W.Va. Contingency Fund Pays For National Parks To Reopen During Shutdown

Under sunny skies and a picture perfect fall backdrop at the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve Friday, Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced what he called a signed donor agreement from the National Park Service.

It made West Virginia the first state in the nation to reopen its national parks. 

“This is really exciting, because we know that West Virginia is a destination for people across the country and across the globe,” Morrisey said.

Both the gorge and Harpers Ferry National Historical Park are expected to return to full operation in the coming days. 

An email from the governor’s office late Friday said the state’s contingency fund provided $97,986.56 to open the two parks for 14 days — a time frame that ends the day before the annual Bridge Day festival which is expected to draw tens of thousands of visitors to the New River Gorge.

The cost for opening Harpers Ferry comes to $66,508.96 and the remaining amount, just over $31,000, covers the gorge. Morrisey said the parks, visitor centers and services would remain open for “at least the next two weeks.” 

The deal would be re-evaluated as needed but, “I’m hopeful that this darn shutdown comes to an end long before that,” Morrisey said.

Tourism Secretary Chelsea Ruby said the timing to open the parks was critical. 

“October is one of our busiest months. We’re in the middle of Gauley season. We’ve got Bridge Day just around the corner. This is our fourth busiest month of the entire year,” Ruby said. “This is a huge deal, not just for Fayetteville… and not just for this park, but for every town out there.”

Ruby said last October more than 200,000 visitors came to the gorge and 78,000 visited Harpers Ferry, helping to generate an annual statewide economic impact of $9.1 billion dollars and more than 60,000 jobs.