Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024 - 82

CHARLES SELLARS:
Parks Veteran Lands at a Gem
Superintendent of New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, Gauley River
National Recreation Area and Bluestone National Scenic River in West Virginia.
He grew up in the Appalachian Mountains, and his career with national parks
spans nearly 40 years. Now he is leading America's newest national park.
INTERVIEW BY MARY LEIDIG | PHOTO COURTESY CHARLES SELLARS
You and your wife Pam have raised
your children in some beautiful spots
in the nation. What do you all love
doing? Special moments?
We are fortunate to have lived in and
around many units of the National
Park Service. Through the
years,
we gradually moved from camping
in Forest Service and Park Service
campgrounds to spending time at
amusement parks. More recently our
time has revolved around high school
activities for our two children. I'm the
epitome of a national park employee,
always dragging my family to visit
another national park. My son and I
recently traveled to Ireland and Scotland,
and I got a wonderful opportunity
to see how other countries manage
their national parks. It was great
to spend this time building memories
with him.
You grew up in the Appalachian
Mountains, starting your career as a
temp engineering technician, and now
you lead America's newest national
park. Share your journey with us.
I spent 15 years working at the Blue
Ridge Parkway. It was hard to leave
there and hard to leave my hometown-Clyde,
North Carolina. Making
all the moves through the years
and working in facility management
set me up well to step into the role of
82 BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM
superintendent of New River Gorge
National Park and Preserve. I've had
wonderful experiences, working at
Cape Hatteras National Seashore,
Great Smoky Mountains National
Park, Big South Fork National River
and Recreation Area, Cumberland
Gap National Historical Park, running
a National Cemetery at Andersonville
National Historic Site, and
taking care of President Jimmy Carter's
home in Plains, Georgia. Pam and
I both worked at Bandelier National
Monument in New Mexico. New River
is the icing on the cake!
New River Gorge is " rocking " with
record numbers of visitors. What is
boosting this energetic growth?
Since Congress redesignated New River
Gorge National River as New River
Gorge National Park and Preserve in
2021, we have seen a steady increase
in visitation, with 2023 being a record
year. We expect this to continue. Of
course, I see the park as a jewel, but
recognition like National Geographic's
recent " Best of the World " Top 20
Travel Experiences helps get the word
out about how spectacular this region
truly is. The local community rallied
to get the redesignation, making New
River Gorge a destination for not only
whitewater rafting, but rock-climbing,
mountain biking and hiking.
Amtrak routes running through
national parks are rare. What's on the
horizon for Amtrak at New River Gorge?
We are hopeful the Amtrak Cardinal
route through New River Gorge increases
to seven-day service. This brings
another way for our visitors to enjoy the
park on day trips along the 53 miles of
rail that run through it. We'll have park
rangers and volunteers on trains to orient
passengers to the park and region.
What do you enjoy most since
becoming superintendent in 2023?
I love all of it-the whole package! I
thrive on the fast pace and diversity of
opportunities all going on at the same
time. The Great American Outdoors
Act is allowing the park to complete
improvements to our restrooms, camping,
trails and much-needed road repairs.
We plan to restore areas abandoned
after mining operations, and are
wrapping up renovations to Canyon
Rim Visitor Center.
We're partnering with West Virginia
to build a new parking lot at a beautiful
vista: Endless Wall, one of the park's
most popular areas. Our wonderful
partners work closely with the park-
such as Friends of New River Gorge
National Park and Preserve and our
gateway communities. Together, they
make this a place that everyone wants
to come visit.
http://www.BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM
Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country May/June 2024
