West Virginia Grants Awarded
2006
New River Gorge Viewshed and Climbing Access Protection, Kentucky, West Virginia (2006)
A grant was awarded to the New River Alliance of Climbers to conduct modeling research on the potential climbing viewshed impact of proposed housing developments on the rim of the New River Gorge. The National Park Service’s viewshed analysis shows approximately 20% of the lots will be visible from highly utilized areas in the park, including areas used for climbing such as Beauty Mountain. The Park Service analysis is limited by its inability to definitively model the impact of the development when the leaves have fallen. An independent third party with the ability to model the vegetative cover is needed to validate the park service analysis. This modeling will include viewshed impacts from popular climbing areas.
2005
Coopers Rock, West Virginia (2005)
A start-up and organizational grant was awarded to the Coopers Rock Regional Climbers Coalition. This group will focus on access/stewardship issues in the Coopers Rock, WV area.



