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Comers Rock and Hale Lake
Story by Joe Tennis Ah, the view: That’s what makes Comers Rock such a jewel. But shhh! Don’t tell everybody: Let this jewel of southwest Virginia remain hidden. Comers Rock sits on the Grayson-Wythe county line at an ear-popping 4,102-foot elevation. It’s a place listed on all Virginia state maps. But the trouble, for the…
Read MoreLess Twittering in the Trees
Story by Kathleen McFadden Spring comes slowly to the mountains. Long after the early-season flowers have come and gone in the lowlands, winter-weary mountain dwellers wait patiently for their first sight of a royal purple crocus, the golden glory of the backyard forsythia and the return of our cherished birds. But the birds of Appalachia…
Read MoreTaking the Price Tag Off Our Heritage
Story by Sarah Vig At the Center for Cherokee Plants, the seeds are not for sale. “People will stop by and ask us if we sell the plants, or why we aren’t trying to sell our seeds,” said Kevin Welch, who founded the Center, “I tell them ‘you can’t put a price on your heritage.’”…
Read MoreWater Wars: West Virginia Coalfield Residents Sue Over Contaminated Water
Story by Sarah Vig In Mingo County, W. Va., one of the largest coal-producing counties in the nation, 760 residents are preparing to face off against Big Coal. The group filed a class action suit against Massey Energy and its subsidiary, Rawl Sales & Processing, on claims of personal injury, wrongful death, property damage and…
Read MoreCourts, Congress and Universities Consider How to Change Mountaintop Removal Policies
Story by Bill Kovarik The fight over mountaintop removal coal mining accelerated this spring, with action in the courts, the regulatory agencies, Congress and universities. For the first time in almost a decade, environmentalists appear to be winning. Courts gave the mining industry one initial victory in mid-February, when the pro-business U.S. 4th District court…
Read MoreKids’ National Park Companion Hopes to Excite New Generation
Story by Alison Singer In 1986, the Eastern National Park & Monument Association (ENPMA) began the popular Passport to Your National Parks program. ENPMA, in cooperation with the National Park Service (NPS), developed imitation passports to encourage parents and children to visit the parks. Each passport includes maps, visitor information, photographs and illustrations. The passport…
Read MoreAppalachian Activists Answer Call to Civil Disobedience
Story by Alison Singer and Sarah Vig Protests erupted across the Appalachians this winter and spring as activists took to the streetsfor clean air and water and an end to dirty coal in all its phases—mining, processing, and burning—in an unprecedented way. On Coal River Mountain, activists and community members have been engaging in a…
Read MoreMountain Aid
Story by David Brewer Music is often moving, but only once in a while does it help keep mountains from being moved. That is the hope behind the inaugural Mountain Aid festival, an ambitious effort to directly affect environmental change. Slated to take place from Friday to Sunday, June 19 to 21, at the Shakori…
Read MoreApril / May 2009 Issue in PDF format
Complete April / May 2009 issue in PDF format (8.8 MB) TO DOWNLOAD: PC Users: right-mouse click on the link above and choose SAVE AS or DOWNLOAD LINKED FILE AS… Mac Users: control+click on the link above and choose SAVE AS or DOWNLOAD LINKED FILE AS…
Read MoreLetters to the editor
Pesticide Use Continues to Decline on Tree Farms To the Editor: This letter to the editor is in reference to Sarah Vig’s article “A ‘Greener’ Christmas Tree” that appeared in the Winter edition of Appalachian Voice. First of all, a word of thanks to Sarah for her article, those of us who have Christmas tree…
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