New River Gorge is thought to be one of the oldest rivers in the world. It is the longest and deepest river gorge in the Appalachian Mountains. "nNew River Gorge Bridge is the second highest bridge in the US and the second longest steel arch in the world, having a span of 566 meters. Photo Credit: Posnov/Getty Images
Environment USABig Ear Bats Meet Woodrats in this Brand New National Park
The New River Gorge located in West Virginia, United States, has become the 63rd national park – giving it the highest form of protection – following a multigenerational effort to transform this former industrial area into a national landmark.
“The next generation will have the opportunity to see what, in the last 150 years, it looks like when an area goes from being logged and mined to left alone,” says Lizzie Watts, the park’s superintendent. “The ecosystem has come back to full trees and mature forests.”
The legislation submitted in 2019 to give the highest protection to the New River Gorge, with its 72,000 acres of land and 85 km of the gorge, was accelerated and made possible in part thanks to a $2.3 trillion spending bill passed by the government for pandemic relief. It gained federal protection in 1978 when it was designated a national river. The New River Gorge is in the center of a migration corridor where endangered and threatened species, such as the Virginia big-eared bat and the Allegheny woodrat, come together.
