Summer Splash 2025: Sun, water and good company on the Cheat
By Olivia Miller, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy There’s nothing quite like a summer day spent on the water, and this year’s Summer Splash on the Cheat River reminded us why [...]
Splash into Fun: The Six Best Waterparks in West Virginia (2025 Guide)
By Clyde Craig, The West Virginia Explorer Webzine West Virginia’s natural beauty is world-famous, but when summer heat hits, the state’s waterparks become top destinations for families and thrill-seekers looking [...]
Introducing Christa Clasgens, our new membership and outreach director
Please join us in welcoming Christa Clasgens to the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy's team as our new membership and outreach director! Born in Northern Virginia, Christa moved to West Virginia [...]
Save the date for the Southeastern Public Interest Environmental Law Conference
The Southeastern Public Interest Environmental Law Conference (SPIEL) will be held the weekend of Oct 10 -12 on the beautiful campus of Sewanee (University of the South), atop the Cumberland [...]
What’s the big deal about data centers? Here’s what West Virginians need to know.
By Sarah Elbeshbishi, Mountain State Spotlight Gov. Patrick Morrisey has made attracting data center developments a key component of his economic development strategy. Lawmakers passed a bill to encourage these [...]
Coal for steel production is not a “critical material”
By Public Citizen In letter to Department of Energy, groups call process to change designation of the fossil fuel “flawed and insufficient” in department’s 2026 Critical Materials Assessment. The U.S. [...]
The state of coal community protections 48 years after landmark mining law
By Kevin Zedack, Appalachian Voices On Aug. 3, 1977, President Jimmy Carter — flanked by 200 coal community advocates from across the country — signed the Surface Mining Control and [...]
154 organizations call on Congress to strengthen and permanently protect America’s roadless areas
The West Virginia Highlands Conservancy joined over 150 conservation organizations from across the country in submitting a letter to Congress and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to go above [...]
Submitted by Janice DePollo Lantz, Greensburg, PA I have a soft spot of Tucker County, my great-grandfather came here from Italy to work in the coal mines in the late [...]
Board highlights from August 2025
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 [...]
The West Virginia Highlands Conservancy’s 2025 Fall Review: “Environmentalism in a Changing World”
As Appalachia faces escalating environmental threats—from policy rollbacks and extreme weather to industrial development and habitat loss—this fall, conservationists, advocates, and concerned citizens will gather in the heart of Tucker [...]
