3 days ago
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New River Gorge finds caller beingness aft ember diminution
Whitewater rafting on the rapids of West Virginia's New River is fueling the revival of a portion that erstwhile roared to the bushed of ember cars.
Larry Nibert, a rafting usher and descendant of ember miners, sees reminders of his family's past everywhere.
"I consciousness an overwhelming consciousness of pride. Three generations of america had been successful the mines and I was the archetypal 1 to ever measurement retired otherwise. I was this adjacent to going to the ember mines," Nibert said.
Coal erstwhile powered the system here, but those jobs person dwindled to a fraction of what they were arsenic cheaper earthy state undercut request for coal. But anticipation is present streaming done this portion of West Virginia, centered astir the New River Gorge National Park.
"When the past ember excavation successful the Gorge closed, which was successful the aboriginal 1960s, that was astir the aforesaid clip that we really had the archetypal whitewater manufacture travel in," said Eve West, who has worked astatine the parkland since 2013.
West says the turnaround started successful 2020, erstwhile New River Gorge was officially designated arsenic a nationalist park.
"It was a crippled changer for us. I mean, our visitation has gone up astir 40% historically implicit a 5-year period," West said.
Besides whitewater rafting, there's stone climbing, upland biking and zip lining. It's besides the lone nationalist parkland successful the state that allows span basal jumping, erstwhile a year.
Since New River Gorge was designated a nationalist park, section employment and visitor spending has astir doubled, starring to an $86 cardinal infusion to the section system successful 2023, according to the National Park Service.
"I conscionable deliberation it shows that determination is ever hope. We whitethorn person to pivot, conscionable benignant of person to look astatine wherever the opportunities are," West said.
Nikki Battiste is simply a CBS News nationalist analogous based successful New York. She is an Emmy and Peabody-award winning journalist, and her reporting appears crossed each CBS News broadcasts and platforms.
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