By John McFerrin, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy 

The July 2026 board meeting of the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy was a combination of saying hello to our new friend and goodbye to an old friend. In addition to all the hellos and goodbyes, we did the usual business stuff and were inspired to hear reports of all that we are involved in.

The new friend is Christa Clasgens, the Conservancy’s new membership and outreach director. She takes the position that Crys Bauer previously held. As Crys did, she will manage our membership, mailing list as well as send out merchandise people order from our online store. In addition, she will help us with outreach. She had only been on the job for a couple of days so she was still getting her feet on the ground, etc.

The old friend is Helen McGinnis. She has been a long time Conservancy member and a true advocate for wilderness, going back several decades. She was instrumental in the designation of Dolly Sods and Otter Creek Wilderness Areas. She is now moving to Massachusetts to be near family; she leaves behind a treasure trove of records, mementos, photos and reports from her years of advocacy. The Board passed a resolution expressing our appreciation. Truth be told, members of the Conservancy—especially the old timers—appreciate her more than any resolution could express.

We had the plodding but necessary stuff. Treasurer George Hack reported that we are doing well financially. Revenue from memberships is up, as is revenue from the fund appeal. We have to have an audit so we are in the process of doing that. Larry Thomas keeps an eye on our savings accounts so he reported on how we were doing.

This is where the inspiration started. Program Director Olivia Miller reported on what she had been doing. As part of the Alliance for Appalachia, she led our delegation to meet with and educate representatives in Washington about the data center buildout, the water crisis in southern West Virginia, cuts to Environmental Protection Agency grant funding, and public lands protections. She worked in opposition to a proposal in the federal budget reconciliation bill that would have resulted in the sale of public land. Those efforts were successful. She has worked on the opposition to Corridor H, especially the Wardensville section. She has helped Tucker United with opposition to the data center. We are joining with Appalachian Voices, the Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance, and others to launch a new coalition campaign to defend the Monongahela National Forest from coal mining. 

Luanne McGovern reported on efforts in response to Fundamental Data’s proposal to build a power plant and data center in Tucker County. There are two Facebook pages to provide information.  There is a dispute over the application for an Air Quality permit for the natural gas power plant. The application was heavily redacted, making commenting difficult. The Conservancy has joined with Appalachian Mountain Advocates, Friends of Blackwater, and the Sierra Club in efforts to get the information that was redacted.

The permit is likely to be issued soon. One major bone of contention is that it will be permitted as a “minor source”, a lesser category that would be subject to different standards than would a “major source.”

We noted that the data center proposed for Tucker County is not the only one proposed for West Virginia. There are two proposed for Mingo County and another for Mason County. They are expected to be big emitters and pose threats to public health similar to the one proposed for Tucker County. There was considerable sentiment expressed for our standing in solidarity with those who oppose the data centers in Mingo and Mason counties. In spite of this, we didn’t have enough information to take action. Instead, we are going to gather more information and address this later.

Andrew Young gave the report of the Extractive Industries Committee. There is a lot going on.  Since it is coal mining, he is always fighting uphill. There is a dispute with South Fork Coal Company over its using a road through the Monongahela National Forest as a haul road. In mid-July the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement approved that use of the haul road. We are exploring the possibility of an appeal of that decision. There is also ongoing litigation over the use of a National Forest road as a coal haul road and the approval of that.

Making all of this more complicated is that South Fork Coal Company has filed for bankruptcy.  Normally such a filing would automatically stop all actions but Andrew and co-counsel managed to persuade the bankruptcy court to allow our actions to proceed.

As if this was not enough to keep the committee busy, they are working with a national working group on mining issues, raising awareness through tabling events, and planning for a skills and training camp in the spring.

Dave Johnston reported that the Dolly Sods Stewards are going great guns. The core of what they do is the Trailhead Stewards program. Although they cannot cover every trailhead all the time, the trailheads continue to be staffed regularly. They recognized eleven people who had volunteered for at least forty hours in 2024.

The Backcountry Stewards—begun last fall—continue to take the leave no trace message away from the trailheads and into the backcountry. The Crosscut Saw and Trail Maintenance Teams continue to be active. The Solitude Monitoring program is beginning a new three year cycle. They collect data in different seasons each year. Currently, they are collecting data for the summer season.

Planning for the Fall Review, scheduled for October 31-November 2, is racing forward. The theme will be how we are changing, with the possibility of sessions on how state and federal laws are changing. There will be a banquet.

Hugh Rogers reported on the Highways Committee. Right now, all the action is in the Wardensville section. There is a decision expected on August 15, 2025, so all of the Department of Highways’ energy and enthusiasm is channeled in that direction. On the Parsons to Davis section, the decision on the Environmental Impact Statement is now not expected to come out until August 2026. This will give the Department of Highways plenty of time to thoroughly study the northern alternative.