Glen Jean, W.Va. -New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, the New River Alliance of Climbers, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are again hosting two Access Fund Climber Stewards to provide environmental protection and education at popular climbing areas in the region. The stewards are part of a conservation program sponsored by the Access Fund, a nonprofit rock-climbing advocacy group.
The program started in 2022 and proved to be extremely popular with climbers and local land managers. Over the course of six months the stewards had 4,712 interactions with park visitors.
“New River is one of the premiere climbing destinations in the eastern United States," said New River Gorge National Park and Preserve Superintendent Charles Sellars. "With increased popularity of this sport and the area, ensuring protection of our cliff line ecosystem is of utmost importance. We are pleased to be a part of this program again this year. It was met with great success from the climbing community last year and we anticipate it will again."
“We are always glad to partner with the National Park Service, and it’s refreshing to know the Climber Stewards have the very best interest of our natural resources at heart with this program," said U.S. Army Corps of Engineer Lake Manager Brandy L. Acord. "Their promotion and education of impact reduction, Leave No Trace ethics, and general courtesy at our heavily utilized climbing areas is helping shift the way the visiting public uses and respects Summersville Lake.
Along with contacting visitors at popular climbing areas, the stewards will host Climber Coffees every Friday and Saturday at popular trailheads in the park and Sunday at Lake Summersville.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service