Story and Video: Monroe County celebrates progress of Appalachia Ecotone project
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SARDIS - Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and other officials celebrated the $4.5 million completion of Phase I of the Appalachian Community Grant project, which established the foundation for the site's future development Monday at the Appalachia Ecotone site along Ohio 7 near Sardis.
The initial phase included site work, infrastructure upgrades and complete renovation of the existing building into the Visitor's Center and future Inland Waterways Maritime Academy. It also included the creation of new trails and an outdoor amphitheater. The improvements are part of Monroe County's plan to lay the groundwork for the continued buildout of the site as a recreational, educational and workforce‑training destination.
The project is part of the $500-million program spearheaded by DeWine, which is creating transformational changes and being a catalyst for future development by providing generational investments in the Appalachian region.
"We left it up to the local communities on how they would spend that money,” DeWine told the assembled crowd Monday, “and what you're seeing here right now is how Monroe County decided to spend that money."
Monroe County received a total of $7.7 million in state and federal grants since being awarded an original grant of $4.5 million in May 2024 through the Appalachian Community Grant Program.
Phase I of the project was a $750,000 expansion of the Visitor's Center, funded by the federal Appalachian Regional Commission's Regional Development Grant. The project is not fully complete, but will feature an atrium and elevator addition to the front of the visitor center to create a handicap-accessible plaza and parking area, and install a public maritime simulator that will enhance educational and visitor experiences.
The second phase is a $776,539 investment in new maritime training facilities, funded through Ohio Department of Natural Resources Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization grant program. Phase II will include construction of a U.S. Coast Guard-approved deckhand training pad and facility, a new roof for the visitor's center and extensive site-wide landscaping.
In addition, $1.55 million in funding from the Ohio Department of Transportation's Scenic Byways Grant and the Ohio Public Works Commission's CleanOhio program has been awarded to the Monroe County Park District to construct a scenic river overlook, benches, and approximately two miles of interconnected trails.
DeWine believes people are discovering and rediscovering how beautiful the Ohio River is and how valuable it is to attract people to this particular section of Ohio. He said the fund was created to focus on the river and believes Monroe County has done a phenomenal job to highlight the Ohio River in its project.
Monroe County commissioner Mick Schumacher said the project has been years in the making, but believes divine intervention is why it’s nearing the final stages.
"As we’re working on crafting our plan for the ACGP project, this golf course became available," Schumacher said. "The owner of the golf course just wanted to sell it to Monroe County. He didn’t put it on the market."
The county purchased 168 acres with the expectation to continue to expand the center after the current project.
Ohio River Commission executive director Taylor Abbott added the commission was starting to look at what it needed as a region in early 2023.
"With those of us that are in the maritime industry, we recognized early on that we needed to educate the public on why the Ohio River is so important. But also, from a workforce standpoint, the region’s struggling with unemployment at times, and the river’s right in their backyard, and it’s one of the one of the greatest, most stable careers you can be in with high pay," Abbott said."We want to give that availability to the public by having this training facility, but also educate the public that will come through here. We want them to be able to understand the importance of the Ohio River and learn about the workforce development aspect of it."
Abbott said none of this would have been possible without DeWine and thanked him for his office's grant to allow the county to have the funds for this expansive project.
Abbott said maritime training is currently one of the most needed areas for the maritime industry.
"So, with us having that facility created and finished, we’d be able to do full training of all of the courses," Abbott said.
ODNR director Mary Mertz added that the training facility will make a positive impact in not only Monroe County but the entire region.
"We believe that it’s going to accommodate 200 to 250 students a year. Currently, if you want to go to one of these schools, you need to go to Pittsburgh or Cincinnati. So we kind of split the difference here," Mertz said. "We think it’s really going to attract students, and we’re told that these kinds of schools have a98% placement rate, which means there’s a real need out there in the community to have kids learn these skills, and we think this is a great place to do it."
Abbott said it is expected for phase II to be completed in 2027.