The 72,000-acre West Virginia gem joins an illustrious list as the 63rd U.S. national park.
West Virginia's New River Gorge is the newest U.S. national park, joining such giants as Yellowstone, Death Valley, and Grand Tetons on the list of parks with the nation's highest protective designation. The park comprises 72,000 acres along 53 miles of the New River Gorge, writes Zach Montague in the New York Times, an area which first first received federal protection in 1978.
The gorge offers a dramatic look into the region's geological history—if estimates are correct, the New River could be the second oldest river in the world. With canyon walls soaring up to 1,600 feet and miles of hiking and biking routes, New River Gorge is a popular destination for adventure sports including whitewater rafting, fishing, and rock climbing. In the past, it was a booming coal mining region. "Especially after the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway linked the New River coal fields to markets in 1873, dozens of boom towns popped up along the river’s edge, thriving well into the 1920s." Many now dot the landscape as ghost towns.
The bill elevating the park's status was introduced by West Virginia's senators in 2019. Although "the new title for New River Gorge does not fundamentally alter the area’s day-to-day operations," the new designation could help bring in more tourist dollars, jobs, and resources to the state.
FULL STORY: Meet America’s 63rd National Park
National Parks Layoffs Will Cause Communities to Lose Billions
Thousands of essential park workers were laid off this week, just before the busy spring break season.
Public Lands in the United States, Part Two: The Conservation Turn and ‘America’s Best Idea’
As Western expansion reached its geographic terminus, the U.S. government began tightening rules around land use and designating protected areas such as national parks and wilderness areas, often displacing local Native Americans.
New National Monument Proposed South of Joshua Tree
The 700,000 acre monument would protect threatened species and important historic and cultural sites.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association