RICHMOND, Va. - As much of central Appalachia looks to reinvent itself amid the decline of coal, community leaders in southwest Virginia say they are seeing some early success by focusing on another natural resource: the Clinch River. State lawmakers have allocated about $5 million so far to the Clinch River State Park, which will have an atypical design, said David Collett, interim state parks director. She has been a leader in the Clinch River Valley Initiative, a grassroots effort to diversify the area economy by taking better advantage of the river as a natural asset, which kicked off in 2010. The state park has been a critical part the group’s work, but there have also been efforts around downtown revitalization and infrastructure improvements as well as environmental education components, Wallace and other members said. Economic development efforts vary across the expansive southwest Virginia region, which is larger than nine U.S. states, according to Cannon.

Source: thestar December 28, 2019 14:03 UTC