By Olivia Miller, Interim Executive Director 

Fall has been exceptionally beautiful in the Highlands this year. Every season in West Virginia brings its own wonders, but when our mountains turn fiery red, orange, and gold, their beauty is nearly impossible to ignore. It reassures me that we can build a future for our state that protects the places we love. Even as proposals for new industries threaten to tie us more tightly to our extractive past, these mountains remain beloved by people here at home, across the country, and around the world. 

That love is helping sustain a growing part of our economy. A recent report from the Governor’s Office highlighted the contributions of outdoor recreation and tourism to West Virginia’s future. In 2025, the state’s tourism economy generated a record $9.4 billion in economic impact and welcomed 78.4 million visitors, a 1.6% increase over 2024. 

The industry now supports 61,728 jobs—one in every 15 jobs in the state. State and local tax revenue generated by visitor spending amounted to the equivalent of nearly $882 in tax relief for every West Virginia household. These numbers are another reminder that protecting our mountains, rivers, and forests is an investment in our communities and their future. 

Few people have helped others appreciate these landscapes as generously as Mountain State photographer Kent Mason. We are grateful to share that Kent recently donated a portion of his landscape photography collection to the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy. 

Kent has spent decades exploring the Highlands, capturing striking images of West Virginia’s wildlife, people, habitats, and treasured landscapes. Readers will recognize his work from the pages of The Highlands Voice, the ninth edition of the Monongahela National Forest Hiking Guide, and the second edition of The Nature and Scenery of the West Virginia Highlands by Dr. Jim Van Gundy. Both books are available in our online store at wvhighlands.org. 

Kent’s photographs remind us what we are working to protect and invite more people to care about the natural world. We look forward to sharing more of his images with you soon. Thank you, Kent, for your generosity and your enduring love of our mountains! 

There will also be an opportunity to enjoy these landscapes together at our upcoming Fall Review, Oct. 23–24 at Canaan Valley Resort State Park. If you are craving time outdoors and connection with others who care about protecting the Highlands, I hope you will join us. The weekend will include guided hikes, advocacy training, updates on the Conservancy’s work, and a silent auction fundraiser supporting our mission. You can view the full schedule and register online at wvhighlands.org 

I am especially excited to welcome this year’s keynote speaker, Eileen Flanagan. A Quaker author, speaker, activist, and nationally recognized nonviolence trainer, Eileen helps people make their activism more effective and spiritually grounded. She has held leadership roles in three climate campaigns, including an effort that pressured a $4 billion-a-year bank to pause its financing of mountaintop removal coal mining in Appalachia. Her latest book, Common Ground: How the Crisis of the Earth Is Saving Us from Our Illusion of Separation, explores how confronting the ecological crisis can help us rediscover our connection to one another and the living world. 

Eileen will also lead an advocacy workshop based on the Four Roles of Social Change. As new fights emerge over data centers, transmission lines, fossil fuel infrastructure, and environmental deregulation, the workshop will help participants understand how change happens and the different roles people can play. There is a place for everyone in the work ahead, whether you have spent decades advocating for the Highlands or are just getting involved. 

I hope you will join us in Canaan to celebrate our mountains, learn from one another, and find renewed energy for the work of protecting them.