member of the Conservancy in West Virginia.

Those interested in more information or contacting the Conservancy about support opportunities can visit www.nature.org/westvirginia.