THE IMPORTANCE OF WEST VIRGINIA’S STATE PARKS

By Doug Wood Senate Bill 270 and House Bill 4182, introduced by Governor Justice at the urging of Commerce Secretary Woody Thrasher, Division of Forestry Director Barry Cook, and Dept….

Continue reading

Logging in State Parks: Just What Are Other States Doing?

By Doug Wood Many of our state parks and one state natural area have trails that pass through magnificent mature forests that attract hikers.  An economic study and a market…

Continue reading

What Kind of a “Healthy” Forest Do We Want?

By John McFerrin In all the discussion of whether we should timber in West Virginia’s state parks, there are a couple of terms that people use, saying them as if…

Continue reading

Meanwhile, Over in North Carolina

When last the Voice reported on North Carolina’s review of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (December, 2017), North Carolina was still asking for more information from the developers.  North Carolina’s…

Continue reading

Transfer of Pleasants Power Station Denied

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has denied a request by First Energy to sell its Pleasants Power Station to Mon Power and Potomac Edison. First Energy said that it…

Continue reading

FERC Nixes Plan to Subsidize Coal, Nuclear

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has rejected a proposal by the United States Department of Energy to provide subsidies to coal and nuclear power plants. The proposal came out of…

Continue reading

West Virginia Land Trust Protects View from Bickle Knob

The West Virginia Land Trust has acquired a 123 acre parcel of land on Bickle Knob.  It had to borrow the money for the acquisition; now it has undertaken…

Continue reading

Groups Appeal FERC Approval of Atlantic Coast Pipeline

The Southern Environmental Law Center and Appalachian Mountain Advocates filed a challenge in federal court on behalf of 11 conservation groups challenging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s decision to…

Continue reading

Governor’s Plan to Log State Parks Is a Bad Idea

By Robert Beanblossom I retired after 42 years with the W.Va. Division of Natural Resources and worked both for our state park system and the Division of Forestry. I am…

Continue reading

Could Logging in Parks Help Wildlife?

By Doug Wood When the Division of Forestry tries to justify logging in state parks, it sometimes says that it wants to help wildlife.  While it does not fully articulate…

Continue reading