We are proud to introduce you to one of our new board members, Andy Davis. Andy Davis grew up in Georgia where the Appalachian foothills often served as a secondary classroom. After studying Environmental Sciences at Georgia College and working with local environmentally focused nonprofits, Andy moved to West Virginia which had become a “home away from home” after previously spending a summer working as a whitewater guide on the New River in between college semesters.
Andy volunteered through AmeriCorps VISTA with Active Southern West Virginia and his passion for civic engagement and collaborative planning led him to pursue a graduate degree in Municipal and Environmental Sustainability at Indiana University. He now works as the Director of Strategic Redevelopment for the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority. Lisa Stansell – Galitz (LSG) recently had a conversation with Davis (AD) about the New River Gorge, it’s future and life.
LSG: All the staff and board members of the New River Conservancy have deep connections to the New River and the watershed. I personally raised my children and now their children on the banks of these waters. What is your connection to the New River?
AD: The New River Gorge is where I learned two important life lessons while training to be a raft guide. The first was how to read water – understanding the principles of its flow over land and the hazards it can present. The second was the nuance of successful interpersonal communication – learning from more experienced guides and river staff how to foster enjoyment among guests through genuine and intentional human connections.
LSG: I have read that the intersectional nature of community and economic development sparked your interest when you were fresh out of college. You’ve come full circle as you now serve as the Director of Strategic Redevelopment for the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority (NRGDA). How has the idea of community coupled with development changed in the last decade? Are we headed in the right direction?
AD: Over time, I have grown a stronger appreciation for the sentiment that life moves in cycles. To me, this is true of communities, of species, and of individuals. I think [economic] development is commonly oversimplified as only processes within our human built environment, on one side of a line separate from natural environmental systems. The decision-making processes guiding development worldwide remain tethered to the natural systems and resources on which they depend. To me, two things related to “community coupled with development” seem to be changing rapidly. The first is people’s access to information. The second is the increasingly limited availability of avenues through which our communities and individuals can exercise economic agency, as both data and natural resources flow through ever more vertically integrated markets worldwide. We are headed in the right direction IF we can harness a collective recognition of the intersecting boom-bust patterns of both the natural and built environments.
LSG: In West Virginia, the New River is a huge economic engine both in out of state tourism and in state tourism, which can be a double edged sword. What are some of the benefits of that? Downfalls?
AD: Many communities are trying to build new amenities and expand the capacity of existing outdoor assets to meet a growing tourism demand. Each year the New and Gauley River seasons bring waves of visitors to southern West Virginia. The arrival of commercial whitewater here decades ago has created a multi-generational cast of visitors and outdoor recreation professionals alike. We also have an annual arrival and departure cycle of a young and talented outdoor recreation workforce, many of whom travel elsewhere outside the roughly 6-month reliable tourism season in southern West Virginia. While a huge increase in the focus on outdoor recreation and quality of place nationwide is shining a light on areas like the New River Gorge region, economic competition with urban, suburban and exurban areas, along with the long-term decline of jobs in legacy industries like mining, is keeping rural communities behind the curve of economic growth. We often hear that “tourism is the red carpet to residency,” however our region fits into the trend of severe shortages in available housing, which limits the ability for visitors to invest more of their time and money by moving here.
LSG: The NRC is a small but mighty organization with projects and initiatives throughout the three state watershed. As a new member, what are you looking forward to the most?
AD: I love seeing examples of how communities elsewhere are prioritizing development goals to more sustainably merge their natural and built environments. I feel this will be a great opportunity to bring those ideas to southern West Virginia and to share the good things happening here with communities throughout the watershed.
LSG: Do you have a favorite part of the New River?
AD: My favorite part of the New River is more a moment than a location – it’s getting to witness people connecting with the river by recognizing how the river connects every place it flows through.
(Feature photo by Elizabeth Cantrell)
