Cal Hite, National Park Service (NPS) Superintendent of New River Gorge National River, is the recent recipient of two awards. At the recent NPS Northeast Regional Superintendent’s Conference, Hite was named the region’s Superintendent of the Year and received the region’s Natural Resource Stewardship Award. Both recognized his efforts to protect the park from
potential adverse effects of two proposed housing developments in Fayette County.

NPS Northeast Regional Director Mary Bomar cited Hite’s commitment to the 1978 legislation which established New River Gorge National River and directed the NPS to work with local government officials to insure that zoning laws or ordinances would aid in preserving the natural, scenic and historic values “in and around the New River Gorge.”  The region’s 2005
Superintendent of the Year “has done everything in his power to persuade both developers and officials to design these areas with no adverse impact to park resources, including the viewshed,” she said.

In presenting Hite the region’s 2005 Natural Resource Stewardship Award, Bomar praised Hite’s ability to utilize determinations of the park’s nationally and globally significant resources to inform the public of how important the park’s resources are to the nation, and the world. With respect to the proposed subdivisions, Superintendent Hite continues to
remind local officials of the old parable: ‘Don’t kill the goose that’s laying the golden egg.’

American Whitewater would like to congratulate Cal.  He has done a superb job of managing and defending the New River Gorge.  It is a pleasure to work with Cal, who obviously cares a great deal for the land and water that he manages, and is willing to take a bold leadership role in its preservation.