New River Gorge National River (NERI) began its General Management Plan (GMP) planning process in 2004 to ensure that the park has a clearly defined direction for resource conservation and visitor use. The NERI GMP should be based on current scientific and scholarly understanding of park natural (and cultural) resources and make certain that planning decisions are consistent with park purposes. Toward that goal, this report seeks to provide an assessment of the currently available natural resource knowledge relating to NERI. This report provides usable, understandable, and transferable information about the current status and significance of, threats to, and gaps in knowledge about, the natural resources at NERI. In addition, this report provides suggested management recommendations to help ensure the proper stewardship of the natural resources at NERI.