The action follows months of concern among residents and preservationists over the park service’s plans for deteriorating structures within the Thurmond Historic District, which has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1984. The move toward litigation comes as Preservation Thurmond is simultaneously working within another avenue for preservation provided by the park service—finding people or organizations willing to lease and rehabilitate some of the threatened historic properties. The park service subsequently reached a different conclusion about the long-term management of a number of historic structures in Thurmond and elsewhere in New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.