The 2018 West Virginia Legislature: What Happened?
The Big Kahuna of the 2018 Legislative Session was, of course, the teachers’ strike. Teachers stuffed the Capitol, chanted, sang, waved signs, etc. until they finally got the pay raise [...]
March proved to be another month a lot of activity. Mother Nature provided the greatest amount of snow of the winter for much of the highlands and has ended the [...]
A Straw in the Wind? Or a Big Nothingburger?
During the most recent session of the West Virginia Legislature, one of the major issues was whether there would be logging in State Parks. Thanks to substantial public outcry, that [...]
Environmental Analysis as the Budget Burns
By Hugh Rogers Last month, representatives from the Highlands Conservancy, Sierra Club, Trout Unlimited, Friends of Blackwater, and Rivers Coalition met with Clyde Thompson, Monongahela National Forest Supervisor, and some [...]
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine has ended its study of the effects of mountaintop removal mining on public health. The committee working on the project has been [...]
Celebrating Old Growth Forests
The Old Growth Forest Network has identified two sites in West Virginia and added them to its list of old growth forests. The first is Giant Tree Trail/Hollow at North [...]
Loss of a Friend and a Champion
The West Virginia Highlands Conservancy is grieved to note the death of our friend and board member, Don Garvin. He represented WV Trout Unlimited within our group and worked for [...]
Don Garvin, A Friend of Rivers, A Friend of Mine
By Angie Rosser, West Virginia Rivers Executive Director West Virginia Rivers Coalition lost a leader March 29; and I lost a mentor and special friend. I met Don Garvin when [...]
Study Documents Consequences for Babies Born to Mothers Living Close to Fracking
The United States is in the midst of a fracking boom. Short for “hydraulic fracturing,” the technique for exploiting deep deposits of natural gas and oil was virtually unknown before [...]
Federal Budget Favorable to Public Lands
By Matt Kearns, West Virginians for Public Lands The 2018 federal budget was more than a “day late,” but it was not a “dollar short” when it came to public [...]
Compliance Surveillance Finds Pipeline Problems
The March, 2018, issue of The Highlands Voice described the Pipeline Compliance Surveillance Initiative (CSI), developed by the Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance and member organizations. The idea is to monitor the [...]
Virginia Board Confirms: Dominion’s Atlantic Coast Pipeline Could Cost Virginians up to $2.3 billion
Virginia’s top economic watchdog has validated expert analysis showing that Dominion Energy’s proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline could cost Virginia ratepayers up to $2.3 billion, refuting Dominion’s faulty claims that the [...]
Curbing our Appetite for Plastics
By Jackie Burns Earth Day theme and campaign The 48thannual earth day is fast approaching. The theme this year is “ending plastic pollution.” Why are these seemingly stable polymers a [...]
