U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) released a video message celebrating the second anniversary of New River Gorge’s establishment as a National Park and Preserve.
In 2020, Senator Capito fought for the inclusion of the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve Designation Act—legislation she authored that redesignated the New River Gorge National River as the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve—in the year-end legislative package. The legislation was signed into law on December 27, 2020
In June of this year, the U.S. National Park Service’s (NPS) 2021 National Park Visitor Spending Effects report found that since the redesignation, visitor spending in communities near the Park and Preserve resulted in a $35.2 million benefit to the state’s economy and supported 1,090 jobs in West Virginia.
In 2021, nearly 1.7 million park visitors spent an estimated $82.6 million in local gateway regions while visiting the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, with 88.1% of visitors from out-of-state.
