The Appalachian Voice
Bob Egbert: A Life of Service and Environmental Advocacy
A Navy veteran, community activist and lifelong environmental advocate, Bob Egbert has spent decades working to protect Virginia’s environment and to strengthen citizen engagement in government.
Read MoreHome on the Range … In Appalachia?
Many people believe wild bison have only ever lived and roamed in Yellowstone National Park or the vast open spaces depicted in Western films. Yet, Indigenous and archaeological records indicate that bison were found in nearly every state of what is now the United States — sorry, Hawaii — including in Appalachia. In Letcher County, Kentucky, the Appalachian Rekindling Project, an Indigenous, women-led organization, is seeking to reintroduce bison to the region on 63 acres of a reclaimed mountaintop removal coal mine.
Read MoreCreating New Appalachian Monuments
Monuments Across Appalachian Virginia is a three-year project that is seeking to expand “the idea of what a monument can be.” It features nine monuments that explore different forms and a variety of the region’s stories. The monuments take a variety of forms: traditional statues, a children’s book, an album and a music festival, a quilt and more.
Read MoreCoal Labor History Sets Stage for Community
Residents and local leaders in Pound, Virginia, have been working hard to bring new life to the town’s historic downtown. Last year, Pound received funding from Monuments Across Appalachian Virginia to create a labor-oriented monument downtown.
Read MoreSaving 5 Miles on the Gauley River
Arc of Appalachia, an Ohio-based nonprofit, launched a campaign to purchase and protect 1,336 acres in Nicholas County, West Virginia. The property includes 5 miles along the Gauley River and 1 mile of Big Beaver Creek.
Read More‘Extinction is Forever’
Conservationists are concerned about the Trump administration’s attacks on the Endangered Species Act. From the Eastern hellbender to the Carolina northern flying squirrel, many of Appalachia’s most beloved creatures and plants could be at increased risk.
Read More‘Living the AmeriCorps Dream’?
Hundreds of projects throughout Appalachia received support from AmeriCorps national service members this year before the agency became the target of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency in April. The White House cancelled $400 million in AmeriCorps grants unilaterally, forcing some programs to immediately wrap for the year. Some states later had funding restored after a lawsuit led by attorneys general, and the next cycle of grants from the program is expected to continue this year.
Read MoreFeeling 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.
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