By Olivia Miller, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy

West Virginia has always given more than its fair share. Our mountains, forests, rivers, and communities have powered industries, enriched corporations, and sustained generations. But there is a difference between meeting real needs and feeding endless greed. 

As we enter the second half of 2026, that sentiment feels especially relevant here in West Virginia. Across the Highlands and beyond, wealthy out-of-state corporations are once again promising prosperity while asking our communities to accept the familiar costs— more fossil fuel extraction, dirtier air and water, greater public health risks, and fewer meaningful opportunities for local people to shape what happens in their own backyards. 

Since March 2025, the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy has been engaged in advocacy, community organizing, and legal work around Fundamental Data’s proposed development across Tucker and Grant counties. The proposal made by the amateurish and boom-chasing venture has raised serious concerns for our members and neighbors, including the possibility of thousands of acres of data centers, multiple power plants, and long-term impacts to the communities, public lands, waters, and landscapes that make this region so special. 

In this issue of The Highlands Voice, WVHC Board Member Luanne McGovern shares a timely update on what we recently learned when representatives from Fundamental Data made a surprise appearance at a May town hall in Davis. She also provides a broader look at data center development news from across the state. 

One of the most alarming revelations from that town hall was that Fundamental Data is no longer talking about just one methane-gas power plant. Representatives described plans that could include two methane-gas power plants and, somewhere down the line, a nuclear power plant as well. 

Just weeks later, the Trump administration announced hundreds of millions of dollars in federal support for the coal industry under the Defense Production Act, a 1950 Cold War-era law intended for national defense-related industries. That announcement included support for new coal-fired generation, including a project proposed for Mt. Storm in Grant County. 

At a time when West Virginians across the state are already struggling with high electric bills, it is deeply frustrating to see state and federal leaders doubling down on the very industries and systems that have helped create the problem. We will continue to share updates as we learn more about these proposals, but for now, we remain deeply concerned by the possibility of multiple new power plants across Tucker and Grant counties. We will need your support as we continue pushing back. 

This is also happening against the backdrop of the Environmental Protection Agency’s repeal of the endangerment finding, which has long provided a key legal and scientific foundation for regulating greenhouse gas pollution. The repeal weakens federal climate protections at a moment when communities are already facing the consequences of a warming planet. It is another example of policy being shaped for the benefit of a few powerful industries rather than the health, safety, and future of the many. 

Earlier this year, the Conservancy joined a national lawsuit to help defend the endangerment finding, and that case is now making its way through the courts. 

We are also continuing our work in the Cherry River watershed, where the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection granted “advance approval” to two mining companies seeking to take over South Fork Coal Company’s permits for operations near the Monongahela National Forest. Those operations include the haul road through part of the forest that the Conservancy and our coalition partners have been fighting for the past three years. 

On June 1, Appalachian Voices, the Conservancy, and the Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance submitted a complaint and public comment to WVDEP documenting that neither ClearCo and Aurevo nor South Fork Coal Company, the current permittee, has authorization from the U.S. Forest Service to operate within the Monongahela National Forest. Likewise, none of the coal companies has the necessary determination of “valid existing rights” from the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement to impact national forest land. 

This is especially troubling because the Conservancy and our partners shared this information directly with WVDEP officials just weeks before the advance approvals were granted. 

Still, amid these difficult fights, there is plenty of good work and good news to share. 

The stewardship arm of the Conservancy is alive and well, and it continues to bring amazing volunteers into service for our public lands. In early May, we welcomed the Dolly Sods Wilderness Stewards Class of 2026. Twenty-five new and returning volunteers gathered at the Seneca Rocks Discovery Center for new steward training, our annual picnic, and a volunteer recognition program. 

This summer, we hope you will see their smiling faces and green vests at the Red Creek, Blackbird Knob, and Sundew Trail trailheads, helping visitors enjoy Dolly Sods responsibly and safely. 

As you will also see in this issue, we launched a limited-edition t-shirt celebrating the “50+1” anniversary of the Dolly Sods Wilderness Area. We were lucky to work with the talented artist Harris Wright on an incredible design honoring Dolly Sods and all its beauty. A few shirts are still available, so make sure to grab one before they sell out. 

Preparations are also underway for the 2026 Fall Review, scheduled for October 23–24 at Canaan Valley Resort State Park. It is shaping up to be another special gathering, with guided hikes in Dolly Sods and Canaan Valley Resort State Park, conversations about culture and community, updates on data centers, water, and legislation, and a screening of Dolly Sods and the Legacy of Helen McGinnis. We would love to see you there, and we will continue sharing details as plans come together. 

My encouragement for everyone today, and always, is to get outside and enjoy as much of our wild and wonderful state as you can. Stay grounded in its beauty and peacefulness. Draw strength from its mountains, forests, rivers, and communities for the road ahead. 

Together, we can work toward a future where people and nature thrive. 

If this work matters to you, I hope you will consider supporting the Conservancy with a donation. Your gift helps us continue the legal, organizing, communications, and public education work needed to meet this moment. Together, we can make sure West Virginians have the information, tools, and support they need to speak up for the places and communities they love. 

What we’ve been doing to fight the good fight: 

• Launched a new video update series to keep people informed about the latest developments around the Tucker County data center and power plant proposals. 

• Joined a national lawsuit to defend the endangerment finding. 

• Submitted a public comment and complaint to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection regarding coal operations in the Cherry River watershed moving forward without necessary approvals. 

• Filed a lawsuit with West Virginia Rivers Coalition against Amsted Graphite Materials in Anmoore, West Virginia, over alleged repeated Clean Water Act violations. 

• Launched a limited-edition T-shirt celebrating “50+1 years” of the Dolly Sods Wilderness Area. 

• Welcomed the 2026 class of the Dolly Sods Wilderness Stewards. 

• Launched a limited-edition print fundraiser featuring original artwork by Carly Thaw in celebration of the upcoming release of Ecology and Restoration of Red Spruce Ecosystems of the Central and Southern Appalachians. Proceeds will support the work of CASRI and SASRI.