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Lizzie Watts, Superintendent of New River Gorge National Park and Preserve stands in front of the new park sign at the park’s administrative headquarters in Glen Jean.
Robert Seay has been hunting in the New River Gorge since he was born, nearly. His family has hunted there for almost a century.
“It’s just a beautiful place, I mean something about watching the fog rise, hearing the roar of the river and watching the sunset,” said Seay, a fishing and hunting guide in Southern West Virginia. “It’s not just about the hunting. The deer or the game is just a bonus. It’s doing what your family’s done where you learned to do it.”
recently sent to the president’s desk. Once signed, within the next few weeks of Trump’s remaining tenure, the change should go into effect soon after. The New River Gorge National River is one of three units in West Virginia managed by the National Park Service, alongside the Gauley National Recreation Area and the Bluestone National Scenic River. Commonly referred to as the New, the 73,000-acre stretch of rugged canyon in the southeast part of the state has been a world-class rock-climbing and paddling destination since its designation as a national river in 1978, but advocates for the upgrade in status hope full park status will bring it more cachet.