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Metallurgical coal: A critical mineral?
By John McFerrin, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy Metallurgical coal is having a moment right now. After years of being just the less common type of coal, it is being elevated […]
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Update on Fundamental Data and the Ridgeline Project
By Luanne McGovern, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy Despite the outpouring of public concern and protest against issuing an air permit to the Ridgeline power plant project, the West Virginia Department of Environmental […]
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A watershed’s new beginning: Restoration and hope for the South Fork Cherry River
By Andrew Young, Staff Attorney for the Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance At long last, the coal trucks have fallen silent on Sugartree Bench Mountain at the headwaters of the South Fork […]
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Helen McGinnis leaves West Virginia, but her legacy stays in the Highlands
By John McFerrin, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy Longtime member, leader, and friend Helen McGinnis is leaving West Virginia and moving to Massachusetts to be closer to her family. While the […]
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Remembering Andy Mahler
By Dave Cooper Andy Mahler, of Paoli, Indiana, longtime leader of the regional grassroots forest protection group Heartwood, passed away August 30, 2025, peacefully at his beautiful home place in […]
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EPA does about-face on climate change
By John McFerrin, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy The United States Environmental Protection Agency has proposed that it eliminate most of its authority to regulate greenhouse gases. In 2009, it was […]
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Thoughts from our President
Daylight is getting shorter, the leaves are turning, and the first frosts are already settling into Canaan Valley. Autumn is a season of change, and just as the natural world […]
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DEP approves Fundamental Data air permit despite massive public opposition
By Luanne McGovern, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy The fight against the proposed Fundamental Data natural gas power plant in Tucker County continues. The primary focus over the past two months […]
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Coal hauling through the Monongahela National Forest has ceased… for now
By Willie Dodson, Appalachian Voices Our collective efforts to defend the Monongahela National Forest and the Cherry River from the abuses of South Fork Coal Company are having an impact. […]
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Snorkelers explore the Shavers Fork on a WVHC outing
By Jordan Howes, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy On Saturday, August 16, the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, in partnership with the Monongahela National Forest, invited participants to trade their hiking boots […]
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