"A Radical Reimagination of Land and Resource Stewardship" in Red River Gorge

A new comic from Chase Chauffe explores current tensions between developers and local residents.

If you’ve ever belly-flopped off of Jump Rock or admired the sweeping rock formations hiking along Auxier Ridge, you’re probably aware of the land-use struggle currently impacting communities immediately adjacent to Red River Gorge and the Daniel Boone National Forest.

On one side, there’s a group of former bankers, investors and Kentucky Chamber of Commerce members known as Red River Economic Development (RRED) aiming to (among other things) build a 170-room, “eco-friendly” luxury resort that will draw in “modern adventurers” and, ostensibly, create jobs within the region.

Then there’s Red River Gorge United (RRGU), a group of “local business owners, community leaders and concerned residents unified against the ‘top-down’ methods by which this development has progressed, and any other development that might overwhelm capacity of local infrastructure, disrupt local economies and…degrade natural resources in the region.”

In the coming weeks, we’ll be diving into the progression of this conflict, as well as what it means for sustainability, conservation efforts and the environment on the whole across Eastern Kentucky. For now, we have a comic from illustrator Chase Chauffe exploring how—instead of marching to the drumbeat of development—this inflection point could be used to radically reimagine land and resource stewardship in the area.

If you’re a RRG regular, a local or simply love the occasional slice of Miguel’s pizza, why not share this comic with a hiking buddy?