StopPATH WV

We've had a report by a landowner on the mountain that he confronted several people he caught creeping through the woods on his property late last week.  They handed him a copy of this letter as an explanation for their trespassing.

Despite what this letter says, these PATH contractors need your permission to be on your property!  If you have not given permission for PATH to conduct surveys on your property, these people are trespassing and should be dealt with accordingly.  If they refuse to leave immediately, please contact the Sheriff to have them removed.  Their letter does NOT give them permission to trespass on private property.

If you have signed one of PATH's survey permission forms, there's not much you can do about it, aside from rescinding your permission.  Information about how to rescind permission can be found in our Landowner Resources section.  Strangers creeping around your property like they own the place without prior notification is exactly the reason we have been advising landowners against signing survey permission forms.  By signing these permission forms, you are subjecting yourself to more of this rude, bullying behavior.

Louis Berger Group employees working as contractors for PATH have also been reported as lying to landowners in order to coerce them to give permission for these surveys.  Landowners have been tracked down at their jobs, harassed by trespassers who refused to leave, been told that they would have to pay for these surveys out of their own pockets if they refuse to give permission, and other self-serving lies.  You are not required to give your permission for these surveys! 

Although the letter states that these surveys are "necessary to satisfy federal and state regulatory requirements", this is a flat-out lie.  These surveys are being conducted by PATH in order to try to circumvent real federal surveys and present "surveys" that come to PATH-ordered conclusions.  Remember, PATH always comes up with the desired answer before approaching the problem.  These surveys are not in your best interests and have NOTHING to do with the Federal Environmental Impact Survey currently being conducted.

Be smart and don't let PATH push you around... and tell your neighbors!  One of the greatest things about living in Jefferson County is that we all watch out for each other.  Discuss this with your neighbors and take appropriate action!