FREE AppalachianThe April / May 2017VOICE

Hitting the  More hikers than ever are traveling the  The science of trailbuilding

The Problems with Pipelines Fracked-gas pipelines would deepen the region’s reliance on fossil fuels

Also Inside: Leave it to Beavers | Budget Blowback | Refuge and Restoration at Laurel Fork A note from our team A note from our executive director AppalachianVOICE As you may know, Appalachian Voices and partners are com- As of this writing, federal regulators are poised to ap- mitted to opposing multi-billion dollar investments in destructive A publication of prove two massive interstate gas pipelines proposed in and unnecessary fracked gas pipelines that would tear through AppalachianVoices Appalachia. A final environmental review for the 300-mile the forests, farms and communities of our region. Below, our Mountain Valley Pipeline could be published any day. And NC: 589 W. King St., Boone, NC 28607 • 828-262-1500 team members Lara Mack and Peter Anderson provide VA: 812 E. High St., Charlottesville, VA 22902 • 434-293-6373 the federal public comment period for the 600-mile Atlantic Other Regional Offices: Knoxville, TN • Norton, VA • Raleigh, NC their perspective on these important battles. Read more about the Coast Pipeline is drawing to a close. pipelines beginning on the centerspread. AppalachianVoices.org | [email protected] These projects and dozens of others like them jeopar- For the future, Editor...... Molly Moore dize our region. The Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast pipe- Associate Editor...... Elizabeth E. Payne lines alone would cost a combined $9 billion to construct. Tom Cormons, Executive Director Consulting Editor...... Jamie Goodman Contributing Editor...... Brian Sewell These costs would be borne predominantly by us, on our Distribution Manager...... Meredith Shelton programs. Or we can sit quietly while some companies and electric and heating bills. Editorial Assistant...... Carl Blankenship regulators pursue business as usual. Editorial Assistant...... Adrienne Fouts But the unintended costs could be much worse. Our neigh- Editorial Assistant...... KaLeigh Underwood Appalachian Voices and our partners are determined to Graphic Designer...... Maggie Sherwood bors would see pipeline easements forced upon their properties Graphic Designer...... Jimmy Davidson fight for a clean energy economy. We are committed to push- through eminent domain. Ecosystems would be starkly frag- ing our elected officials, regulators and energy companies to DISTRIBUTION VOLUNTEERS: Another Season Honey mented, and construction could severely damage stream water make massive investments in sustainable resources, rather Farm, Alison Auciello, Karen Austin-Clayton, Debbie Bahr, quality, private drinking wells and habitats of protected species. Becky Barlow, D’Arcy Batson, Shawn Becker, Bob Belton, than in another fossil fuel. The costs are not just borne by locals. All Americans Charlie Bowles, Lynn Brammer, Ben Bristoll, Steve Brooks, Teri Stand with us. Tell your elected officials and your energy Brown, Christa Brusen, Bill Bunch, Derek Burke, Rob Campbell, would pay for these pipelines as permanent tree removals providers that you want investments in wind, solar and energy Sarah Caskey, Charlie Chakales, Shay and Kim Clanton, Cara destroy treasured views. And citizens of every nation would Cooper, Dave Cooper, George Cortesi, Carly Crickenberger, efficiency. Tell them you want the clean air, land, water and jobs pay, as the combined life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of Darlene Cunningham, John David, Sister Beth Davies, that they bring. Our voices can be heard well beyond the voting Deborah Deatherage, Clint Dye, Bill Elliott, Jakob Elliott, Nels these two pipelines would be roughly equivalent to building booth in November. We look forward to hearing yours. Erickson, Frank Frey, Joe Geiger, Dave Gilliam, Scott Goebel, 46 new coal-fired power plants. Lisa Goodpaster, Bruce Gould, Janet Hagy, Bill Harris, Jackie For our communities, Havenaar, Susan Hazlewood, Sharon Helt, Tim Huntley, Mary So we are at a crossroads. Studies show that our region & K., Dennis Keeney, Allison Keith, Frances Lamberts, Carissa doesn’t need the additional infrastructure to supply our elec- Peter Lara Lenfert, Susan Lewis, Loy Lilley, Joy Lourie, Diane Lucas, Gail tricity and that the industry is overbuilding. Wind and energy Marney, Kate McClory, Kim McClure, Rich McDonough, Mike McKinney, Linda Meyer, Steve Moeller, Nick Mullins, Catherine efficiency are the cheapest energy resources, while the cost Murray, Don O’Dell, Rob Osborne, Adam Pendlebury, Tessa of solar installations has dropped over 60 percent the last 10 Perkins, Rick Phelps, Patti Phelps, Stephanie Pistello, Chase years. We can protect both our natural heritage and our wal- Pugh, Bronwyn Reece, Carol Rollman, Kristin Rouse, Jenny lets by demanding clean energy and robust energy efficiency Rytel, Debbie Samuels, Steve Scarborough, Gerry and Joe Peter Anderson Lara Mack Scardo, Frank Schaller, Susie Seiler, Kathy Selvage, Brenda VA Program Manager VA Field Organizer Sigmon, Janeen Solberg, Lucy Spencer, Jennifer Stertzer, Andrew Tarley, Robert Thompson, Derrick Von Kundra, Bill Wasserman, Dean Whitworth, Barbara Williamson, Diana Withen, Gabrielle Zeiger, Ray Zimmerman GET INVOLVED environmental & cultural events About the Cover Annual Spring Nature Festival with trivia and games. Birthday cake included! See more at appvoices.org/calendar April 21-23: Enjoy a weekend of seminars Free. Matewan, W.Va. Call (304) 546-8473 or and guided walks that highlight the wonders visit wvminewars.com com/swva-econ-forum of natural history. Warriors’ Path State Park. People’s Climate March Appalachian Trail Days Kingsport, Tenn. Call (423) 239-8531 or visit April 29: March for climate, jobs and justice! May 19-21: Celebrate the Appalachian Trail tinyurl.com/warriors-path-nature-festival And if you can’t get to the nation’s capital, find and its hikers with a parade, festivities and Boone in Blossom a march near you. Free. Washington, D.C., and food. And stop by the Appalachian Voices April 21-23: This festival includes live music, across the country. Visit peoplesclimate.org table! Damascus, Va. Free. Call (276) 475- 3831 or visit traildays.us workshops on healthful living, yoga and more! Black Mountain $40-60. Butler, Tenn. Visit gatiproductions. Wildflower Weekend Friends of the WNC Fundraiser com/boone-in-blossom.html May 5-7: Join the Pine Mountain Settlement May 25: Event includes a film screening, silent Earth Day School to celebrate the rare wildflowers of auction, meet-and-greet with nature center April 22: Look for events near you to celebrate Black Mountain. $125-225. Pine Mountain, Ky. animals and more. Asheville, N.C. $25. (828) our planet, or join the March for Science in Wash- Call (606) 558-3571 or visit pinemountainsettle- 259-8092 or visit wildwnc.org/event/wild-on-film During a late spring 2015 hike along a portion ington, D.C. or one of many regional marches. mentschool.com/events.php Mountain Music Festival of the Appalachian Trail at Roan Mountain State Visit marchforscience.com SWVA Solar Fair June 1-3: Combine outdoor adventures in the Park, D. Rex Miller came across this flame azalea Outdoor Expo May 9: Join the Solar Working Group of South- New River Gorge — like whitewater rafting and blooming beside the trail. April 22: Spend the day exploring the abundance for hands-on projects, presenta- mountain biking — with a weekend of live music. “Via section hikes, I have walked the southernmost of outdoor recreational activities available in tions, music and more! Read more on page Minden, W.Va. $85 for advance single-day tick- 800 miles of the AT, and this view of the trail winding Southwest Virginia. Free. Radford, Va. Call 540- 26. Free. Wise, Va. Call (276) 679-1691 or visit ets, weekend passes vary. Call (877) 382-5893 through Engine Gap and over Round Bald brought 639-9313 or visit swvaoutdoorexpo.com swvasolar.org/solar-fair or visit mountainmusicfestwv.com back pleasant memories,” he says. “The trail always Mother Jones Birthday Party SWVA Economic Forum Seedtime on the Cumberland offers natural beauty, quiet introspection, the sense April 29: Join the West Virginia Mine Wars Muse- May 10: Come learn how your business, or- June 2-3: This festival of traditional mountain mu- of accomplishment at completion of a hike — and um in celebrating Mother Jones’ 180th birthday! ganization or community can help revitalize sic and arts features live performances, dances, innumerable photographic opportunities.” Explore the prominent labor organizer’s legacy the economy of Southwest Virginia. $25-35. film screenings, art and more. Whitesburg, y.K View more of his word at drexmillerphotography.com Wise, Va. Call (276) 679-1691 or visit tinyurl. Call (606) 633-0108 or visit seedtimefestival.org Environmental News From Around the Region Study Reveals Threats to Southeast Watauga County Launches Seed Library By Adrienne Fouts to share in the library. Freshwater Biodiversity Following the example of other Dave Walker of Blue Ridge Women By Adrienne Fouts threatened the region’s watersheds. seed libraries in Appalachia such as in Agriculture says the Watauga Seed those in Berea, Ky., and Abingdon, Va., Library is a place to preserve heirloom A new study released by the Tennes- Freshwater aquatic animals outside the the Watauga County Public Library fruits and vegetables that have adapted see Aquarium Conservation Institute and Southeast receive approximately 35 to 52 times more federal funding per species and Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture to the Appalachian region, as well as the University of River Basin Cen- than those in the region, according to the launched the Watauga Seed Library in the stories and recipes associated with ter documents the diversity of freshwater study. In addition, there is comparatively Boone, N.C., on April 1. them that have been passed down life in the Southeast and the importance of little federally protected land in the Seed libraries offer community through generations. improving the region’s watersheds. Southeast — only about 3.5 percent of members the chance to receive free seeds “We want to introduce people to new The lakes, rivers and streams of the study’s focus area. to grow in their personal or community plant varieties that have developed in the southeastern are a gardens. The Watauga Seed Library will our area and to give a cultural context,” “hotspot for freshwater biodiversity,” Researchers identified the highest- offer open-pollinated seeds donated by Walker says. “Food and place are really according to the December study. They priority watersheds in the region based companies and by dedicated “seed-sav- connected. A seed library is a physical contain almost two-thirds of the nation’s on the number of species they contained, ers,” who save seeds from their gardens space that can bring a lot of things to- fish species, over 90 percent of the na- the animals’ conservation status and how gether: the seeds, the people, the stories.” tion’s types of mussels and nearly half widespread they were. Watersheds in of the world’s crayfish species. northern and middle to lower DuPont to Pay $671 Million in However, human development and were determined to be the most insufficient conservation efforts have vulnerable. The study also proposed in- Chemical Leak Settlement creased overall funding for conservation. By Adrienne Fouts supplies. A panel of scientists convened by DuPont determined that the chemi- DuPont and its spin-off The Che- Judge Rules in Favor of Nuclear Waste Shipments cal was linked to six diseases: kidney mours Company agreed in February and testicular cancer, ulcerative colitis, By Carl Blankenship The decision to eliminate outside to pay $671 million to settle thousands evidence prevented the environmental thyroid disease, pregnancy-induced In February, a federal judge ruled of lawsuits regarding the leak of a toxic groups from using statements from hypertension and high cholesterol. against a lawsuit filed by a coalition of en- chemical used to make Teflon from their scientific experts on the issue. Both DuPont and Chemours denied vironmental organizations attempting to plant in Parkersburg, W.Va. The groups filed the suit in August any wrongdoing, saying in a statement prevent liquid nuclear waste from being Around 3,550 personal injury of 2016 arguing that the Department of that DuPont had not used C-8 at the shipped from Canada to South Carolina. claims were filed beginning in 2001 after Energy should produce an additional plant in over a decade. The class-action Carolina Public Press reported that the leak of perfluorooctanoic acid, also Environmental Impact Statement. The lawsuit included citizens in the Park- the route for the shipments is unknown called PFOA or C-8, allegedly contami- plaintiffs wanted the project to be halted ersburg area and surrounding water and will remain secret as part of federal nated the Ohio River and local water until the statement was produced. d i s t r i c t s a ff e c t e d b y t h e l e a k . policy on nuclear waste shipments. Nature, a weekly international In the opinion, Judge Tanya Chut- science journal, reported the facility Trout Delivered to Gatlinburg After Wildfires kan struck down the environmental originating the waste was responsible In early March, the Tennessee Wildlife fires in East Tennessee, about 30,000 fish groups’ attempts to submit evidence Resource Agency stocked streams in the were killed at Gatlinburg’s fish hatchery and for a large portion of the production and instead relied on the court’s ex- Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge area with roughly trout raceways, where fingerling fish are of a tracer used in medical scans. The perts, saying there appeared to be dif- 3,000 trout from a Middle Tennessee hatchery. raised until they can be placed in nearby facility shut down at the end of 2016. fering opinions from specialists. During the devastating fall 2016 wild- streams. — Molly Moore Annaliese From Off a novel

A story of love and greed set in the north Georgia mountains in 1900 as lumbermen raced to scrape the last virgin timber off the hillsides. Gold on a stump, they called the forests. Annaliese called them cathedrals.

Available in digital and printed formats at www.amazon.com

Author available for in-person presentations to book clubs. Contact: www.lindycarterauthor.com

April/May 2017 | The Appalachian Voice | Page 3 Environmental News From Around the Region Tennessee Advances Partial Privatization Southwest Virginia Residents of Fall Creek Falls State Park By Molly Moore putting lipstick on a pig, because out- Hold Healthcare Forum sourcing and privatizing our state parks The state of Tennessee is moving By Melody Reeves and Chuck Shuford proposals on Medicare, black lung ben- are absolutely unacceptable.” efits and rural health care. Based on a forward with plans to privatize the “From 2001 to 2008, medical ex- Officials at the Tennessee Depart- 2016 bill to repeal and replace the ACA, facilities at Fall Creek Falls State Park. penses were the leading cause of ment of Environment and Conserva- nonprofit think tank the Urban Institute The plan calls for demolishing and bankruptcies in the U.S., and health tion support privatization, pointing to determined that an estimated 685,000 rebuilding the inn, conference center insurance premiums for family policies falling occupancy rates and the need Virginians would have lost insurance and dining amenities. A private com- increased by 78 percent while the cost of for improvements at the facility. The coverage by 2019. pany would also eventually operate the living rose 17 percent,” began Dr. Ray- Tennessee State Employees Association, Following the presentations, au- park’s cabins and golf course. mond Feierabend, professor emeritus at one of the opponents of the plan, has dience members gave testimony and The privatization process was put the James H. Quillen College of Medi- suggested using state funds to renovate asked questions. A retired coal miner on hold in early March, and as of press cine at East Tennessee State University. the facilities instead of selling them. with black lung disease stated that while time the state had not reopened the Feierabend was speaking at an edu- Park employees and local officials have not perfect, the ACA offered the best bidding process. During a State Build- cational forum Feb. 22 on the potential also expressed concerns about how out- hope so far for those seeking black lung ing Commission meeting on March 23, impact of repealing the Affordable Care sourcing and layoffs at the park would benefits. Under the ACA, it is easier for the commission was given more control Act, also known as Obamacare. affect the area’s rural economy. coal miners who have spent at least 15 over demolition and construction of Over 130 residents from Southwest Fall Creek Falls State Park, situated years working in the coal industry to get park buildings to address some of the Virginia attended the public forum at on the Upper Cumberland Plateau, is those benefits than it was before the law. concerns about the plan. Mountain Empire Community College Tennessee’s largest and most-visited Ron Short, a resident of Duffield, State Rep. John Ray Clemmons told in Big Stone Gap, Va. The event was state park. In addition to hiking and Va., told how his nephew, who had no the Chattanooga Times Free Press that sponsored by We Care SW Virginia, a biking, park activities include boating, health insurance, had gone to the emer- the changes didn’t go far enough. “I local group of citizens advocating for af- fishing, swimming and golf. gency room several times with severe would consider it nothing more than fordable, high quality health care for all. stomach pain and received only pain Other presenters included Jim Dau, medication. After receiving insurance Help Wanted to Find Spotted Skunk director of Virginia AARP; Beth Davies, through the ACA, his nephew went director of the Addiction Education The Department of Fish through a battery of tests that revealed and Wildlife Resources is asking com- Center in Pennington Gap, Va.; and Ste- he had cancer. “This is what people face munity members to help document a rare phen Sanders, director of Appalachian every day,” said Short. species of skunk in eastern Kentucky. Citizens’ Law Center in Whitesburg, The “spotted skunk” is a protected Ky. Together, the speakers made the We Care spokesperson Peggy species with a distinctive fur pattern, not case that universal health insurance Mathews said that the purpose of the fo- to be confused with the common striped coverage with access to affordable, rum was to help people understand how skunk. The department is asking the the ACA affects them and inspire them public to share photos and locations of comprehensive health care is a key com- spotted skunk sightings on the agency’s ponent of any economy that adequately to communicate any concerns about Facebook page. According to the de- sustains its citizens. changes to the health care law to their partment’s social media post, they have The panelists explained the impact federal senators and representatives. few documented observations and need of both the ACA and potential repeal more. — Adrienne Fouts Courtesy of KY Dept. of Fish and Wildlife Resources SWVA Solar Fair May 9, 2017 from 5-7 pm 2017 WORKSHOP SERIES David Prior Convocation Center May 6 Inspecting and Designing Photovoltaic Presentations, music, food and demos at UVa-Wise in Wise, VA Systems for Code-Compliance to grow your skills and have fun. www.swvasolar.org Plus hands-on projects, inflatables, May 12 Affordable Zero Energy Ready Homes cotton candy, and information about Stick around for the SWVA May 15-19 Introduction to Photovoltaic System the new Solarize Southwest Virginia Economic Forum at UVa-Wise Design & Construction home solar program! on May 10. More information at tinyurl.com/swva-economy June 2 Small Wind Energy Hands-on Workshop Hosted by For details, registration, & more workshops: energy.appstate.edu [email protected] 828-262-8913

Page 4 | The Appalachian Voice | April/May 2017

Remembering Carol Judy

By Willie Dodson and Bonnie Swinford others — especially young people — in the Carol Judy of Roses Creek, Tenn., passed work of building community resilience. away from cancer in the early morning hours Throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, Carol traveled internationally as part of the Rural of Feb. 24, 2017. She died at home, surround- Development Leadership Network, the Na ed by the love of family and friends. - I’ve always been fond of explaining to tional Congress of Neighborhood Women folks who Carol Judy was by simply stating and numerous other projects lifting up rural her email address, emphasizing every word women and other disenfranchised popula- in it: Forest Granny (at) Rise Up (.net). Carol tions. During the same time, she organized Judy was an activist, an agitator, an educator locally in Claiborne County, Tenn., with the and an organizer. Woodland Community Land Trust and the Carol was also a root digger, carefully Clearfork Community Institute. tending scattered patches of ginseng and other Over the past decade, Carol medicinal herbs along the densely wooded worked closely with Mountain Justice and other anti-mountaintop hollers and hillsides surrounding her Tennes- removal coal mining organizations see home. Carol practiced and taught a slow, in the region. She was a treasured patient, stewardship-based approach to forag- and revered elder to a generation ing and cultivating wild and wild-simulated of young organizers, herbalists and medicinals. She taught plant identification and righteous mischief-makers. forest understory stewardship and manage- ment workshops across the region. Hear Carol Judy share her Carol was a mother, a grandmother and thoughts in a video interview with a dear friend to many. She cared deeply for Felix Bivens of Empyrean Research at her people, and stayed focused on involving tinyurl.com/empyrean-caroljudy

Anything Will Give Up Its Secrets if You Love It Enough

By Chris Smith and Asa Gardner Smith We took her to the rock house waterfall and told Top, Carol Judy carries branches of flowers in Bell County, Ky. her about an elusive patch of goldenseal. On the way Photo by Joanne Golden Hill. For several years, Carol had heard stories of our back, she wandered off trail, turned around and said, family’s land in Rockcastle County, Ky. In May of 2016, Left, Carol was known for connecting with youth and building ”What about this yellowroot patch here?” Again, she strong intergenerational bonds. She stands with Asa Gardner she came for a visit. had made the invisible visible. She told us we’d better Smith during a visit to the Smith family land. Photo by Chris Smith. Along the hike down our rutted out driveway, we start harvesting that patch regularly, or it would start Right, Carol Judy and Joanne Golden Hill collect a sample of pointed out patches of lady’s slipper, bird’s foot violet, to disappear like that other one. water in eastern Kentucky to test for water quality. Photo courtesy showy orchis and hawkweed. Carol greeted them as We remember how much Carol loved the moun of Joanne Golden Hill. friends. We stopped at the cave spring for a drink and - tains and the waters, the plants, and everything that to visit the sole ginseng plant the poachers had missed A Tribute to Carol Judy the year after we left. She started exploring the forest lives here. We are so thankful for the time we had to floor. “There’s one!” she said, and cradled it like a baby learn from her how to grow that love within ourselves. by Miranda Brown bird. “Well, there’s another,” she said, as a matter of And we will never forget that day when we got to ex- This woman, Carol Judy, showed me so much fact. She kept going, counting in all about 15 plants that perience that magic of silent communion with our land, that is to be the foundation of my future, perhaps all had, until that moment, been completely invisible to us. with the life on it, and with our dear friend. of our futures. She embodied love, sincerity, presence, generosity, passion and intention. She never took me A Tribute to Carol Judy by Adam Hughes for what I projected on the surface, but called me out I’ll never forget driving to Lexington, Ky., with Carol a third of the way downstairs; she had to hustle, but of myself, reassured me of my own nature. for a public hearing on the Stream Protection Rule in Sep- progress was still slow. She started laughing, tickled Carol always called me a singer and an herbalist, tember 2015. The hearing was held in a gymnasium, and by the petty mischief of what she was doing. even when I had naught to show for it. I carry her Carol signed up to testify later than the rest of our group. The commotion alerted a security guard, who spirit and will listen for her guidance as I fulfill my By the time she was finished, we had gathered out- called on her to stop. “Just go to the bottom,” he barked. own life. Carol always probed down to the core of side to debrief. I saw her hunting for us through a win- “Come on, act your age.” Naturally, this encouraged who and what was important to me, and reminded dow, but by the time I navigated the heavy glass doors, her to climb faster, and she shot him a naughty smile me. Tonight, she reminds me again. she had already stepped on the descending escalator. when she reached the top and rejoined our group. What a blessing to have spent some time with “Carol! We’re up here!” I called. She looked back, That was one of the most wonderful things to this force of nature. Rest in peace, nestled in the love grinned, turned around, and started climbing up know about Carol Judy. She’d never act the way a that so many of us have for you, like the roots that lie against the elevator’s descent! She was already about man in uniform would demand. nestled in the soil.

Page 6 | The Appalachian Voice | April/May 2017 Naturalist’s Notebook Beaver Basics Leave it to Beavers • The largest rodents in North America, full- By Adrienne Fouts grown beavers weigh around 60 pounds. • Family size can range from two to 12 or From cutting down trees to flooding more beavers living in the same den. forests and fields, few animals are as • Beavers’ large front teeth never stop grow- influential on their surrounding envi- ing; their constant gnawing on wood wears ronment as beavers. After being trapped the teeth down and prevents them from for their fur to near-extinction in North growing too long. America by the early 1900s, beaver • In the 1950s, the Idaho Fish and Game populations were reintroduced across Commission wanted to relocate beavers the continent and are now thriving, from residential areas to the middle of a continuing their vital role in main- roadless wilderness area. So wildlife officials taining wetlands and supporting put 76 beavers into small wooden boxes, strapped them to parachutes and dropped aquatic life — while occasionally A beaver swims in Tomahawk Pond in them out of airplanes into the forest. All but being a nuisance to landowners. Virginia’s George Washington National one of the beavers survived the fall. Watch Beavers are sometimes called footage at tinyurl.com/beaversfly. Forest, above. Photo by Steven David “nature’s engineers,” and for good Johnson. At left, a beaver lodge sits in a pond reason. By building lodges and in the Laurel Fork area of Highland County, dams as their homes, they physi- Va. Photo by Al Bourgeois. because of lower population levels and cally alter the landscape to suit their naturally higher oxygen levels in the own needs, similar to humans. lower-elevation, large river systems water, according to Gangloff. Instead, Lodges serve as houses for in the Southeast, where they are they help increase fish biodiversity and beaver families and are typically more common, according to Fies. provide wetland habitat for numerous made of sticks, mud and rocks. In the Piedmont of North Carolina, other animals, including frogs, snap- at the bottom of a beaver pond grows To protect a lodge from predators, state wildlife officials have stepped ping turtles and waterfowl such as different kinds of vegetation than the beavers build dams to flood an area, up efforts to manage the beaver popula- wood ducks and herons. surrounding forest. Fies says that in the which creates a beaver pond upstream, tion after a study by Appalachian State Despite the headaches that they can national forests of western Virginia, the surrounding the lodge with water. An University biology professor Michael cause landowners and wildlife officials, U.S. Forest Service is interested in pro- underwater tunnel leads to the inside of Gangloff and one of his students found beavers play a vital role in natural ar- tecting beaver meadows because they the lodge, where dry chambers above that beaver dams were threatening an eas throughout Appalachia and North recognize the value of those habitats. the water level allow the beavers to endangered mussel species. America. With their human-like meth- Not everyone is interested in keep- safely live. As aquatic mammals, bea- “The mussels need flowing water ods of building and changing their envi- ing beavers around, however. Despite vers are adept at maneuvering in water, and high oxygen levels to survive,” ronment, it is inevitable that beaver and all the benefits that they bring to natural so beaver ponds allow them to swim to Gangloff says. “And beaver dams actu- human activity will often clash. Society areas, beavers can also cause problems nearby trees for food rather than having ally change the physical and chemical has come a long way since nearly trap- when their activities conflict with hu- to travel more slowly across dry land. properties of the water, so there is a ping beavers into extinction, however, mans. To obtain food and materials for Beaver ponds serve another vital lower oxygen concentration.” and hopefully humans will continue to lodges and dams, beavers will often cut purpose: attracting and supporting In the streams of the Appalachian work toward living in harmony with down valued trees on people’s property. u a variety of wildlife. Beavers have a Mountains, though, beavers are less these clever and industrious animals. “Other times it’s flooding issues,” large influence on other species in an likely to be a problem in the ecosystem Fies says. “Beavers are very adept at ecosystem. The freshwater wetlands changing their habitat, which is what that beavers help create and maintain makes them unique, but their dams can are among the most biologically rich in result in the flooding of farmers’ fields the world, especially in the southeastern and state roads.” United States, and can support many Most states in Appalachia have a threatened or endangered species of beaver trapping season between No- fish, crayfish and other aquatic life. vember and the end of March, varying Even dried ponds, called beaver slightly from state to state. In some meadows, provide a habitat for plants cases, landowners are permitted to trap and wildlife long after the beavers or hunt beavers year-round if they are have abandoned the area, according causing issues on their property. to Michael Fies of the Virginia Depart- Beavers cause fewer harmful side ment of Game and Inland Fisheries. effects in the mountains than they do in The nutrient-rich soil that was once

April/May 2017 | The Appalachian Voice | Page 7 Following the White Blaze Nearly 70 years after the first thru-hike, more hikers than ever are traveling the Appalachian Trail

Top, a stunning sunset over the Great By Lorelei Goff palachian Trail Conservancy, Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. Photo by Jonathan Riley, courtesy of The year was 1948. Earl Shaffer, a a nonprofit organization the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. young WWII veteran from , that protects and maintains put on his worn boots, packed his U.S. the trail, estimates the total Participants in a Leave No Trace Army issue rucksack, and set off alone for number of visitors to the trail Master Educator Course, left, learn a roughly 2,000 mile journey from Georgia at 3 million annually. to care for healthy landscapes while making as little impact as possible. to Maine, hoping to walk off the depres- Benton MacKaye, a for- ester, author and conser- Photo courtesy of the Appalachian sion that had dogged him after the war. Trail Conservancy It’s been 69 years since Shaffer vationist who envisioned a the growing number of hikers made that first documented thru-hike footpath through the length and the communities along the of the Appalachian Trail. The news of the Appalachian Moun- trail have on each other. that he completed the trek earned him tain Range, first proposed The Appalachian Trail the nickname of “The Crazy One” and the Appalachian Trail in Conservancy’s Appalachian raised public awareness of the trail. He 1921. Construction began Trail Communities program later thru-hiked it two more times, first soon after and was complet- trash issues, and damage to springs, promotes sustainable economic growth in 1965 and again in 1998, on the 50th ed in 1937. The trail meanders through streams and vegetation. in towns and counties along the AT. The anniversary of his first hike. woodlands, meadows and windswept Jo Swanson and her trail partner balds, over a course that covers roughly program also aims to benefit the growing In the years since Shaffer’s hike, Bart Houck, known by their trail names 2,189 miles through 14 states with near- hiking community while protecting the the number of people attempting thru- of “Someday” and “Hillbilly Bart,” made ly 500,000 feet of elevation gains and trail as a natural and cultural resource. hikes has increased. After the release of the first thru-hike of the much younger, losses. It received the National There are currently over 40 Trail Com- the movies “Wild” and “A Walk in the partially completed Great Eastern Trail System Act’s first National Scenic Trail munities along the AT. Woods” in 2015, the number of regis- in 2013. Swanson had previously section- designation in 1968. Franklin, N.C., became the first tered thru-hikers rose dramatically from hiked the AT from north to south in 2009 Volunteers developed and, to a Appalachian Trail Community in 2010. 1,968 in 2015 to 3,133 in 2016. The Ap- and 2010. She says the AT is “over-loved” large degree, continue to maintain and that practicing Leave No Trace prin- Bill Van Horn is a member and former the trail. Managing a trail the size ciples — such as not leaving trash behind, chairperson of the Franklin Appalachian of the AT requires a network of over minimizing campfire impacts and staying Trail Community Committee. He says the 30 Appalachian Trail Clubs and half on the trail — and good hiker behavior trail and the town’s designation as a Trail a dozen Appalachian Trail Crews in can lessen the impact of high traffic on the Community bolsters the local economy. a cooperative management system trail. Swanson is particularly concerned “From about the middle of March that includes the National Park about hikers going off trail to avoid the until about the third week in April, if Service, the U.S. Forest Service, gov- long zig-zags up a mountain. you were to stand outside of Franklin ernment agencies in 14 states and “People were cutting switchbacks where the AT crosses Highway 64, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. and going straight up the mountain and you’d have 50 thru-hikers a day walk- Over-loved creating these pathways for erosion,” says ing across Highway 64,” Van Horn says. “Having 50 extra folks in town in Even with all those folks pitch- Swanson. “They think, well, it’s just me bedrooms, eating at restaurants and hit- ing in to help, maintaining a trail so it doesn’t matter if I just walk up the ting the supply stores is a good thing.” with that much traffic is a challenge mountain. But with thousands of people The committee worked with the and the growing pains are evident. out on a trail, it makes a huge difference.” local Macon County Transit to develop According to the Appalachian Trail Good Times & Good Will a twice-daily shuttle during peak thru- Conservancy, the negative impacts of Not all of the impacts from increas- hiking season that transports hikers 11 overcrowding include exceeding the ing traffic on the trail are damaging. One miles from the Highway 64 crossing to Traversing the Smoky Mountains on a thru-hike. capacity of outhouses and shelters, mutually beneficial change is the impact Photo by Kaiha Bertollini continued on next page

Page 8 | The Appalachian Voice | April/May 2017 White Blaze continued from previous page the town center. Another popular Trail Commu- nity is Damascus, Va., nicknamed “Trail Town USA” and famous for its Trail Days festival. Now in its 31st year, Trail Days brings nearly 10,000 visitors to Damascus, popu- lation 800. In turn, the town spends $11,000 per day to put on the event and brings in 50 Port-a-Johns to ac- commodate the crowd. This year’s festival will be held May 19-21. “It’s just an amazing event,” says Daniel “Spot” Codispoti, a five-time Appalachian Trail thru-hiker, smiles in The inaugural Conservation Leadership Corps crew learned how to protect the Tim Williams, chairman of the Ap- front of a hostel in Erwin, Tenn. Photo courtesy of Daniel Codispoti AT and surrounding resources. Photo courtesy of Appalachian Trail Conservancy palachian Trail Days Committee and Ga., the southern terminus. same population as the AT. Swanson thinks technology is a big vice mayor of the town. “It’s like a family Besides flip-flop itineraries, the Ap- A greater safety concern is illness. part of why thru-hiking has boomed. reunion or a homecoming.” palachian Trail Conservancy is asking According to the trail conservancy’s “It’s a lot easier for hikers to share Daniel “Spot” Codispoti has thru- hikers who are starting from Springer website, there is a higher likelihood their experiences now, sending pictures hiked the AT five times. Although he Mountain to avoid leaving on the most of being exposed to norovirus in an home, posting on social media and forgoes the shelters for the solitude of popular departure dates: April 1, March overcrowded shelter area or contract- blogs,” she says. “I think that outreach camping in his tent alone, he says he’s 1, March 15, and the Spring Equinox. ing Lyme Disease from ticks on the trail makes long-distance hiking seem noticed that the trail and shelters have The organization also offers a voluntary than being a victim of crime. achievable for a lot of people.” been crowded in recent years, detract- registration program that allows hikers Codispote says what bothers him Codispoti says one important thing ing from the wilderness experience. to plan their hike to avoid the crowds. most isn’t crime. has stayed the same: the community He plans to thru-hike it again in As the trail has become more “I guess I first noticed it in ‘11,” he of people and the good will they share 2017, and this time he’ll use a flip-flop popular over the decades, there have says. “The amount of smartphones on along the trail. strategy recommended by the trail con- been some positive impacts that only the trail and the people using the tech- “I think that’s one of the big reasons servancy to avoid crowds and reduce come with time and growth. Besides nology to hike the trail, it changes the why I go back,” he says. pressure on the trail. He’ll start his the increased number of shelters and trail in a bad way for me.” Seek and Ye Shall Find thru-hike in his home state of Pennsyl- outhouses, trail maintenance has in- “A lot of times in the past, if I came Kaiha “Wild Card Ninja” Bertolini vania and go north to Mount Katahdin, creased, including the visibility of the up to a shelter or anywhere where there found that good will, along with connec- Maine, the northern terminus of the AT. AT’s famous white blaze. was a young person sitting there, they tion and purpose, when she thru-hiked Then he’ll take a bus back to Pennsylva- “In the ‘60s and ‘70s, and even would at least say ‘Hi,’” he continues. the AT in 2016. She’d never heard of the nia and go south to Springer Mountain, the late ‘90s, I would get “You’d have a talk. Many times I’ve trail until she met a thru-hiker in Decem- lost sometimes because there come up on somebody and they have ber of 2015. She quit her job in advertis- were just no white marks in their head buried in their phone or they ing, borrowed some gear and hit the path. certain places,” says Codis- have earplugs in their ears and they just “I was at a crossroads in my life,” poti. “Now, there are white give a little wave of their hand or they she says. “I turned 30 and I was like, marks everywhere. It’s easy acknowledge your presence. They’re ‘I’m going to die one day and I don’t to follow.” not rude, but you don’t engage in any “A lot of the bogs or small conversation. That’s a disappointment.” continued on next page creeks never had bridges,” he adds. “You could almost guarantee getting wet feet 31st annual Trail Days Festival almost every day. Today, that hardly ever happens.” May 19-21, 2017 One thing that hasn’t in- creased much over the years is Damascus, Va. the crime rate on the trail. Jor- traildays.us dan Bowman, public relations media specialist with the Ap- palachian Trail Conservancy, says the number of reported A young hiker enjoys a day out on the Max Patch Loop Trail incidents are relatively low near Asheville, N.C. Photo courtesy of the Appalachian in comparison to a city of the Trail Conservancy Music, hiker parade, workshops, vendors, camping and more!

April/May 2017 | The Appalachian Voice | Page 9 Pipeline Construction Would Scar Appalachian Trail Vistas By Kevin Ridder impact statement said that the other pipeline For generations, thru- was going to contribute hikers have come from to cumulative impacts, far and wide to view the but they refuse to ana- Appalachian Trail’s grand lyze those impacts.” vistas. Many of those views, however, could be According to marred for future hikers. Downs, the planning The 300-mile Moun- process for the Moun- tain Valley Pipeline and tain Valley Pipeline’s the 600-mile Atlantic Coast proposed route through Pipeline, two proposed Virginia and West Vir- natural gas pipelines that ginia hardly followed This visual simulation of the view from Angels Rest, an overlook along the Appalachian Trail in Virginia, shows the view without (left) best practices, which are scheduled to begin and with (right) the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline. Simulation prepared by Hill Studio for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy construction later this year he said was unusual if approved, would bore says. “That would allow for all sorts of “When they were building the behavior compared to underneath the Appalachian Trail and future projects to come in and have a Appalachian Trail in the ‘20s, they lit- other large-scale energy projects he’s require temporarily clearing as much negative impact. It’s a slippery slope.” erally took a 22-mile detour to the top worked with. as a 200-foot-wide right-of-way in “There is also a suite of a dozen or of Peter’s Mountain so they could see “At no time in their analysis have some areas. more prominent vistas along the trail the vista to the west,” Johnson says. they utilized a correct centerline for The proposed routes for both 42- where [the Mountain Valley Pipeline] “If this project gets approved, you’d the trail,” Downs says, referring to the inch pipelines would also cut through would negatively affect the land- be able to see the pipeline for about path of the Appalachian Trail, which national forests. For the Federal Energy scape,” Downs continues. “It would 30 miles snaking toward you, coming regularly shifts to more sustainable and Regulatory Commission to approve affect the experience of a hike along across this wonderful view.” scenic locations. “As a result they’ve these routes, the U.S. Forest Service the Appalachian Trail for a long time.” Visual and environmental impacts got a pretty terrible route that includes would need to make fundamental Affected vistas include Angel’s like these only get worse when com- significantly avoidable impacts to the changes to each forest’s Land and Re- Rest, Dragon’s Tooth, Wilburn Valley bined with the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, Appalachian Trail. Not only is that source Management Plan. Overlook, Kelly’s Knob and the Audie Downs says. If approved, the project ridiculous, it was also completely pre- Andrew Downs, regional director Murphy Monument. would cross the Appalachian Trail near ventable. They could’ve just sat down of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Maury Johnson, a member of sev- the border of Virginia’s Augusta and with us in September like [the Federal worries this would start a nationwide eral Mountain Valley Pipeline opposi- Nelson counties. Energy Regulatory Commission] told trend of tweaking forest protection tion groups in Monroe County, W.Va., “No effective cumulative impact them to and gotten that information.” plans for every new development. whose land would be crossed by the analysis has taken into account both Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC, has not responded to a request for “Changing or undermining that pipeline, is particularly worried about of these projects in terms of the Ap- comment. u level of protection unnecessarily affects how the construction will affect Peters palachian Trail,” Downs says. “Both the entire national trail system,” Downs Mountain (read more on page 18). pipelines in their draft environmental White Blaze continued from previous page care about anything that I’m doing.’ In 2010 I was assaulted by men in the army. After that, I had a very hard time reconnecting not only with myself and my own personal strength, but also being able to see the world is still kind and good.” “I needed to know that still ex- isted,” Bertolini continues. “The Appa- lachian Trail taught me how to connect rience and some are there for a goal, like may be experiencing as it enters its with the world again.” trying to set records. I know I’m looking seventh decade, one theme remains Codispoti says most people who for peace and quiet and the experience constant. From Earl Shaffer who walked thru-hike the AT are looking for of the woods. I like the simplicity of it.” off the trauma of war as the first person something. “It’s just a simple path through the to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail, to woods and yet it does a lot of different the thousands who will set out on their The rewards of trail life include awe-inspiring “Some of them are working out is- vistas, such as this one from Mount Crawford things for different people,” he says. own treks this year, no one who makes sues or problems,” he explains. “Some in the Smoky Mountains, top. Inset, snapping u of them are just looking for a great expe- Whatever growing pains the trail the journey is ever the same again. a selfie on the trail. Photos by Kaiha Bertollini

Page 10 | The Appalachian Voice | April/May 2017 Hiking the Highlands Refuge, Restoration and Radio Silence at Laurel Fork By Chris Robey In the northwest corner of Highland County, Va., there is a secluded, stream- furrowed valley unlike anywhere else in the state. Here, clear waters amble among remnant stands of red spruce. The high- Maintaining trails along Locust Spring Run often involves pitched calls of northern saw-whet owls removing fallen trees, left. After the trail work is complete, above, echo among the restless boughs, while the path is again clear for hikers. Photos by Lauren D’Amato snowshoe hares duck in and out of the understory and northern flying squirrels it so happens, sits smack in the center PIPELINE” posted by the roadside. At for a mile and a half through stands of den in the old cavities left by wayward of this zone. Wifi and radio use in the one point, the proposed route of the At- red spruce transitioning into red pine. woodpeckers. immediate area is restricted, and cell lantic Coast Pipeline ran just a few miles The path is easy underfoot — the old rail- Located in the Warm Springs Rang- phone towers are few and far between. south of Laurel Fork. Dominion Energy road bed is preserved in the trail’s gentle er District of the George Washington For those seeking solitude, this radio moved its proposed route even further grade. You may notice a series of ditches and Jefferson National Forest, the Lau- silence is part of the attraction, accord- south after the Forest Service issued a spaced at intervals along the trail — or, if rel Fork Special Management Area was ing to Warm Springs District Ranger letter expressing concerns over the pipe- we did our job well, you may walk right once a priority candidate for the protec- Elizabeth McNichols. “In my mind, it re- line’s potential effects on sensitive local over them without a second thought. tive status of a wilderness designation. ally enhances the experience,” she says. habitats. Despite this change, the pipeline The field crew did the majority of Resistance from local landowners, Freed from the buzzes and pings that will still cross nearly 16 miles of George our drainage work along this stretch. The however, stalled these efforts. punctuate the livestream of smartphone- Washington and Jefferson National Forest ditches are meant to divert rainwater off Despite this, Laurel Fork offers some dependent living, a hiker’s thoughts in the state, including sensitive habitats. the trail, slowing the process of erosion. of the best opportunities for solitude in may wander along with their feet. From the picnic area, the trail delves continued on page 13 the state — a quality enhanced by its Twenty-eight miles of trails wind proximity to the National Radio Astrono- among Laurel Fork’s myriad tributary my Observatory, just a crow’s flight south runs. Many follow old narrow-gauge and over the border in Green Bank, W.Va. railroad beds where, almost a century Here, astronomers utilize the world’s ago, steam engines carted men with largest fully steerable radio telescope to crosscuts and axes into the woods search for signs of extraterrestrial life. each morning and emerged laden with The popular astronomer Carl Sagan timber at day’s end. In their absence, Fine Teas • Custom Spice Blends wrote that the energy received by all the a clarifying, restorative silence reigns. radio telescopes on Earth is dwarfed by This past fall, I served as the assis- Gourmet Salts & Sugars a single snowflake striking the ground. tant leader with a trail crew for Southern To protect the radio observatory’s sensi- Appalachian Wilderness Stewards, a tive instruments from electromagnetic regional conservation nonprofit. Over interference, which could drown out nine days, five other young seasonal these impossibly faint signals, the staff and I, wielding the same hand tools Federal Communications Commission the 20th-century logging crews once established a 13,000 square-mile Na- used, removed 65 fallen trees, cleared tional Radio Quiet Zone. Laurel Fork, brush and painted blazes along eight miles of trail, dug over a dozen drainage Fresh Spices & Herbs Locust Spring Run features, and improved trail visibility Length: 7 miles (3.5 in, 3.5 out) at numerous stream crossings along a The Spice & Tea Exchange® Difficulty: Moderate 12-mile loop of trails. Though the entire 1087 Main Street, Unit 4 Directions: From the intersection of US loop is a worthwhile hike, you need only 220 and US 250, head west on US 250 for walk the 3.5-mile Locust Spring Run Blowing Rock, NC | 828-372-7070 about 23 miles, passing into West Virginia, to the junction with WV 28. Turn right and Trail to gain a sense of the area’s history. go about 6.5 miles to the Locust Springs Locust Spring Run Picnic Area sign, then turn right. Contact: Call Warm Springs Ranger On the long, windy drive out to District (540-839-2521) or visit tinyurl.com/ the trailhead at Locust Springs Day Use locustspringrun Area, you may notice signs reading “NO

April/May 2017 | The Appalachian Voice | Page 11 The Science and Synergy of Trailbuilding

By Lorelei Goff Another strategy, called Peter Barr loves his job. Who curvilinear design, creates wouldn’t love to get paid to hike? constant curves that slightly Barr is the trails and recre- change direction while fol- ational lands coordinator for the lowing the terrain of the land- Carolina Mountain Land Con- scape. By cooperating with the servancy, an organization that features of the land this way, preserves land and protects nat- water is naturally shed from ural areas from development. the trail because it prefers to He designs, builds, maintains follow a straight line. Shrimper Khare positions rocks to armor “Even if the distance is only the trail tread on CMLC’s new Weed Patch and promotes trails on the con- Mountain Trail. Photo courtesy of CMLC servancy’s land in Henderson a mile in a straight line, we’ll and Transylvania counties in often times utilize a trail that ages water and erosion, social sustain- North Carolina, as well as parts may take up to three miles to ability uses psychology — knowing and of the surrounding counties. keep that grade low enough to embracing what the user will most likely According to Barr, trailbuilding be sustainable,” Barr explains. want to do — to manage the behavior has changed significantly over “Both of these features, the roll- of trail users and protect the landscape. ing trail with grade reversals “Sometimes the trails are multi-use, the last decade or two. Stairways, when built sustainably, add to the durability and beauty and the curvilinear design, for hikers and bikers and equestrians,” Trails used to be located main- of a trail. Photo courtesy of Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy ly on old logging roads, game trails they actually make for a more says Barr. “So in the design, you want or walked-in paths that weren’t a playground or campground, because interesting and enjoyable user to give each user the experience they’re designed for heavy outdoor recreation use they’re highly engineered and there’s experience, too. When you’re kind of looking for while also maintaining the and often resulted in ecological damage. science behind them,” Barr explains. going up and down constantly, just a tiny integrity of the sustainable trail prin- little bit, and you’re curving through the Steep trails were prone to soil erosion. The Science ciples. I design mountain bike trails And hikers, bikers and horses widened forest, it appears more natural.” often times for the experience, because Barr breaks trail science down to the trail and trampled vegetation when Additionally, an almost imper- mountain bikers like a trail that’s fun to physical sustainability, social sustain- trying to avoid areas where standing wa- ceptible slope toward the outside of ride and is very dynamic.” ability and ecological sustainability. ter accumulated during wet conditions. the trail across the direction of travel “Hikers, pedestrians, are very much Physical sustainability considers how Because it’s unlikely the damage can be directs water away. Trail armoring, a destination-oriented,” he adds. “They long the trail will last and the amount of completely arrested or restored, instead of labor-intensive method to create a more want to get to the top of the mountain, maintenance it will require. Water man- repairing old trails they are often rerouted durable walking surface, uses rocks or or they want to get to the waterfall, or agement is a big concern, so Barr designs and built sustainably. hand-crushed gravel to minimize dam- they want to get to the rock outcropping slight but constant changes in elevation age in portions of trails near streams or “Trails can cost up to several hun- to see the scenic view.” into the trail. That prevents water from areas that tend to naturally hold water. dreds of thousands of dollars, and they’re Balancing the motivations of trail gathering momentum over long stretches now starting to be seen as facilities, like While physical sustainability man- users requires a bit of give and take. and washing away soil. These preservation efforts form the third trail goal, ecological sustainability. Helping Hands Trail crews behind the scenes “We’re building a trail at Young’s By Lorelei Goff mid-August, begins with two weeks of danger. Robey tells the story of getting Mountain in Rutherford County, N.C., training about tools, land stewardship caught in a sudden thunderstorm out on right now, and also another mountain The Appalachian Trail Conservancy and Leave No Trace outdoor conserva a trail. The crew ditched their tools and called Weed Patch Mountain,” says Barr. coordinates six trail crews and 31 trail - hunkered down. Robey saw a blinding “Those two trails traverse a very rocky clubs. The crews take on large-scale trail tion ethics. Robey calls it a “blitzkrieg flash of lightning and heard a whipping landscape where we know there to be rehabilitation and construction while introduction” to what seasonal trail crew sound, like something crashing through the presence of green salamanders, a trail clubs handle much of the day-to- life is like. Then the work begins. the trees above him, as lightning struck rare species. The trails visit some of the day maintenance. Other organizations “On the very first day of the hitch, about 50 feet away. rocky outcroppings to provide scenery that help maintain trails in the region you’ll backpack in four to five miles car- That didn’t stop Robey from going for the user and a view, but avoids other include the U.S. Forest Service and rying almost 100 pounds of gear on your back. He says the benefits far outweigh rock outcroppings [to protect green nonprofit groups The Wilderness Society back, in addition to tools,” Robey says. the risks. salamander habitat]. It’s a means of and the Southern Appalachian Wilder- “The work doesn’t stop until almost “At day’s end you have a real sense concentrating the impact.” ness Stewards. when you go to bed at night. It continues of what you accomplished,” he says. Chris Robey, author of the story like that for the entire hitch.” The Synergy “You can see the immediate and physi beginning on page 11, signed up as a Still, he says, it’s a lot of fun. - According to Barr, there can be SAWS crew member while he was still “You get to know each other really cal results of all the toil that you put in great synergy between trailbuilding in college. He’ll serve as a crew leader well,” he says. “You have inside jokes. that day. But more importantly, you’re and conservation, as well as good during his fourth season this year. Each You get to spend your time with very having an actual impact that’s going to science. season, which runs from mid-May to passionate people.” last long after you’ve stepped foot out Besides constructing trails on their Working on a trail crew isn’t without of that area.” continued on next page Page 12 | The Appalachian Voice | April/May 2017 Trailbuilding Laurel Fork continued from previous page continued from page 11 own property, Carolina Mountain Though structurally simple, most Land Conservancy constructs trails trail features are incredibly labor on property owned by partner intensive. Hours of struggle and organizations and agencies, and strife go into building something also on private land with public expressly intended to be invisible The SAWS trail crew working on Laurel Spring Run stand near the trailhead on the first day of the project. From trail easements. to the average hiker’s eye. Our left: Matt Baker, Lauren D’Amato, Sina Varshaneh, Chris The decision to build is usual- work should preserve the illusion Robey, Emily Rose and Kathleen Murphy. ly driven by the goal of linking two that you’re walking a path worn of smooth shale from the creek beds into or more existing trails together, by years of boot-shod feet tracing armchairs and hearths. Though it’s as or connecting a protected prop- the most pragmatic path over the land. close to a luxury suite as you’ll find in a erty in one place to a protected Eventually you will come to the in- potential wilderness area, don’t follow property in another. Making it Volunteer Bob Carlson helps Carolina Mountain tersection of Locust Spring Run and Buck their example by stacking more — the happen requires cooperation among Land Conservancy clear an overgrown corridor. Run Spur. From here, the trail veers right Photo courtesy of CMLC local aquatic life will thank you for not all involved, including donors from and braids itself with the creek. As you disrupting their home. public and private sectors. Trails are tion process as well, which can involve press further, note the sudden transition While Laurel Fork’s trails were our the catalyst for that synergy. professional contractors, volunteers to northern hardwood forest, character- workplace, Slabcamp was our home. The When it became evident that a trail and the Youth Conservation Corps — a ized by the occurrence of sugar maple, stream’s gentle voice coaxed us awake route Barr was scouting would have to go program that employs 15 to 18-year-olds black cherry, yellow birch, northern red each morning and lulled us to sleep each around a cliff on private property, the con- through the U.S. Forest Service, the Na- oak, red maple and sweet birch. night. During our breaks, we’d ease back servancy sought a donation of the land tional Park Service and Fish and Wildlife The young hardwoods loom tall onto our packs and gaze up through the from the owner for an easement granting Service. Crews use machines, including and thin above you, taking on a ca- shifting boughs. In our free time, we’d a perpetual public right-of-way for the mini-excavators as small as two-and-a- thedral aspect, their long branches wander the streambeds and scramble use of that trail. The landowner saw the half-feet wide, and hand tools. supporting the canopy like flying but- up the cobbled slopes, suddenly kids value of a publicly accessible trail on the “Sometimes that’s entirely by tresses. It is shadier, more subdued. again. Some nights, we lounged around already conserved land and agreed. machine,” Barr says. “Sometimes Rusted engine parts, twisted railroad a roaring fire and read Game of Thrones “Conservation will support trails that’s entirely by hand. Sometimes it’s ties, bent wheels and axles jut from the and poems by Wendell Berry aloud to ... and [a trail] also makes conservation a combination, where we’ll have the ferns and moss, artifacts of bygone log- one another. Other nights, we swapped more attractive to funders,” says Barr. mini-excavator do the digging, heavy ging days. Reckless logging radically ghost stories or, content after a long day’s “If we’re protecting a piece of land and lifting and moving of rock, but then altered the forests here. These northern work, sat silent and reflective, gazing up we let the funders know that it’s likely we’ll have a hand crew come behind to hardwoods dominate where red spruce at the star-studded night sky. to have a public access and trails com- finish the trail by compacting the tread, once stood, suggesting periods of un- ponent, that particular land protection cutting the vegetation, cutting the roots, checked wildfires and erosion following Just a ways south, over the next few project becomes more attractive and outsloping the trail, and getting it to the the turn-of-the-century timber frenzy. ridges, astronomers confronted the roar- ing silence of deep space, hoping for a sign more desirable to fund. On the flip side, point that a user could walk on it.” Rhododendron grows thick near Lo- that we’re not alone in the void. land with trails on them have a greater However serene and carefree the cust Spring Run’s terminus. If you plan At Laurel Fork, the silence presses sense of urgency to protect the land sur- trail experience may feel, creating those to stay the night, there are a number of close like a soft blanket. Those looking rounding that public access.“ simple paths through the woods is more campsites right along Laurel Fork. The outward may cast their hopes with the Synergy is vital in the construc- complex than meets the eye. u namesake of the largest, most popular scientists at the radio astronomy observa- campsite, Slabcamp, is immediately tory. Here, one comes to look inward. u clear. Past pilgrims have stacked slabs BUILDING BETTER SPONSORED BY An Adverse Climate for Energy Efficiency

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April/May 2017 | The Appalachian Voice | Page 13 The Problems with Pipelines

he proposed Atlantic Coast and Mountain mission is reviewing applications for both eminent domain authority. An approval can WB XPress project would expand existing Pipeline Stories: Valley pipelines loom large in the minds projects and has released its draft environ- be challenged in court, but it might not halt pipelines in both Virginia and West Virginia, Tof many residents of Appalachia. Beginning mental impact studies. The public comment construction from moving forward. and the list goes on. Who Profits from Pipelines..... 16 in Harrison County, W.Va., the Atlantic Coast period for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline was These pipelines are two among many new This map shows a selection of the types Pipelines Spark Safety Concerns..... 17 Pipeline would span nearly 600 miles, through scheduled to end April 6. The public com- projects or expansions of existing pipelines of sites that would be affected if the Mountain In the Pipelines’ Path..... 18 West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina. ment period for the Mountain Valley Pipeline that are racing to the Appalachian Basin to Valley and Atlantic Coast Pipelines are ap- The Mountain Valley Pipeline begins ended in December 2016 and the agency’s carry fracked natural gas from the Marcellus proved by FERC and constructed. Destruction Active Resistance..... 19 one county to the north, in Wetzel County, final environmental impact statement could and Utica shale formations to market. The of forested areas and personal property and W.Va., and meanders across West Virginia into be released any day. Thirty days after the final Atlantic Sunrise Project is slated to reverse risks to water, air and safety would follow the The proposed path of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline is “Homeland Security says things like police barracks Virginia, where it connects with the Transcon- environmental impact statement is released, the flow of the Transco Pipeline, which now routes of all the proposed pipelines coming marked in orange above, with yellow lines indicating the and the pump station can’t be within the evacuation zone, tinental Pipeline, also known as Transco, in FERC can approve or deny the pipeline devel- runs from Texas to City, so that out of the Appalachian Basin. survey corridor. Buckhannon-Upshur High School sits to which is 2 miles,” says Kevin Campbell, a retired local the east — the center of the high school is 2200 feet from firefighter and EMT. Campbell says the state and local au- Pittsylvania County, Va. oper’s application. If approved, the developer Appalachian gas could flow south for export, Read more about these and other pro- the pipeline, within the evacuation zone. thorities “just make the assumption that Dominion knows The Federal Energy Regulatory Com- must get water and air permits, but is granted and add additional pipe to the system. The posed gas pipelines on the following pages. In the event of an explosion, April Pierson-Keating of what they’re doing.” Mountain Lakes Preservation Alliance says, “The traffic would “So the citizens have got to question everything. And be probably blocked and the kids in the high school would the citizens gotta make enough noise that people take be blocked inside with no way out, because there’s only one notice and do something. So far we’ve gotten them to take

!! road in and out.” a little bit of notice but nobody’s doing anything.” !! ! Clarksburg A state police barracks also sit between the pipeline

!! !! Screenshot of Dominion Atlantic Coast ArcGIS interactive

!!! !! and the high school. To the south, the pipeline would also

!! !! map, reference zone 28-29. View the map at tinyurl.com/ !! pass by the booster pump for the municipal water system

According to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commis- !! !! ! Elkins dom-acp-interactive Proposed Mountain !! !! !! that supplies area towns and firefighters.

sion’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement, the Mountain !! Valley Pipeline !! !!

!!!!

Valley Pipeline “would permanently impact about 886 acres !! !!

!! !! of contiguous interior forest” in West Virginia and 359 acres !! !!

!! !! At Whispering Creek Farm in pastoral Buck- of contiguous interior forest in Virginia. Charleston ^ !! !!

! !! !!!!!! ingham County, Va., Carlos Arostegui grazes 36

Many of the plants and animals that depend on the Staunton!! !! Summersville !! ! Jersey dairy cows on 134 acres. If constructed,

forest would be impacted by the pipeline’s construction and !! !! Existing

Charlottesville!! ! the Atlantic Coast Pipeline would cut through his !! !!

presence. “Species that require large tracts of unbroken !! Transcontinental

!! !! back pasture on its way to a proposed compressor

forest land would need to seek suitable habitat elsewhere,” !! ! Lewisburg Pipeline

!! !! station roughly a mile from his home. Compres-

states the FERC document. !! !! ! sor stations emit a host of air pollutants and are

The draft statement also concluded that the proposed !! Lynchburg !! ^ Richmond

!! !! linked to health problems. The 53,784-horsepower

!! !

pipeline would likely have an adverse affect on three en- !! !! !!

!! ! !! ! Farmville !! Buckingham compressor station would connect

Roanoke !! Proposed Atlantic dangered species: the Indiana and Northern long-eared !!

!! the ACP to the Transco Pipeline. ! !!

Christiansburg !! !!

!! Coast Pipeline

bats and the Roanoke logperch fish. !!

!! Arostegui was born in Cuba and lived in five

!!

!! !! Norfolk

Forest photo by ForestWander.com, courtesy of Wikimedia !! U.S. states before he and his wife bought their

!!

!! ! !!

!!

!! !! !! !!

!!

!! !!

!! Emporia !! !! farm. They recently finished paying for perimeter Commons; Indiana bat photo courtesy of U.S. Fish and !!

!! ! !! !!

!! !! !!

Wildlife Service !! !! fencing, but the pipeline right-of-way would cut

!!

!!

!!! !!

!! !!

!! !! through the pasture. “It wasn’t until I came here

!!

!!

!! that I felt like I’m not passing through anymore,” he

!!

!! says. “I’m home. So I’m going to fight to keep it.”

! !!

Winston-Salem ! !!

!! Greensboro

!! Photo by Molly Moore

!! ! Rocky Mount

!!

!!

Hickory ! !! Raleigh ^

!!

!!

!!

!!

!!

!!

!! Goldsboro Beginning on March 4, dozens of community

!! !

!!

!! !! members began a two-week walk following the 205-

!! !! ! Charlotte !! mile route of the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline

Fayetteville ! !! across Eastern North Carolina. The pipeline ends in

!!

Map sources: USGS, USFS, and ESRI Map produced in ArcGIS by !! one of the state’s poorest counties, Robeson. Ashton Johnston, page design by Maggie Sherwood !! Robeson County is also home to many of the ! Lumberton Lumbee Tribe, a Native American population that has been recognized by the state since 1885, but which is still seeking federal recognition. The pipelines also threaten to damage numerous cultural and historical sites The pipeline would run through historic lands Proposed Compressor Stations along their paths. Nestled in Giles County, Va., the Greater Newport Rural Historic owned by tribal members of several nations. It would District is one such site. The district contains more than 700 buildings of historical Proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline end in Pembroke, N.C., the cultural, economic, and significance documenting rural life in the late 18th through early 20th century. political center for the Lumbee. Interstates Important buildings include a cabin from the late 18th century, several homes Proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline According to U.S. Census data, 30.6 percent of the from the early 19th century and a smelting furnace dated to 1871. Rivers population of Robeson County is living in poverty. Like The proposed route of the Mountain Valley Pipeline would cross through Existing Transcontinental Pipeline so many counties along the proposed route, Robeson this and other historical districts. Appalachian Trail can ill afford the risks that come with the pipelines. Nearby Cities Photo at left by Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Above, photo Blue Ridge Parkway Photo of ACP Walk participants courtesy of NC Alliance of Greater Newport Rural Historic District courtesy of VA Dept. of Historic Resources State Capital To Protect Our People And The Places We Live (Stop Federal Lands The Pipeline) Atlantic Coast Pipeline Mountain Valley Pipeline Why the rush to build the pipelines? Length 600 miles 301 miles Who Profits from The companies Pretax return on stream Partners, which Pipelines Spark Safety Concerns Cost $5 to $5.5 billion $3.5 billion building the Atlantic investment granted by has indirect ownership the Pipelines? Total annual 67,591,816, equivalent 89,526,651, equivalent to Coast and Mountain FERC to pipeline projects of the Atlantic Coast By Dan Radmacher incidents” involving pipelines in 2016, metric tons of to 20 coal plants or 14 26 coal plants or 19 million Valley Pipelines stand up to 14% Pipeline, and EQT Mid- resulting in 16 fatalities and 80 injuries GHG emissions “The area was lit up as if it were By Elizabeth E. Payne “It comes down to what makes the million vehicles vehicles to profit from these stream Partners, a lead and resulted in $285 million in property Federal taxes owed by daylight for miles around.” most money for the companies involved, Land expected infrastructure projects. partner in the Mountain damage nationwide. That was not an Utility giants such as Dominion 4,208 acres 4,856 acres the partnerships behind “It incinerated everything in its and the regulatory system is not set to be cleared When granting per- Valley Pipeline project, unusual year. Energy and Duke Energy explain their these projects path.” up to reward Dominion and Duke for Perennial mits, the Federal En- are not required to pay Both the Pipeline and Hazardous interest in building new pipelines by “It sounded like a Boeing 757. Just a waterbodies pointing to their need for more natural efficiency savings,” says Stockman. In 676 361 ergy Regulatory Com- 0 federal taxes. Materials Safety Administration and crossed roar. It was huge. You just couldn’t hear other parts of the country, such as Mas- mission guarantees According to the industry groups say pipelines are the gas to replace retiring coal plants. anything. It was like a space flight.” sachusetts, incentives are more climate- Sources: Oil Change International reports on the greenhouse gas emissions expected from the the companies building the pipelines New York Times, Duke has paid no safest way to transport products like But one doesn’t have to scratch too “It looks like a bomb went off. As friendly. “[The regulatory system there] Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley Pipelines (Feb. 2017); Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s far beneath the surface to find another a profit by authorizing them to adjust total income tax between 2008 and 2015. natural gas. But pipeline incidents are Draft Environmental Impact Statements for the ACP (Dec. 2016) and MVP (Sept. 2016) far across my windshield as I could see doesn’t reward them for load growth their rates on transporting gas. At the Guaranteed profits and low tax rates on the rise. In an April 2016 report, the explanation. was just a massive fireball.” or increasing generation, but they are same time, the partnerships financing are just two of the benefits the tax codes Institute for Energy Economics and “The way the regulatory system As these accounts from incidents rewarded for improving efficiency.” Are these projects needed? National average is set up at the moment,” says Lorne the pipelines — such as Dominion Mid- grant companies in the energy sector. Financial Analysis found there were Even if more natural must demonstrate to the capacity utilization around the nation vividly illustrate, the Stockman, senior research analyst at Oil While the corporations stand to more incidents from pipelines built gas is needed to replace Federal Energy Regula- 54% explosion of a natural gas pipeline is an Change International, “companies are benefit from tax breaks and are assured How would pipelines affect the climate? in the 2010s than in any of the seven retiring coal-fired plants, tory Commision that they State average earth-shattering event. incentivized to build new infrastructure a profit, the environmental and safety Under the previous administration, just through its dependence on natural previous decades. They examined the as many industry experts have customers for the gas capacity utilization Flames shoot hundreds of feet up and create over-capacity.” risks of the pipelines will be absorbed the United States worked with other gas, and particularly from the boom in average annual number of incidents per argue, does that mean and thereby show a need into the air, generating intense heat and Oil Change International is a research by the communities they pass through Virginia 23% nations to set a path toward limiting production from the Marcellus and Utica 10,000 miles of gas transmission lines that we need more pipe- for the natural gas being incinerating anything — and anyone — and communications group that advo- and by everyone affected by the rapidly West Virginia 33% the severity of climate change, first in shale formations. This ominous forecast and reported that pipelines installed in line construction? shipped. For both the At- North Carolina 37% in its path. One 2012 explosion near I-77 cates for the switch to renewables while changing climate. Copenhagen and later in Paris. included the Obama administration’s the 2010s had incident rates comparable It’s hard to make that lantic Coast and Mountain in West Virginia melted the interstate. highlighting the true costs of fossil fuels. “Everyone’s vying to get their proj- The United States proposed to re- reduction in methane emissions — which to those built before 1940. case when so much ca- Valley Pipelines, the vast dence that it is doing so In 2000, a pipeline explosion in New The group has produced several recent ect in because they know the industry is duce its greenhouse gas emissions sig- Congress and President Trump have since FERC defines “high consequence pacity in existing pipe- majority of the gas will be because of the financial Mexico killed 10 campers. reports that help put the Atlantic Coast overbuilding. And everyone wants their nificantly over the coming two decades. overturned. That means that methane areas” as locations “where a gas pipe- lines is going unused. sold to subsidiaries of the advantage to the parent The Federal Energy Regulatory and Mountain Valley pipelines in context. pipeline committed as soon as possible.” Toward that end, the Obama administra- emissions from gas production are pro- line accident could do considerable Pipeline developers parent companies build- company from build- Commission dismisses citizen concerns tion issued standards that would have jected to exceed the country’s entire allot- harm to people and their property.” In ing the pipelines. ing the pipeline, but not about the potential for explosions in the Won’t the pipelines create jobs? Percentage of cut methane emissions nearly in half. ment for greenhouse gases even sooner. the draft environmental impact state- “In situations in necessarily that there is Draft Environmental Impact Statement Natural Gas to be Over a 20-year timeframe, meth- Energy needs can be met with ex- ments for both pipelines, the agency For some, the promise of new jobs numbers for operating the pipelines and which a pipeline devel- a need for the pipeline,” for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline with Sold to Subsidiaries ane is nearly 86 times more powerful isting pipelines coming out of the Ap- noted 16 “high consequence areas” for is a major selling point of the pipeline compressor stations are significantly oper contracts with an according to a recent re- this: “Because the pipeline would be as a warming agent in the atmosphere palachian Basin. But as companies rush the Mountain Valley Pipeline, and iden- projects. But any large-scale employ- lower than during the construction phase. Atlantic Coast Pipeline affiliate company to ship port by the Institute for constructed and operated in accor- than carbon dioxide. One of the major to extract more natural gas, the overall tified 51 for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, ment during construction is short-lived, Compare this with jobs in the solar 86% gas through a new pipe- Energy Economics and dance with federal regulations and sources of methane emissions is the capacity could soon be reached. Accord- but did not tally the number of people and these jobs may or may not go to sector: employment in Virginia is strong, Mountain Valley line, this is strong evi- Financial Analysis. federal oversight, we conclude that production of natural gas. ing to the study, “If no new takeaway who live in those areas. local residents who need them. North Carolina is booming and West Pipeline constructing and operating the pipe- Source: Report by Institute for Energy Economics and Financial 100% A recent study by Oil Change Inter- capacity is built, production of around For 42-inch pipelines like the Moun- Projected long-term employment Virginia has a lot of room for growth. Analysis (April 2016) line facilities would not significantly national indicates that if current projec- 116 trillion cubic feet of potential gas pro- tain Valley and Atlantic Coast pipelines, impact public safety.” tions hold true, the United States would duction from now through 2050 would FERC has calculated the “potential But despite federal regulations Jobs in Solar Energy exceed its entire greenhouse gas targets be avoided.” impact radius” or blast radius for an ac- Atlantic Coast Pipeline Jobs Mountain Valley Pipeline Jobs and oversight, pipeline explosions are cident as any location within 1,115 feet 900900 30003000 Projected U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Natural Gas anything but rare. According to the 8,000 80008,000 of a failure point. The evacuation zone vs. Obama-Era Climate Targets Pipeline Hazardous Material Safety Ad- 800800 extends 3,583 feet in any direction, for 7,000 70007,000 ministration, there were 301 “significant 25002500 9 a total diameter of 1.4 miles. u 700700 GHG allotment 6,000 60006,000 surpassed 8 GHG allotment 600600 20002000 without methane 7 surpassed 5,000 50005,000 reductions 500500 Series4 Series2 Series2 with methane 15001500 Series1 6 reductions Jobs Jobs Jobs Series6 4,000 40004,000 400400 Series2 Series3 Series3 5 900 300300 1000Series2 1000 3,000 30003,000 Series1 Series1 4 * 900 800 200200 2,000 20002,000 3 * 500500 900 800 700 2 Methane leakage due to natural gas production 100100 1,000 10001,000 600 0 1 800 700 0 0 0 Gas combustion emissions A 11 2 2 33 4 4 55 6 6 77 88 99 1010 A 0 00 11 22 33 44 55 66 77 88 99 1010 Series4 2015 2016 0 700 600 500 Year 2015 2015 2016 2016 Billion metric tons equivalent to carbon dioxide 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 Year Year 600 500 400 Series4 Series6 Methane leakage had reductions occurred * Adjusted to also include methane emissions, not Sources: For ACP, Sept. 2014 report prepared by Chmura Economics & Analytics for Dominion Energy, Total greenhouse gas emissions* just carbon dioxide. Source: “Gas Pipeline Climate Virginia West Virginia North Carolina 500 400 300 Series4 Series6 Series2 provides annual employment averages only. For MVP, Oct. 2015 reports by FTI Consulting for EQT Corp. Obama-era U.S. emissions reduction goals* Methodology,” Fig. 6, Oil Change International, Winter 2017 and direct communication. For solar, Feb. 2017 report by The Solar Foundation, Appendix A. 200 Series6 Series2 400 300 Page 16 | The Appalachian Voice | April/May 2017 April/May 2017 | The Appalachian Voice | Page 17 300 200 100 Series2 200 100 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 100 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 In the Pipelines’ Paths Active Resistance Environmental effects of proposed Pipelines are spreading but pipelines could damage special places residents are fighting back By Elizabeth E. Payne By Dan Radmacher Deep beneath the soils of West It’s not an easy hike up to the top of Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Peters Mountain, which straddles West York — in what is known as the Appa- Virginia and Virginia. Unlike some Ap- lachian Basin — the Marcellus and Utica palachian mountains, there aren’t roads This photo was taken on Peters Mountain, close to where the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline shale formations are home to much of that can get you part of the way up. But Olson. “Now, hikers along the AT stop would cross the Appalachian Trail. A hiker standing here would see the pipeline right-of-way the natural gas reshaping the United the hike is worth it, say those who spend and ponder life. They can camp in a traversing a ridge to the left. Photo courtesy of Roanoake Appalachian Trail Club States’ energy sector. a lot of time on the mountain. meadow up there where you can see Columbia Gas pipeline is only 8 inches cross are native brook trout streams,” In order to get to market, the gas is “It is a special, beautiful transitional five or six counties in Virginia and West The Stand is a non-violent anti-pipeline in diameter and cuts over and down he says. “Native trout are a little bit like wrenched from the earth using hydraulic and a new one, the Eastern zone between Virginia and West Vir- Virginia. Instead of that, this will be a encampment in Lancaster, Penn., along Peters Mountain near Narrows. It’s a a canary in the coal mine for the moun- fracturing, or fracking, in which a brew of Panhandle Connector.” the proposed route of the Atlantic Sunrise ginia,” says Kim Kirkbride, a self-em- place to just get through. It will turn into huge scar. It’s hard imagining some- tains. If they cannot breed successfully pressurized chemicals, water and sand is Crowe’s list includes expansion project. Photo by David Jones ployed bookkeeper who lives in Giles something that’s a threat and a danger.” thing that’s almost six times that size.” in a location, that tells you there’s some- shot into the earth, cracking the bedrock seven proposed projects by Bulldozers clear land for the Stonewall Gas County, Va. “By the time you get there, The pipeline crossing will harm Gathering Pipeline, which now channels thing wrong with the water quality and so the gas can be loosened for extraction. four groups of energy part- it feels like you’re in another place, in a both views and water quality, opponents Crossing Landscapes natural gas from wellheads in West Virginia that maybe you have sediment issues.” Where fracking goes, earthquakes, ners. These projects would different realm. It makes me realize all say. “The mountain is just alive with wa- and Waterways to a larger pipeline. Photo courtesy of The Atlantic Coast Pipeline will poisoned wells and releases of the potent require at least $17 billion Mountain Lakes Preservation Alliance the things that aren’t important. It’s so ter,” says Olson, who recently found a These two major pipelines proposed also impact the James River in Virginia, greenhouse gas methane have followed. to build nearly 2,000 miles magnificently beautiful.” spring by the Appalachian Trail near the to pump natural gas from the fracking are just gonna last one year till crossing under the river near James Once collected and processed, the of pipe radiating out from Dana Olson, a physician who lives top of the mountain. The draft environ- fields of northern West Virginia and the pipeline is ran.” River State Park. Many of its tributaries natural gas is then pumped through a the Appalachian Basin. And at the base of the mountain on the mental impact statement tends to gloss southwestern Pennsylvania to the East This farmer has seen a son are also in the pipeline’s path. “Virtu- circulatory system of pipelines, begin- her list only includes those West Virginia side with his wife and over such concerns, saying Mountain Coast would be huge construction proj- move out of state and has lost ally all of the major rivers that form ning with capillary-like gathering lines pipelines West Virginia Riv- mother-in-law, agrees. “It’s incredible, Valley has planned mitigation measures ects, stretching for hundreds of miles and a daughter to cancer, which the James are affected,” says Freeman. that flow from the wellheads to collec- ers Coalition is focused on. a wonderful, magical place,” he says. such as set-backs and vegetation screens carving a swath through national forests, he believes was caused by the “We’re talking the potential for serious tion sites and ending with a network There are more. Getting to the top is a steep hike that to resolve such issues. wetlands, over and down steep ridges, chemicals used in a fracked well water quality problems.” of large arteries that channel the gas Across the state, residents Some in the state say they have takes maybe an hour. “It’s an ‘Almost “Like all of our mountains the pipe- through private property and public at- near her house. Despite this, he’s felt This is exacerbated by the karst hundreds, even thousands, of miles to are standing up to resist the expansion felt negative pressure from their com- Heaven’ kind of place, for sure.” line is proposing to cut through, Peters tractions, and across both the Blue Ridge pushback from his community for his topography in Bath, Highland, Augusta power plants and export facilities. of the pipelines. April Pierson-Keating munities for speaking out about their It’s a huge mountain for this region, Mountain is full of water and layers of Parkway and the Appalachian Trail. opposition to the pipelines. But he’s not and Pocahontas counties, according to Where pipelines go, disrupted is co-founder of Mountain Lakes Pres- concerns and now fight against the 52 miles long with elevations above rock that filter that water,” Kirkbride says. The Mountain Valley Pipeline would staying silent, and his words carry the Freeman. Karst topography is land- landscapes, explosions, spills and ero- ervation Alliance, an environmental pipelines less publically. 4,000 feet. The Appalachian Trail fol- Multiple springs bubble up out of the start in Wetzel County, W.Va., and snake weight of wisdom hard won. scape made up by limestone and other sion have followed. advocacy group that promotes clean Because of such pressure, one lows its ridgeline for several miles mountain, and one even serves as the mu- down through the Mountain State before Because of the compressor station soluble rocks, which creates a network For nearly a decade, gas extrac- water through clean energy and a just, farmer from Doddridge County, W.Va., between the Celanese Corporation’s nicipal water source for Lindside, W.Va. crossing Peters Mountain into Virginia, near his house, “when it snows, it snows of underground drainage systems and tion in the Appalachian Basin has been sustainable economy. She is also a native asked to remain anonymous for this industrial plant in Narrows, Va., and “Even if that spring isn’t right next where it would join the Transcontinental black,” he says. “It used to be a very caves. “The water recharge areas for booming. The proposed Mountain Val- West Virginian who voices her opposi- article. The Mountain Valley Pipeline the Peters Mountain Wilderness Area. to the pipeline, we don’t know how Pipeline in Pittsylvania County. pretty state.” wells and springs, including the springs ley and Atlantic Coast Pipelines in Vir- tion to the pipelines loudly. is routed through neighboring property That stretch of mountain is also everything flows in the mountain,” says The Atlantic Coast Pipeline would that form the headwaters of the James ginia, West Virginia and North Carolina Like Crowe, one of her primary on one side of his house and the Atlantic Standing Against where the Mountain Valley Pipeline Kirkbride. “It’s hard to say who’s going to start in Harrison County, W.Va., and and Cow Pasture rivers, are susceptible would become two new arteries in an concerns is water, and she’s frustrated Coast Pipeline would run nearby on the the Pipelines company wants to cross with its 42-inch suffer damage when the pipeline leaks.” wind through the state, cutting through other. And a third, the Stonewall Gas to disturbance underground,” he says. already crowded, and growing, field. that so little is being done to protect In rural South Central Pennsylva- natural gas pipeline — a possibility that Even without a leak, the pipeline the Monongahela National Forest Gathering Pipeline, has already caused “Groundwater and the water sources But up and down the Eastern Seaboard, this resource. nia, resistance efforts are focused on has many outraged. construction and maintenance will before crossing into Virginia. From damage to his property. for hundreds, maybe even thousands of community members have joined to- “West Virginia is a water-produc- the $3 billion Atlantic Sunrise project. “This pipeline will transform ‘Al- impact water quality. The pipeline will there, it would slice southeast through “When [the pipeline companies] people who depend on well and spring gether to fight against this expanding ing state. We have the headwaters of It would allow the nearly 1,800 mile most Heaven’ into ‘Almost Hell,’” says traverse the mountain’s steep slopes, Virginia before dividing, with one arm first came here a few years ago, they water will be put at risk.” fossil fuel industry. 46 rivers. And 14 states get their water Transcontinental Pipeline, which cur- and the permanent 50-foot headed to Norfolk, Va., and the other promised us they were going to build Freeman is also concerned about from us,” says Pierson-Keating. “So, rently runs from south Texas north to right-of-way will be stripped headed southwest across the North In the Belly of the Beast all new roads, all new bridges,” he says. the miles of ridgeline the pipeline will we have a duty to protect the water for New York City, to run in the other direc- of most vegetation. This will Carolina Coastal Plain. West Virginia lies at the heart of the “And they didn’t do a thing. All they run along. In order to achieve the neces- everyone downstream. And we don’t tion as well. The pipeline, also known lead to sedimentation issues, Both the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and natural gas expansion, and its residents did was just tear up everything we got. sary 125-foot construction right-of-way even take it seriously to protect the as Transco, would transport the natural according to geologist Pamela the Mountain Valley Pipeline will cross bear a heavy burden in the rush to build Just tore the roads to pieces and then on these narrow ridgelines, Freeman water for ourselves.” gas pumped from the Appalachian Ba- Dodds. She wrote a report on West Virginia’s Greenbrier River and pipelines. just went off and left them.” says that for half a mile, the pipeline The Atlantic Coast Pipeline is also sin to the Gulf, presumably for export. the problem submitted to FERC several of its tributaries. That concerns “We’re facing a lot more than just Same with the promises about jobs. company will have to cut 25 to 50 feet of slated to run right by the high school in According to Tim Spiese, a mem- by Roanoke County. Opponents many people, including Lew Freeman, the ACP and the MVP here in West “They tell you all the jobs they’re gonna elevation from the top of the mountain. Pierson-Keating’s town. She’s written ber of the community action group also worry about what the pipe- chairman and executive director of the Virginia,” says Autumn Leah Crowe, produce. But it never happens, cause “It would become a very visible scar, about it — including a letter to President Lancaster Against Pipelines, the project line will do to viewsheds. Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance, a coali- program director at West Virginia Rivers they bring men with them from out of and then there’s the challenge of what Obama — and spoken with her local will also build what Transco describes “Views of Peters Mountain tion of organizations that came together Coalition, an environmental nonprofit. state,” he says. “But the politicians will to do with all the rubble. This would officials and the media, but still the as a nearly 200-mile “shortcut” between will be affected, and views “We also have the Leach, the Rover, the to oppose the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. destroy the vistas that are so significant school lies near the path of the proposed tell you that it’s gonna make 30,000 jobs. Family photos of life on Bent Mountain include images of from Peters Mountain will be existing pipelines that “crosses every “Several of the Greenbrier River Mountaineer XPress, the WB XPress, pipeline. (See map in center spread.) But they don’t tell you that those jobs harvests and orchards. Courtesy Marie Henry affected,” says Kirkbride. “The tributaries the Atlantic Coast would continued on page 20 continued on next page Page 18 | The Appalachian Voice | April/May 2017 April/May 2017 | The Appalachian Voice | Page 19 personhoods and have more eminent domain — the taking of private members of the Lumbee Active Resistance power over the destruc- property for public use — and the de- Active Resistance tribe at the North Carolina continued from previous page tion of communities than sire to protect streams and rivers cross continued from previous page Indian Cultural Center. those communities have the party lines. (For more on the tributary that feeds the Susque- power to protect themselves “You’d be surprised how many According to the company’s web- walk, see center spread.) hanna River.” against it and protect their reclusive, right-wing, rural landown- site, NTE Energy is developing three The pipeline would On Feb. 3, the Federal En- health and safety. And that’s ers really do not like this pipeline,” he projects in Ohio, Texas and in Cleve- end in Robeson County, ergy Regulatory Commission what’s gotta change.” says. “As one of them said to me, ‘You land County, N.C., and is in earlier whose population is approved the new pipeline, now stages with two other projects — one Southern know, if caring about the wildlife and nearly 40 percent Na- many residents of Lancaster in Connecticut and this one in Rock- Exposure on fishing and hunting and the waters tive American, primari- County are preparing to take a means I’m an environmentalist, then ingham County. None of the projects ly members of the Lum- stand. the Pipelines I’m an environmentalist.’” are complete. bee tribe, according to “Our hope is that when Further south, there is Quarterman is pushing for legisla- Buck Purgason, a local resident N.C. Policy Watch, a they do start building the pipe- still more resistance to pipe- tion to better protect water resources and and member of the advocacy group news outlet of the N.C. line there will be such a huge lines carrying natural gas is pursuing penalties against pipeline Good Stewards of Rockingham, is wor- Justice Center. The outlet for the water used to cool a proposed gas-fired power plant would enter the Dan River about 250 feet groundswell of opposition to from the Appalachian Basin companies when violations are discov- ried about this plant, particularly its A Victory from upstream from the canoe access. Photo by Buck Purgason this that it’s going to create the into Georgia and . impact on the beleaguered Dan River, ered. He also advocates for divesting the Bluegrass energy we need to have indus- The Sabal Trail is a 515- from the companies that fund the pipe- which experienced a coal ash spill in there might be a little contention. tries pull away,” Spiese says. Doug Doerrfeld is one of the community members who went door-to- mile pipeline stretching from line and for expanding investments in 2014 and is now slated to provide the State But there’s no contention because “That’s our hope.” door educating residents of a neighborhood along the route of a proposed the Transco line in Alabama, solar energy and other renewables. water needed to cool the proposed Citizen resistance to a natural gas it creates no jobs for us.” natural gas liquids pipeline. Photo by Suzanne Tallichet The group has established across Georgia and down to “Solar power doesn’t use any test- gas plant. project in Kentucky led to a victory “And yet we take all the an encampment, called The the power of people coming out in mass central Florida. The $3.2 bil- ing water, doesn’t use any cooling water According to Purgason, cooling the against the industry. risks,” she adds. “No benefits, all Stand, on a piece of farmland in the numbers to help bring about an aware- lion project by Spectra Energy Partners, and also doesn’t require any eminent plant will likely require between 1.7 Since 2004, Suzanne Tallichet has the risks. And when people heard This map shows the network of pipelines existing as of path of the pipeline. About 10 people are ness and a change in how people are NextEra Energy, Inc., and Duke Energy domain,” he says. and 5 million gallons of water from the been a member of Kentuckians For The that, that did it.” currently living there, and dozens more is 78 percent complete, according to the river each day. Commonwealth, a community-based Rowan is one of six counties August 2016. The proposed pipeline projects would be thinking about what’s happening here.” Resistance in the in addition to this tangled web. Map courtesy of U.S. come out for events and training. Associated Press. “This is water for a gas-fired plant organization fighting for social justice, along the route that has passed “We’re doing this work to stop a Tarheel State Dept. of Transportation, Pipelines and Hazardous “‘Non-violent mass action’ is what pipeline,” says Clatterbuck, who has John Quarterman, the Suwannee that we don’t need,” he says. “That’s and has held several leadership posi- a resolution against the pipeline. Materials Administration we’re calling it, and we are likening it to Riverkeeper and president of the WW- Along the banks of the Dan River in the main issue for me. And we’re trying tions with the group. As of press time, the project was faced intimidation for her outspoken ence, that’s energizing,” says Tallichet. what happened in the Civil Rights era and ALS Watershed Coalition, has been Rockingham County, N.C., an unproven to get more solar, renewable, and get Three years ago, she heard about a stalled, and many residents are opposition to the project. “But I feel like Malinda Clatterbuck, who is fight- even women’s suffrage,” says Malinda pushing back against the Sabal Trail power company wants to build a natu- off fossil fuels and [leave] them in the dangerous project headed to her home breathing easier. the bigger picture here, what we’re really ing the Atlantic Sunrise pipeline in Clatterbuck, also a member of Lancaster Pipeline in southern Georgia and north- ral gas power plant. ground. And they’re building all these of Rowan County. Energy giants Mark- “I certainly hope that this pipeline fighting against, is this unjust system Pennsylvania, agrees. Against Pipelines. “We really believe that ern Florida since 2013. plants, and it’s gonna be fracked gas West and Kinder Morgan planned to stays dormant,” says Tallichet. “I mean, that has allowed corporations to become “We want to do what we can, with the only way we will stop this is through He has found that opposition to continued on next page that they’re burning.” reverse the flow of nearly 1,000 miles people talk about environmentalists be- mass numbers of people, to say ‘we in As the plans to build the plant along the Tennessee Gas Pipeline. This ing radical. That clean water and clean which flows into Bottom Creek and Bondurant and Chandler studied the community say this isn’t right,’” move forward, Purgason continues to 70-year-old pipeline was designed to air is a radical notion … What’s radical then into the Spring Hollow Reservoir, the area’s history, and Chandler became she says. “The laws are against us. Pipelines’ Paths participate in the public comment peri- carry natural gas from the Gulf region is to take an old pipeline, reverse the continued from page 18 one of the main sources of drinking friends with Jack Hale, an 85-year-old And the industry has so much power. ods, speak with the press and organize to New York City and Boston, but under flow of the material and then throw in water for Roanoke County. Chan- retired pilot whose grandfather owned And regulatory agencies are against community opposition. “It’s an uphill the new proposal it would transport the volatility [of natural gas liquids].” for this area, harming the tourist attrac- dler worries about the impact to the 200 acres along Mill Creek and Green us because they’ve been influenced by battle, but there’s a lot of people’s lives natural gas liquids from the shale fields tion and inviting serious erosion and springs from the pipeline and the ac- Hollow. They used what they’ve learned The Fight Continues industry. But we the people, who are gonna be impacted for a little bit of in Ohio towards the Gulf. sediment into nearby waters.” cess road. “Our water is your water,” to submit arguments to the Federal En- As pipeline after pipeline moves bearing the brunt of this damage, are peak power.” Natural gas liquids, such as ethane, Chandler says. ergy Regulatory Commission, which has closer to construction and completion, saying it’s not okay.’” Bent Mountain At Risk The Atlantic Coast Pipeline is also propane and butane, are marketable She and local activist Roberta permitting approval authority for the community members across the country To follow these stories, go to our Unlike Peters Mountain, Bent The Mountain Valley Pipeline’s right-of-way on Poor the focus of growing resistance to gas byproducts produced when processing “Bert” Bondurant worry about the pipelines and conducted a public com- continue to push back against them. online version at appvoices.org/thevoice Mountain, Va., is not remote or iso- Mountain would be visible from this Blue Ridge Parkway infrastructure in North Carolina. natural gas. They are used for making pipeline’s impact on Bent Moun- ment period for its Draft Environmental “Local people can make a differ- for links to each organization’s website. u lated. It’s a small community of about overlook. Photo courtesy of Roberta Bondurant Thousands of North Carolinians plastics and as heating and transportation tain’s many wetlands, including Impact Statement in late 2016. 800, scattered across an upland plateau have submitted comments against the fuels. They are also extremely flammable. would cut right across the property forested wetlands, in its path. They Olson, the Monroe County physi- bisected by U.S. Route 221. When the ACP and communities are reaching out Tallichet contacted the local news- where she and her husband make their also worry about the people. cian, doesn’t hold out much hope for Mountain Valley Pipeline shifted its to other states and one another to fight paper, The Morehead News, which ran home, and a narrow private road she Bondurant — a board member of FERC denying the project, though. route away from Floyd, Va., Bent Moun- against the pipelines. a series of articles and editorials about and others use to get to their homes POWHR (Protect Our Water, Heritage, “The public is spending thousands and tain came into its crosshairs. For two weeks in March this year, the project. She also organized with oth- would become an access road to the Rights), a grassroots coalition fight- thousands of hours reading through VOTED BEST BBQ The pipeline would come up community members walked along er community members to participate in pipeline during and after construction. ing the pipeline — has gotten to know these applications and asking questions over the steep Poor Mountain and the proposed 205-mile route across the local government and go door-to-door IN THE REGION She has even found the survey many of the elderly residents of Bent and trying to get clarifications,” he says. cut through Bent Mountain’s forests, Coastal Plain of the state traveling from in impacted neighborhoods to educate by Appalachian Voices’ staff of tasters! process upsetting. “It is an invasion of Mountain, many of whom grew up in “But FERC is funded by the people it springs, wetlands and headwaters be- the Virginia border south through the residents about the potential risks. privacy,” she says. “These surveyors the community when thriving orchards regulates, and as far as I’m concerned, fore crossing the Blue Ridge Parkway low income, minority and agricultural “I don’t know of a single person OPEN FOR LUNCHCLOSED AND MONDAYS. DINNER. don’t seem to realize they’re in some- provided its economic lifeblood. Several the gas industry is a ventriloquist and and heading south into Franklin County. communities that would be impacted who has said, ‘I don’t know what you Hwy 321 Bypass one’s home, in someone’s yard. We just of these residents have property in the FERC is Charlie McCarthy [the ventrilo- There are a lot of “No Pipeline” by the pipeline. people are worried about. There’s noth- Blowing Rock,N.C. have bigger yards around here.” pipeline’s path, Bondurant said. “Some- quist dummy]. It’s like we the people signs in yards around Bent Mountain, The “Walk To Protect Our People And ing wrong. Hey, it might create jobs,’” (828) 295-3651 Her big yard includes three springs how, they managed to go around the ex- who live nearby are just in the way. but Kathy Chandler may be one of the The Places Where We Live” culminated Tallichet says. “As a matter of fact, that’s a www.woodlandsbbq.com that flow together to join Mill Creek, pensive subdivision, though,” she says. We’re nothing but noise to them.” u most fired-up opponents. The pipeline in a spring equinox ceremony lead by huge problem, it doesn’t. If it created jobs,

Page 20 | The Appalachian Voice | April/May 2017 April/May 2017 | The Appalachian Voice | Page 21 to help us help ourselves.” White House wants to cut the Energy Uncompromising Cuts Budget Blowback Climate and Energy Department’s Advanced Research Proj- continued from previous page The Appalachian region would take a hit Appalachia’s Political Landscape in the Crosshairs ects Agency-Energy and the Office of Fossil Energy, which researches carbon if cuts to numerous national programs that benefit rural or low-income Ameri- invested more than $175 million in 662 Even many expected cuts are capture technologies — the closest cans were to go into effect. The follow- these ideas even come from? projects throughout the region. Around deeper than anticipated. It comes as no America has to anything resembling ing are just a few of the agencies and Budget Blowback $75 million of that has supported initia- surprise that a candidate who called the In February, the Heritage “clean coal.” programs not mentioned in this article White House blueprint takes aim at the environment Foundation, a think tank tives to diversify local economies that U.S. Environmental Protection Agency A week after the budget was an- that would be eliminated. have long relied on coal mining and “a disgrace” would target the agency’s and assistance to low-income Americans with close ties to the Trump nounced, 35 Senate Democrats wrote -- Corporation for Public Broadcasting, administration, put forward now hope to attract new industries. resources in addition to rolling back a letter to their colleagues calling the which supports nearly 1,500 locally By Brian Sewell the arts and sciences, including medical its own wish list for the fed- The Coalfield Development Corpo- environmental rules. But the blueprint Trump administration’s pledge to pro- owned public radio and television sta- eral budget. Both the official ration in West Virginia received a grant calls for gutting EPA funding by nearly tions nationwide. On March 15, President Donald research. Other reactions focused on the tect clean air and water “meaningless,” irony that Trump wants to eliminate blueprint and Heritage’s to scale up its workforce development one-third and eliminating approximate- considering the proposed cuts to the EPA. -- The Corporation for National and Com- Trump took the stage at a rally in Nash- munity Service, which funds AmeriCorps programs that benefit Americans in the “Blueprint for Balance” model and expand to other counties. ly 3,200 positions, making it the hardest ville, Tenn. Befitting the campaign-style “There is already bipartisan agree- and other national service initiatives. areas that helped him win the White prescribe many of the same The group Friends of Southwest Virgin- hit of any federal agency. event, he opened with familiar, crowd- ment that President Trump’s harmful -- Legal Services Corporation, which pro- cuts and provide similar ia is using commission funds to create EPA initiatives ranging from the tested applause lines. House. The budget would wipe out budget will be a nonstarter in Congress,” vides legal aid to low-income Americans. justifications for them. community access points along the New Chesapeake Bay restoration program to “It’s patriotic Americans like you decades-old anti-poverty programs and Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), who added his -- The Energy Department’s State Energy “Heritage was the num- River that will enhance the region’s the Clean Power Plan would be zeroed who make this country run, and run newer efforts to create jobs in communi- name to the letter, said in a statement. Program, which assists states in improv- ber one source,” Stephen ecotourism industry. Those projects out. Funding for the enforcement of fed- ing energy efficiency and expanding well,” the president told his support- ties that are struggling economically, like “Dead on Arrival” Moore, a Heritage Founda- and hundreds of others are projected eral environmental laws like the Clean renewable energy. ers. “All you want is a government that many in Appalachia and the Rust Belt. On the day after the blueprint’s tion economist who advised to create or retain thousands of jobs and Water Act and Clean Air Act would be In a time of historic political polar- -- The Energy Department’s Weatheriza- shows you the same loyalty in return.” tion Assistance Program, which makes rollout, the front page of West Virginia’s the Trump campaign, told leverage nearly $142 million in private reduced with the unrealistic expectation ization, the unpopularity of ideas in the The next morning, the White House grants to state and local governments to The Washington Post. “That dollars into the region’s economy. that states would pick up the slack. blueprint transcends the partisan divide. would unveil the blueprint of its pro- largest newspaper, the Charleston provide home weatherization services to was partly because there Around the same time, coal produc- According to an analysis by the Weeks before all the details were known, posed 2018 budget, giving Americans Gazette-Mail, led with the headline those in need. wasn’t a lot of time. They tion in eastern Kentucky fell to a level North Carolina Sierra Club, federal as rumors swirled about massive cuts to a first look at the administration’s pri- “Trump’s budget slams West Virginia.” -- The Department of Health and Human decided ‘we will get rid of not seen since the Great Depression, dollars pay for almost half of the state’s foreign aid and diplomacy, Sen. Lindsey orities in fiscal form. At the rally that The Roanoke Times ran an editorial Services’s Low Income Home Energy this, and get rid of that.’” Appalachian states shed thousands multi-million responsibilities under the Graham (R-S.C.) described the White Assistance Program, which helps fami- evening, in between pledges to build a titled “Trump backhands Appalachia” that reflected on the region’s support One puzzling cut in of coal mining jobs and the nation’s Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act and Safe House’s budget as “dead on arrival.” lies afford their energy bills and minor border wall and save the coal industry, energy-related home repairs. for the president and mused, “Trump the White House blueprint three largest coal companies fell into Drinking Water Act. If North Carolina According to a March poll by Trump promised that his budget would -- The Department of Treasury’s Community has an odd way of returning the favor.” that can’t be traced back to Many regional news outlets focused on how proposed budget cuts bankruptcy, largely due to the growth or any other state lost those funds, it Quinnipiac University, most Ameri- “shrink the bloated federal bureaucracy.” Development Financial Institutions Fund Although Congress controls federal any of Trump’s numerous could affect Appalachia. Photo courtesy Charleston Gazette-Mail of natural gas and the falling demand would likely weaken programs that, in cans would be fine with that — for any When the document was released, grants, which leverages private capital spending, the White House’s so-called promises is the elimination for coal globally. some cases, have also been cut by state number of reasons. Sixty-seven percent its vision of America and the role of complishments. Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) by investing in economic development “skinny budget” is the clearest picture of the Appalachian Regional Commis- Trump won 400 out of the 420 budget-makers. of respondents oppose cuts to federal in communities where it’s most needed. the federal government was hardly called the proposed cuts “draconian, congressional lawmakers have yet of sion, an economic development agency counties in which the Appalachian The EPA’s work to research and re- climate research and environmental recognizable. The “America First” careless and counterproductive.” the president’s priorities. It could have that invests in workforce training and Regional Commission operates partly spond to climate change is also targeted, programs. Nearly three-quarters of budget — as it has been coined by the “Today, nearly everyone in the re- The White House will send its been something positive for Trump to infrastructure needs like broadband. on the promise that he’ll “bring the coal as is the climate-related work of other those polled are “somewhat concerned” White House — would offset a $54 bil- gion has access to clean water and sewer, full 2018 budget to Congress later this stump on. But a few days after the Nash- The Heritage blueprint also calls for do- industry back 100 percent,” which poli- agencies including the U.S. Department or “very concerned” about climate lion boost to the military and national the workforce is diversifying, educa- spring. In the meantime, Congress must ville event, when the president held an ing away with it. While the White House cymakers and energy experts accept is an of Energy, the National Oceanic and At- change and 59 percent say the United security by cutting the same amount tional opportunities are improving and address federal spending for the rest of almost identical rally in Louisville, Ky., does not explain why the commission impossibility. The president’s congres- mospheric Administration and NASA. States should do more to address it. from domestic, non-defense spending. rural technology is finally advancing to this year before the current resolution he decided not to mention it. is on the chopping block, the Heritage sional counterparts are ready for him to When asked about the reason for those “When it comes to cutting Public Nearly 20 agencies and dozens of pro- 21st-century standards,” Rogers said in to continue funding the government expand on his message to Appalachia. cuts during a White House press brief- TV, the arts, after school programs Foundation describes it as “duplicative a statement. “But there is more work to expires on April 28. But, when it comes grams would be axed altogether. Appalachia Loses Out and scientific research to improve the carve out” that “diverts federal funding “It’s true that the president won his ing, Office of Management and Budget to Trump’s brazen approach, the White Responses flooded in from politi- Some of the blueprint’s uncom- be done in these communities.” to projects of questionable merit.” election in rural country,” Rep. Rogers Director Mick Mulvaney said “we con- environment, it’s a stern ‘hands off’ cians and advocacy groups of every Since October 2015 alone, the Ap- House’s budget office Director Mick promising cuts to programs in rural told Reuters. “I would really like to see sider that to be a waste of your money.” from voters,” said Tim Malloy, assistant Members of Congress were quick palachian Regional Commission has Mulvaney says “folks who voted for stripe. Some criticized the administra- areas raised the question: where did director of the Quinnipiac University to defend the commission and its ac- him climb aboard [the Appalachian In another ironic twist related to the president are getting exactly what tion’s disregard for public support of continued on next page Poll, in a release announcing the results. Regional Commission] vehicle as a way the coal industry and its future, the they voted for.” u Offers a diverse mix of music & informative programming for the heart of Appalachia. 115TH CONGRESS: Below are recent congressional bills and amendments on envi- Kentucky Tennessee North Carolina Virginia West Virginia ronmental issues and how central and southern Appalachian representatives voted. To he tain see other recent votes, or for congressional representatives outside of the five-state area, Music m t Moun s =pro-environment vote =anti-environment vote =no vote fro visit congress.gov. ✗ O

HOUSE T. Massie H. Rogers A. Barr RoeP. J. Duncan Fleischman S. Desjarlais V. Foxx McHenryP. M. Meadows T. Garrett B. Goodlatte M. Griffith D. McKinley A. Mooney E. Jenkins (R) KY-04 (R) KY-05 (R) KY-06 (R) TN-01 (R) TN-02 (R) TN-03 (R) TN-04 (R) NC-05 (R) NC-10 (R) NC-11 (R) VA-05 (R) VA-06 (R) VA-09 (R) WV-01 (R) WV-02 (R) WV-03

H.J. Res. 69 nullifies a Dept. of Interior rule relating to restrictions on the non-subsistence take of wildlife in National Wildlife Refuges in Alaska, such as a rule against killing hibernat- ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ing bears, and prevents similar rules in the future. 225 AYES 193 NOES 12 NV PASSED H.R. 1009, the OIRA Insight, Reform, and Accountability Act, expands the powers of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, which is housed within the Executive ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ free wireless internet Office of the President, granting OIRA the ability to review regulations from independent ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ Locally roasted Fair Trade federal agencies. 241 AYES 184 NOES 4 NV PASSED frappes & fruit smoothies homemade pastries & desserts Coffee & Espresso SENATE M. McConnell (R) R. Paul (R) L. Alexander (R) B. Corker (R) R. Burr (R) T. Tillis (R) T. Kaine (D) M. Warner (D) J. Manchin (D) S. M. Capito (R) H.J. Res. 69 nullifies a Dept. of Interior rule relating to restrictions on the non-subsistence LISTENER -SUPPORTED RADIO WWW.WMMTFM.ORG 221 w. state street black mountain, nc 828.669.0999 www.dripolator.com take of wildlife in National Wildlife Refuges in Alaska, such as a rule against killing hiber- ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ Page 22 | The Appalachian Voice | April/May 2017 nating bears, and prevents similar rules in the future. 52 AYES 47 NOES 1 NV PASSED the ENERGY REPORT the ENERGY REPORT Coal Ash Storage and Cleanup Problems Continue Across the Southeast Reversing Climate Change Policies VA County Bans Fracking, Close Behind By Elizabeth E. Payne originated from the Belews Creek coal ash Possum Point Power Station support the In Kentucky, a rule that would re- By Elizabeth E. Payne try, not the unenforced regulation, has In February, Augusta County, Va., Further north, the state of Maryland had impoundment ponds. When bromide is moratorium, which would give regulators move most of the state’s oversight in per- led to the loss in coal jobs, according to voted six to one to become the first county all but finalized a fracking ban at press Many North Carolina residents liv- On March 28, President Trump mixed with chlorine, it creates a cancer- more time to study the situation. mitting coal ash ponds is moving forward. a number of experts such as Michael E. in the commonwealth to ban fracking. time in late March. A bill to prohibit ing near Duke Energy coal ash ponds signed an executive order reversing causing agent. The General Assembly will consider As currently written, companies would Webber, the deputy director of the En- Also known as hydraulic fracturing, fracking had passed the state House 97 to are weighing their options for getting much of the progress President Obama A bill working its way through the the governor’s amendment again in April. not need permits before building sites, ergy Institute at the University of Texas. this shale gas extraction process involves 40 with bipartisan support on March 10. access to clean drinking water. In Feb- made towards addressing the realities Virginia legislature could establish a In Georgia, residents are pushing and complaints could only be raised after Even Trump supporters doubt injecting a mixture of chemicals, sand and The following week, Maryland Gov. ruary, residents of Rowan County met of climate change. With this action, one-year moratorium on coal ash pond back against the disposal of out-of-state violations have occurred. Utility compa- how much this can help. “I really don’t water into wells at high pressure to cre- Larry Hogan, a Republican, called for a to consider both municipal water and Trump ordered the U.S. Environmental closures while other options are studied. coal ash in their landfills. But none of the nies may have influenced the changes to know how far the coal industry can be ate fissures underground. Scientists have ban. “The possible environmental risks of filtration systems for their wells. Duke is Protection Agency to abandon the Clean The original Senate Bill 1398 included the related bills before the state’s legislature the rule, according to WFPL, Louisville’s brought back,” said Robert E. Murray, linked fracking to water contamination, fracking simply outweigh any potential required by state law to provide a safe, Power Plan, reopened federal lands for moratorium, which was then removed by made it out of committee. NPR news station. chief executive of Murray Energy, after air pollution and earthquakes. benefits,” he said during a news conference. permanent solution. coal mining and eliminated the require- the House of Delegates but reinstated by Of particular concern is a plan to bury And in an Alabama victory, a landfill the signing. Virginia code allows localities to On March 27, the state Senate ap- The company is also offering resi- ment that federal agencies consider cli- an amendment by Gov. Terry McAuliffe. 10,000 tons of coal ash daily in a landfill company dropped a $30 million defama- The executive order did not com- prohibit or restrict fracking as part of their proved such a bill with a 35 to 10 vote. dents $5,000 if they promise to not sue mate impacts in their decision-making. The Virginia House also removed lan- in Wayne County. At least some of this tion suit against residents of Uniontown ment on the United States’ commitment authority to determine land use. King The ban would replace the state’s current the company in the future. Duke is also The Clean Power Plan would have guage that would have required the state ash would come from a Duke Energy who raised concerns about health prob- to the Paris climate agreement signed in George County approved restrictions on moratorium on the practice and make seeking rate hikes to transfer the cost of limited the carbon dioxide emissions Department of Environmental Quality to site in North Carolina. The company that lems that occurred one a nearby landfill August 2016. But the new steps outlined the practice in August 2016. Maryland the second state to institute a coal ash cleanup to ratepayers. permitted from coal-fired power plants. consider the findings of environmental as- operates the landfill only needs a permit began accepting coal ash. in the order made clear that the current prohibition on hydraulic fracturing. Madison and Eden, N.C., have up- But the regulation was held up in court sessments before issuing closure permits. from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers administration has abandoned efforts to graded their local water treatment facili- and never enacted. W.Va. Coal Slurry Spill Many who oppose the cap-in-place to build a rail yard large enough to accept Newsbites meet those emission reduction targets. ties because of bromide in their water that Trump was surrounded by coal closure of the ash ponds at Virginia’s this much ash before proceeding. The Paris agreement set a goal for On March 23, water and chemicals miners when he signed the order and Coal Tax Credits Vetoed in Virginia keeping the rise in global temperatures used to wash coal leaked into a tributary In late February, The Roanoke Times said the change would put miners back well below 2 degrees Celsius, the level of the Coal River in Boone County, W.Va. Mine Safety, Water Quality Targeted in W.Va. Bills reported Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe vetoed to work. at which some of the most disastrous The slurry was from an Alpha Natural By Elizabeth E. Payne through the state Senate on March 28 and a bill that would have reinstated tax credits for But increased dependence on natu- coal companies in the state. impacts of climate change would take Resources processing center. Local mu- is awaiting the governor’s signature. The ral gas and mechanization of the indus- A proposed bill, S.B. 582, would sig- McAuliffe has vetoed similar legislation for effect. nicipal water systems were temporarily current rules are based on the amount of nificantly diminish the state’s authority to the past three years. He cited research show- affected. pollution that can be allowed in a waterway regulate and enforce safety standards in coal ing that the decline of Virginia’s coal industry Solar Jobs on the Rise Photo by Erin Savage /Appalachian Voices during the lowest seven-day water flow was unaffected by state tax credits. mines. Critics say it undoes years of legisla- In 2016, a record number of jobs In Chattanooga, Tenn., EPB — a over a ten-year period. The new bill, H.B. tive progress toward protecting miners. Coal Ash Byproduct Found in Fish were created to make, sell and install municipal utility — has started con- 2506, would set levels based on average “It’s breathtaking in its scope,” Davitt A study by Duke University found elevated solar panels across the United States, struction on Solar Share, the city’s first stream flow. levels of selenium, a coal-ash byproduct, McAteer, a mine safety expert, told the according to a new report by The Solar community solar project. Customers The new regulation would allow more in fish from three North Carolina lakes. The Charleston Gazette-Mail. Foundation. There were 260,077 jobs in can buy into the project at several pollution to be permitted in waterways and lakes are still affected by coal ash waste even Among other changes, the industry- after the shutdown of the power plants that the solar industry last year, representing levels and get credit on their bill based was lobbied for by industry groups. Used, backed bill reduces the number and limits polluted them, according to a Duke University a nearly 25 percent increase from the on the energy generated by the panels. The state DEP also removed language the scope of visits by state safety inspectors, journal article. year before. Once complete, the project will provide Rare & Out from its permitting process that protected limits the ability to cite violations unless According the Solar Energy Indus- enough energy for about 200 homes. communities from noise and light pollution Coal Mines Opening of Print Books “imminent danger” can be proven and tar- try Association’s 2016 U.S. Solar Market And the N.C. Utilities Commission near compressor stations and other facilities. Bloomberg reported that a handful of Specializing in gets individual employees rather than mine new coal mines are opening amidst optimism Insight report, North Carolina nearly will hear challenges brought by solar The change was undertaken at the request Books about Black operators and companies when violations over the rising price of metallurgical coal, doubled its solar jobs in 2016, becoming developer O2 EMC alleging that Duke of the West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Mountain College are discovered. the variety used in steelmaking. Corsa Coal the No. 2 ranked solar-producing state Energy has denied them access to the Association. Corp. plans to hire 70 to 100 employees for a Another bill that changes how the West in the nation, following California. energy grid. — Elizabeth E. Payne Coal companies owned by Jim Justice, new mine in Pennsylvania, according to The Virginia Department of Environmental now the state’s governor, owe the state $4.4 Tribune-Democrat. Protection measures water pollution passed million in unpaid back taxes. N.C. Wind Farm Opens North Carolina’s first commercial-scale Retired Miners Face Possible Loss of Benefits wind farm is operational in Pasquotank and Perquimans counties. The $400 million project • Delicious Deli-Style Sandwiches In early March, more than 22,000 to delay White House nominees and was installed by Avangrid Renewables and retired miners received letters from the trigger a partial government shutdown includes 104 wind turbines, each 50 stories tall. • Homemade Soups United Mine Workers of America Health to prevent those benefits from expiring, The wind farm generates enough electricity to • Vegetarian Fare and Retirement Funds warning them according to the Charlotte Observer. In power 60,000 households. that their health benefits would expire January, Senate Majority Leader Mitch State Dept. Approves Keystone XL • And Much More! Powered at the end of April, unless lawmakers McConnell introduced a bill that would The state department issued a permit for Jean & Carl Franklin by (PV) 103 Cherry Street Solar Cells intervened. make the benefits permanent. Sen. Joe the Keystone XL pipeline project to move for- Black Mountain, NC 28711 Congress passed a four-month Manchin (D-W.Va.) has threatened to de- ward in Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. extension of benefits for retired miners lay the U.S. trade representative nominee The decision is a reversal of an Obama 240 Shadowline Drive, Boone, North Carolina (828) 669-8149 administration policy that had blocked the [email protected] in December 2016. Lawmakers represent- unless McConnell brings the bill to a vote the project. (828) 262-1250 • www.Peppers-Restaurant.com ing coal-producing states are threatening by the end of April. — Adrienne Fouts Page 24 | The Appalachian Voice | April/May 2017 April/May 2017 | The Appalachian Voice | Page 25 INSIDE APPALACHIAN VOICES About Our Program Work INSIDE APPALACHIAN VOICES About Our Program Work Appalachian Voices is committed to protecting Get Out the Sunscreen Member Spotlight the land, air and water of the central and southern Appalachian region. Our mission is to empower people to defend our region’s Solar is coming to Southwest Virginia Nature’s Stewards rich natural and cultural heritage by providing The Southwest Virginia Solar Fair nomic development, even in them with tools and strategies for successful grassroots campaigns. on May 9 in Wise, Va., will celebrate the the heart of coal country. Susan Tyree & Kent Walton upcoming solar development in South- With international com- By Molly Moore He and Susan are Organizational Staff west Virginia and bring an emerging panies eyeing Wise County for Above: The Empty Bottle String Band will also firmly opposed Executive Director ...... Tom Cormons and exciting effort full circle. Susan Tyree and Kent Walton’s solar projects, the Solar Work- perform at the Solar Fair on May 9. to the Mountain OPERATIONS & DEVELOPMENT In May 2016, at the Southwest home is nestled in Franklin County, group agrees that the region Left: Representatives of Mountain Empire Valley Pipeline and Director of Philanthropy ...... Susan Kruse Virginia Economic Forum, citizens Va., with a view of the Blue Ridge Controller ...... Maya Viknius has the potential to become Community College in Big Stone Gap discuss others like it — not and area leaders discussed how solar Mountains from one window and Operations Manager ...... Shay Boyd a solar industry hub. With the mobile solar trailer behind them known only for the climate energy could be developed locally to as SPARC-E (solar powered alternative Cahas Mountain, the county’s high- Director of Strategic Advancement ...... Brian Sewell solar now employing nearly impacts, but for the create jobs and build and retain wealth twice as many people in the clean energy). Photo by Christine Gyovai est point, from another. Development Coordinator ...... Leigh Kirchner effects they would Operations and Outreach Associate ...... Meredith Shelton in our region. U.S. as coal, oil and natural The couple share a deep and have on the land and PROGRAMS Those conversations were the gas combined, many in the and see how they work. Solarize Wise residential solarization sincere appreciation for trees, nature waterways. Director of Programs ...... Matt Wasson seeds of what has become an action region think solar development could The Empty Bottle String Band, a lo- program, a collaborative effort of the and Appalachia’s environment as a Forest fragmen- Campaign Director ...... Kate Boyle team called the Solar Workgroup of cal favorite, will be performing live and Solar Workgroup to make it cheaper whole. “Nature is not something out- be the key to revitalizing the economy tation and water qual- Ferrum, Va., where she reenacts daily Senior Legislative Representative ...... Thom Kay Southwest Virginia. Co-convened by amplified by solar power. For the kids, and easier for homeowners, small side of us, we are nature,” Kent says. with high-paying local job opportunities. ity are among Susan’s top concerns. life on an 1800s farm and teaches kids Central Appalachian Program Manager ...... Erin Savage Appalachian Voices, UVa Wise and we’ll have an inflatable bouncy house businesses and farmers to install solar Perhaps it’s not surprising that Central Appalachian Field Coordinator ...... Willie Dodson At the Solar Fair, people will have “We all need to remember that about traditional homestead games. People Incorporated, and facilitated powered by solar energy and other free, power in Wise County. with their strong environmental Water Quality Scientist & Community Organizer ...... Matt Hepler the opportunity meet SPARC-E, Moun- if we keep the water healthy it’s for Kent also traces his connection to by Dialogue and Design Associates, tain Empire Community College’s fun games. Solar power is coming to far South- and activist ethic, Kent and Susan North Carolina Program Manager ...... Amy Adams everyone, it’s for the children and the the natural world to childhood and North Carolina Field Organizer ...... Nick Wood the goals of the Solar Workgroup in- off-the-grid, 5,000-watt, mobile solar And we’ll announce the winners of west Virginia. Get out the sunscreen! are among the longest-running Ap- future generations,” she says. recalls his father walking the field AmeriCorps Outreach Associate ...... Ridge Graham clude supporting high-visibility and system built by students. They will also our $500 solar mini-grants contest for To learn more, call (276) 679-1691 or palachian Voices members. Kent was Susan grew up in the mountains and crumbling the soil between his Virginia Program Manager ...... Peter Anderson high-impact solar energy installations middle and high school students. The email Adam Wells at [email protected] living at the Light Morning inten- have a chance to get an up-close and outside of Roanoke, Va. Her parents hands. As a child, Kent would run Virginia Field Organizer ...... Lara Mack to meet energy demand and spur eco- Solar Fair is also the launch pad for the or Lydia Graves at [email protected]. tional community near Floyd, Va., personal view of solar energy systems planted hundreds of trees on their outside when he was distressed and Energy Savings Program Manager ...... Rory McIlmoil in the ‘90s when he met Appalachian steep parcel of land, including rough- find solace by finding a tree to climb N.C. Energy Savings Outreach Coordinaator ...... Lauren Essick Voices founder Harvard Ayers, and OSMRE/VISTA TN Outreach Associate ...... Lou Murrey ly 30 species of apples and peaches or sit beneath. Two N.C. Counties Make Energy Efficiency History Kent became an early subscriber to AmeriCorps Energy Savings Outreach Associate ...... Katie Kienbaum that were all raised organically. She For the past 28 years he’s worked Two counties in western North reduce the member’s average bill, even conducted by Accounting Insights on-bill financing program for mini-split The Appalachian Voice. New Economy Program Manager ...... Adam Wells describes her mother as an activist, as an arborist in the Roanoke Val- Southwest Virginia Solar VISTA ...... Lydia Graves Carolina — Yancey and Mitchell — are with the repayment charge, and the found that county residents living be- heat pumps, but has not implemented The couple are both Quakers and Susan herself became passionate ley and Smith Mountain Lake area. Highlander Appalachian Transition Fellow ...... Terran Young the first in the United States to pass program would be accessible to renters low 50 percent of the poverty line spent a more comprehensive and inclusive and are involved with the Quaker about nature at a young age. “It just In addition to addressing practical COMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY resolutions supporting the develop- and low-income households. an average of 44 percent of their income energy efficiency financing program, Earthcare Witness network, which seemed the only logical thing to try concerns with trees, he says, “I’m Director of Communications ...... Cat McCue ment of an “on-bill financing” program In addition to relieving the burden on energy costs. despite support from community addresses ecological and social is- to preserve nature and therefore the trying to take care of [the trees] like Senior Communications Coordinator ...... Jamie Goodman sues. As part of that network, Kent is for energy efficiency improvements by of energy costs and improving the quali- The Mitchell County Commission stakeholders. diversity and all the beneficial things they took care of me.” Editorial Communications Coordinator...... Molly Moore working to develop ways for people their electric utility. ty of living for residents, such a program passed its resolution on March 6. The The resolutions in Yancey and that come from being able to walk in “You need to get out in nature Graphic Communications Coordinator...... Jimmy Davidson who have investments in stocks and Both counties are served by French would also stimulate local economies. county faces similar housing conditions, Mitchell counties show that community nature,” Susan says. and let nature heal you from all the Communications Associate ...... Elizabeth E. Payne mutual funds identify and screen out IT Specialist ...... Jeff Deal Broad Electric Membership Corpora- The Yancey County Commission poverty rates and energy cost burdens leaders believe that addressing energy She is an artist and focuses on cynicism,” he continues. “It’s the fossil fuel companies. tion. The resolutions, proposed by Ap- was the first to pass the resolution on as Yancey County. costs is an important part of strength- natural themes in her pottery. Susan antidote to the knowledge of what INTERNS “They say, ‘think globally, act N.C. GIS Mapping Assistant ...... Ashton Johnston palachian Voices, express support for February 13. There is a great need for Together, Yancey and Mitchell ening local economies and improving also serves as an interpreter at the we’re doing to the environment.” locally.’ We can certainly apply that N.C. Social Work Assistant ...... Hillary Prevost French Broad developing a program energy efficiency in Yancey County. -Ac counties make up almost half of French the lives of local residents, and that Blue Ridge Institute Farm Museum in that provides its members with the cording to the U.S. Census, 77 percent Broad’s membership. Madison County, French Broad could play a central role to climate change,” Kent says. Editorial Assistant ...... Carl Blankenship Editorial Assistant ...... Adrienne Fouts upfront cost of home energy upgrades, of the county’s occupied housing stock home to another 34 percent of the electric in achieving those goals. Editorial Assistant ...... KaLeigh Underwood which the member repays through a is more than 25 years old. Additionally, cooperative’s members, is scheduled to To get involved, contact Lauren Essick Gathering Voices Against the Pipelines Board of Directors monthly charge on their electric bill. The nearly one in every six households in consider the same resolution on April 18. at (828) 262-1500, or via email at Lauren@ Throughout the Federal have to grant water quality per- upgrades would save enough energy to Yancey County live in poverty. A study French Broad currently offers an appvoices.org. Energy Regulatory Commis- mits. The West Virginia Dept. of Chair ...... Kim Gilliam sion’s public comment period Environmental Protection held Vice-Chair ...... Dot Griffith for the proposed Atlantic Coast public hearings on the Mountain Secretary ...... Bunk Spann AppalachianVoices To join our Business Pipeline’s Draft Environmental Valley Pipeline’s water permits Treasurer ...... Kathy Selvage League, visit Impact Statement, we worked earlier this year, and we helped Members-At-Large BUSINESS LEAGUE AppVoices.org or call with partners and grassroots collect citizen comments. Clara Bingham Christopher Scotton 877-APP-VOICE groups across three states to We’ll continue to put pres- Pat Holmes Tracey Wright New & Renewing Members February - March 2017 gather thousands oral and writ- sure on our state decision-mak- Rick Phelps Tom Cormons (Ex-officio) Pallavi Podapati ten comments from concerned ers throughout the process. To Advisory Council citizens about the inadequacy stay informed about the latest Advisory Council CREDO Mobile Jonathan C. Allen Christina Howe of the DEIS. steps you can take, join our email Van Jones San Francisco, Calif. JonathanJessica BarbaC. A Brownllen Van Jones Even if pipelines are ap- list at appvoices.org/sign-up. J. Haskell Murray JessiAlfredca B Gloverarba Brown Landra Lewis proved by FERC, states also Brenda Sigmon AlfredRandy G Hayeslover J. Haskell Murray unk pann andy ayes B S Page 26 | The Appalachian Voice | April/May 2017 R Silas H House Brenda Sigmon Christina Howe Non-Profit The Appalachian Voice Organization 589 West King Street US Postage Paid Boone, N.C. 28607 Permit No. 294 appalachianvoices.org Boone, NC

A beaver swims in Tomahawk Pond in Virginia’s George Washington National Forest. As “nature’s engineers,” beavers have a huge impact on their environment, cutting down trees, building dams and flooding land to protect their lodges. This provides a welcome habitat for wildlife such as fish and waterfowl, but often gets beavers in trouble with unapprecia- tive landowners. Read more on page 7. Photo by Steven David Johnson

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