All Posts
Lenny Kohm Wins Outstanding Conservationist Award
By the AV Staff On Friday, October 2, 2009, Lenny Kohm was awarded the Outstanding Conservationist Activist Award from Wild South’s Roosevelt-Ashe Society. A choice award given only when the committee deems someone worthy, the title is bestowed on individuals who “[deserve] recognition for their outstanding contribution to environmental conservation.” In our way of looking…
Read MoreWelcome to Our New Washington, D.C. Office–and other shorts
Appalachian Voices and the Alliance for Appalachia have opened a legislative headquarters in Washington D.C. to better serve Appalachia’s growing corps of citizen lobbyists and accommodate our growing work there. Located on the corner of 8th and D Street NE on Capitol Hill, the office is a 10-minute walk from the US Capitol, and set…
Read MoreRare Species of Appalachia
By Maureen Halsema Southern Appalachia is rich in biological diversity, including some truly unique creatures, critters and downright creepy crawlies. Sasquatch of the Salamanders Cryptic, territorial, and elusive are traits inherent to the hellbender salamander, a unique and formidable-looking creature with almost prehistoric appeal. The Eastern hellbender is the largest aquatic salamander in the United…
Read MoreRegulation Rundown
Maureen Halsema Public lands fall under a variety of different designations and regulations—enough to make anyone’s head spin. Here’s the rundown on public lands. National Parks vs. National Forests National parks and national forests are both federally managed, but national parks are managed by park rangers from the National Park Service, a unit of the…
Read MoreAppalachian Trail: “A Great Trail from Maine to Georgia!”
Story by Stephen Otis If you were to somehow locate a New York Evening Post, circa 1922, you would read this same headline. Penned by Raymond H. Torrey at the behest of William Welch, director of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, the article dared to imagine, as Benton MacKaye had one year prior, a grand…
Read MoreChasing Copenhagen
By Bill Kovarik So this is the speed of light. We laugh as the solar-powered boat glides silently down the Spree River through the heart of Berlin, Germany. As monumental buildings drift past, our captain, Arno Paulus, points out a series of 64-year-old bullet holes in the stone walls alongside the river. It’s a sobering…
Read MoreDwellbox: Building Blocks for Sustainable Homes
By Jamie Goodman When you drive by the tiny red house on Hill Street near downtown Boone, it looks like any other college-student dwelling— a small, square, structure with an apartment perched atop a one car garage. Upon closer inspection, however—perhaps a casual rap of your knuckles against the siding—you will discover that the structure…
Read MoreDolly Parton: Conserving American Icons
By Joe Tennis “In my Tennesse mountain home, life’s as peaceful as a baby’s sight…crickets sing in fields nearby,” sings Dolly Parton. Parton has come back to her Tennessee mountain home to help celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Parton, 63, who grew up in the foothills…
Read MoreGrandfather Mountain Goes Green…er
Story by Julie Johnson From the famous mile-high bridge, Grandfather Mountain’s 3,300 acres spread across the landscape, their leafy canopy blanketing a wealth of biodiversity nestled in ridges and valleys. In addition to preserving this exceptional landscape, Grandfather Mountain, Inc., is committed to greening all of its man made attractions. From the solar-powered fudge shop…
Read MoreGreat Smoggy Mountains?
Coal-fired Power Threatens to Further Deplete Air Quality Story by Sarah Vig In almost all respects, Great Smoky Mountains (GSM) National Park’s list of attributes reads like a conservationist’s wish list: largest old-growth forest east of the Mississippi, largest spruce fir pine forest, among the most biodiverse ecosystems in North America, most visited national park…
Read More