The Appalachian Voice
Feeling Powerless on Their Own Property
Many landowners, neighbors and community advocates are contending with the massive buildout of methane gas — dubbed “natural gas” by the fossil fuel industry — in Tennessee. This huge increase in gas infrastructure is driven in large part by the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Read MoreIn ‘All These Ghosts,’ Silas House Explores ‘Timesickness,’ Deep Grief, Hope in Dark Times
In his first full-length poetry collection, “All These Ghosts,” Silas House, an award-winning Appalachian author and former poet laureate of Kentucky, grapples with deep personal grief and “timesickness,” or the deep longing for a time, place or spiritual state that no longer exists.
Read MoreIn Montgomery County, Virginia, Seasoned Mountain Valley Pipeline Fighters Prepare for Another Battle
“Here we go again,” is what Crystal Mello, an organizer for the Preserve Our Water Heritage, Rights Coalition, says she said to herself when she learned that Mountain Valley Pipeline was planning a new compressor station in Elliston, Virginia, as part of a project to send even more gas through the massive 42-inch pipeline.
Read MoreNavigating Long-Term Hurricane Helene Recovery: A Day-in-the-Life of a Disaster Case Manager in Cocke County, Tennessee
Chrissy Miller is a disaster case manager in Cocke County, Tennessee, who helps survivors of Hurricane Helene access resources, fulfill unmet needs, develop recovery plans and try to make sense of difficult situations. For Miller, who was also impacted by the storm, it’s hard to rein in the scope of her work.
Read MoreWhitewater Kayaking Race to Return with a Course Transformed by Hurricane Helene
Paddlers will soon return to the whitewater river of Western North Carolina for the world’s largest extreme kayaking event. After the destruction of Hurricane Helene sent the renowned Green Race on a yearlong hiatus, the paddling community is gearing up for the race’s 30th year on Nov. 1, which will look much different with the Green River’s course reshaped by the storm.
Read MoreSpotting Fall Warblers at Seven Islands State Birding Park
![“The hooded warbler is what I call my spark bird, which is [the bird that] gets you into birding,” Fox says. “You see a bird, and it gets you wondering what it is, and then suddenly you discover there's this whole world of birds that you didn't know about.” Photo by Kelly Fox](https://appvoices.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/HoodedWarbler-1024x682.jpg)
Birding enthusiasts may be able to spot these 36 New World warbler species at Seven Islands State Birding Park in Kodak, Tennessee, this fall migration season.
Read More‘We Certainly Have a Long Way to Go’
On the one-year milestone of Hurricane Helene, communities reflect on the challenges they still face on the long road to recovery. The storm caused significant destruction, but it also exacerbated existing issues. New instances of housing insecurity and mental health concerns bubble to the surface every day — and will for months and years to come. For those doing the arduous work of long-term recovery, it feels never-ending.
Read More‘King of the Darters’ Removed from Endangered Species List
The Roanoke logperch, a striking, large freshwater fish found in a handful of watersheds in Virginia and North Carolina, is no longer on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s endangered species list. It’s a sign of the fish population’s improvement. But some individuals and environmental and conservation organizations see its removal from Endangered Species Act protections — rather than moving from “endangered” to “threatened” status — as premature.
Read MoreContinuity of Connection: Museum Exhibition Features Contemporary Native Artwork About Indigenous Mounds
A new exhibition, “Homelands: Connecting to Mounds through Native Art,” at the McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, features contemporary art from four of the 11 Native nations with ancestral ties to UT land.
Read MoreAppalachia’s Funkiest Fungi
Don’t miss 10 of Appalachia’s funkiest fungi! From Bleeding Tooth Fungus to Dead Man’s Fingers, we’ve selected the weirdest of the weird fungi. Hopefully you can find and appreciate some of these beautiful and fascinating local residents in your neck of the woods.
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