Recent heavy equipment activity on Blair Mountain has residents in Blair, West Virginia increasingly concerned that Arch Coal will move forward with plans to mine the historic site of the largest labor uprising in American history.

Arch Coal, one of the largest coal companies in Appalachia, has four mining operations planned for Blair Mountain, some of which would intrude onto the battlefield. Today, this multi-billion dollar company announced record profits from the fourth quarter of last year.

Folks in Appalachia won’t stand for Arch Coal’s plan to destroy their community and our nation’s history just so they can increase their profit margin, and we shouldn’t either.

Call Arch CEO, Steven Leer today, February 10, and tell him that Appalachian communities should not fall victim to pad his profit margin.

To allow Arch Coal to destroy Blair Mountain would be to tear out a crucial page of American labor history and burn it. But even more important than the history are the lives of the people living at the foot of this mountain today.

Take Action RIGHT NOW — tell Arch Coal to save Blair Mountain.

Well after 10 cities spread across 6 states, the We Love Mountains tour has come to an end. It was a huge success with over 700 people attending concerts, 15 bands that played and hundreds of postcards written to Congress on mountaintop removal.

The shows were headlined by Dewi Sant, a folk indie band based in Minneapolis, MN and kicked off in Charleston, SC in late January. We were joined by Matrimony at our Boone show, who co-headlined the remainder of our tour which ended in Pittsburgh in February.

Other bands that joined the We Love Mountains tour were The Honey Dewdrops, Big Fat Gap, Uncle Mountain , Older Brother, Wylie, 2/3 Goats and Morgan O’Kane.

At each show we made a presentation about mountaintop removal and illustrated the connection to attendees with the destruction in Appalachia. Attendees signed postcards showing their support for the Clean Water Protection Act and the Appalachian Restoration Act.

The Charlotte Loves Mountains show was covered in the Charlotte Observer. Other concerts were covered in the Mountain Times, The Blue Banner, and The Mountain Express.

The tour inspired many new individuals, who had not yet been exposed to mountaintop removal or their connection to it, and as a result we will be a stronger movement in many critical regions of the east coast.

Many thanks to Restoring Eden who were the partnering organization in this tour and Anna Jane Joyner who recruited the bands and much of the logistics.

Appalachian Voices and Restoring Eden have partnered for an exciting concert tour this winter to bring together music, faith, and social activism to build the campaign to end mountaintop removal.

The We Love Mountains tour will be headlined by Dewi Sant, a folk/indie rock band from Minneapolis and will kick off in Charleston, SC on January 26th.

The tour will be co-headlined in many cities by Matrimony (Charlotte NC), and will stretch cities in SC, NC, VA, DC, NY and PA. Check out our website for the full tour schedule as well information about the additional bands joining us along the way.

We will have a live twitter feed throughout the tour and hope to bring a new level of awareness about the destruction that mountaintop removal coal mining is having across Central Appalachia. Spread the word about the tour and we’ll see ya on the road!!