Showing Off Your Mussels: Powell River Restocks Declining Populations and other shorts

This fall, more than 7,000 juvenile mussels were released into the Powell River, the largest number of endangered mussels planted in the history of the river’s restoration project. The release was coordinated through a partnership between Virginia Tech, Lincoln Memorial University, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 6,086 oyster…

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Seeing is Believing

The coal industry is fond of saying that there is no mountaintop removal taking place in Tennessee, so we wanted to see for ourselves. Appalachian Voices recently teamed up with the filming crew from “Coal Country” and SouthWings’ award winning pilot Susan Lapis to take an aerial tour of coal-mining counties in the Volunteer State.…

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Federal Grants for Troubled Appalachian Species | W.Va. Superfund Cleanup

Federal Grants To Assist Troubled Appalachian Species A round of special funding by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service awarded $33 million toward helping threatened and endangered species in 21 states, including several projects in the Central and Southern Appalachian region. In Cumberland County, Tenn., more than $700,000 will protect aquatic resources and improve habitat…

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Abrams Falls Trail: A Jaunt to a Jewel of the Smokies

Waterfall at Abrams Fall

By Stephen Otis The Abrams Falls Trail has historical nuances you won’t find just anywhere. Located in the Cades Cove area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee, the trail, creek and falls are named after a historic leader of the Cherokee Nation, Chief Abram; a short side trail leads to Elijah Oliver’s…

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Recognizing Renewable Opportunities

Kentucky could realize 34 percent of its energy demand from renewable sources by 2025, a new study shows. Authored by West Virginia-based Downstream Strategies and Kentucky-based Mountain Association for Community Economic Development, the report found that solar photovoltaic and combined heat and power, the simultaneous generation of mechanical power and thermal energy used for heating…

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HIDDEN TREASURES #2 – Tennessee

Welcome to part two in our exploration of the most amazing places in the Central and Southern Appalachian Mountains — this time exploring some of our most fabulous Public Lands. Fiery Gizzard Mountain Located in the heart of the South Cumberland Plateau, Fiery Gizzard Mountain remains one of the most pristine landscapes in the Eastern…

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Senate Committee Misses Historic Opportunity to Protect Tennessee Mountains

PRESS STATEMENT CONTACT: J.W. Randolph, Appalachian Voices, 202-669-3670, jw@appvoices.org The Tennessee Scenic Vistas Protection Act, introduced by state Sen. Eric Stewart, was designed to stop surface coal mining that alters or disturbs a ridgeline over 2,000 feet of elevation, effectively banning mountaintop removal coal mining in the state. On Wed., Feb. 29 the State Senate…

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We Can End Mountaintop Removal in Tennessee

By Dr. Minnie Vance Chattanooga, Tenn. In Tennessee, we love our mountains. These peaks and valleys inform our southern heritage, enhance our connection to family and represent the best of what we call state and country. Our mountains are home. Nevertheless, we too are facing down the barrel of continued mountaintop removal mining. Unfortunately, in…

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The Sewanee Coal Seam: The Dirt on East Tennessee’s Toxic Coal

By Jenni Frankenberg Veal One of the most toxic coal seams east of the Mississippi River has cast a dark shadow over the land and people living in its boundaries. Landon Medley, a resident and former county commissioner of Van Buren County, Tenn., has witnessed the impacts of mining in the Sewanee coal seam firsthand.…

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Nuclear Confusion

The Complicated History of the Atom in Appalachia By Paige Campbell Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc. sits on 66 acres between the Nolichucky River and the south end of Erwin, Tenn. This part of Erwin is the very picture of a small, blue-collar town. Within a quarter-mile of the fence surrounding the industrial site, there’s a…

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