The New River Gorge National Park and Preserve just got bigger, with the addition of 963 acres of land near Sandstone, thanks to The Conservation Fund and the U.S. National Park Service (NPS).
This newly acquired land will provide more public land for hunting and outdoor recreation, yielding various public benefits.
The land is located in the Irish Mountain area, an area with links to Irish immigrants who settled locally in the late 1800s.
According to The Conservation Fund’s press release, the land was acquired in November 2021 and was recently transferred to the NPS, with funding from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF).
This addition of acreage permanently protects a significant portion of the park’s existing views and character, and enhances the recreational opportunities in this section of the park.
The National Park Service Director Charles Sams, U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito, U.S. Rep. Carol Miller, and Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Tourism Chelsea Ruby joined federal, state, local, and private partners at a celebratory event to dedicate the newly added land.
The officials lauded the project as an excellent opportunity to create additional opportunities to enjoy the great outdoors, and to provide important hunting and fishing opportunities for all Americans.
While this addition of land may benefit visitors to the park, it may pose challenges for nearby private campground owners and operators.
The influx of visitors may increase competition for accommodations in the area. Additionally, the addition of the land may cause changes to the park’s ecosystem, and the local private campground owners and operators may need to adapt to new conditions.
Formerly the largest private landholding within the park’s authorized boundary, the newly acquired land extends steeply up in elevation from 1,600 feet to 2,700 feet, offering a sweeping view of the upper river canyon.
This section of land will be a great addition to the national preserve portion of the park, where hunting is allowed. It will also preserve views of the largest waterfall on the entire New River, as well as conserve the resources and natural beauty.
The protection of this land was made possible by the federal LWCF, which was fully and permanently funded by the Great American Outdoors Act in 2020.
LWCF is a bipartisan program that conserves ecologically and economically valuable land across the United States. West Virginia’s federal congressional delegation representing the NRGNPP – Manchin, Capito, and Miller – supported the use of federal funding for the project and led the effort to redesignate the area.
The New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, first established in 1978 as a national river and later redesignated to its current status, offers abundant scenic and recreational opportunities while highlighting the region’s cultural and natural history.
The New River – a rugged, whitewater river flowing northward through deep canyons – is among the oldest rivers on the North American continent.
The addition of this land to the park is a significant step toward preserving and conserving public lands for future generations.
Furthermore, it has the potential to stimulate a surge in tourism, which could prove advantageous for proprietors and managers of private campgrounds in the area.
With the support of the LWCF and bipartisan congressional representatives, this project is an example of the positive impact that public-private partnerships can have on preserving our nation’s natural resources.