More than five years after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refused to propose endangered status for the Eastern hellbender, the agency is now proposing to list the giant salamander as such under the Endangered Species Act.

New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in West Virginia has received funding to develop a database of accessibility information on trails and river access points.

The Canyon Rim Visitor Center at New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in West Virginia will close on January 1, 2024, while the building undergoes extensive renovation, with a reopening date tentatively scheduled for early March. Upgrades to what is the park’s busiest visitor contact station include new exhibits, a new sales area, carpeting, lighting, wall coverings, and new seating for the auditorium.

Old trees, some dating to the 17th century, long protected in land now occupied by New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in West Virginia, are being inducted into the Old-Growth Forest Network.