Focus on Nature: Big Run Bog, A National Natural Landmark at Risk
By Susan Rogers Rosenblum Big Run Bog, located in Tucker County, is a sometimes overlooked diamond in the crown of West Virginia. It is a beautiful place to experience a [...]
By Marilyn Shoenfeld As the year continues to rush by, winter is finally here! Six inches of snow have replaced the autumn leaves, and folks are getting their skis and [...]
Save the Date: Clean Water for All
Please join us for “Clean Water for All: Reflecting on the 2014 Crisis and Shaping a Water Secure Future” on January 9, 2024, from 5 pm to 9 p.m. at [...]
Well, the 2023 Fall Review is ’in the bag’, and it was a good one. Now begins the planning for the 2024 Fall Review, and we could use some help. [...]
2023 Year in Review: WVHC Committee Updates
As 2023 comes to a close, the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy would like to share the latest updates from our organization from the past year. 2023 has been another year [...]
Department of Environmental Protection Proposes New Guidelines on Public Participation
By John McFerrin Many decisions by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection either require or allow public participation. Typically, the Department announces what it is considering or what it [...]
Looking Forward to the 2024 West Virginia Legislature
By Luanne McGovern The regular session of the 87th Legislature will kick off on January 10, 2024, and will run for 60 days. There will undoubtedly be many twists and [...]
Hydro in the Highlands: Third Time the Charm?
By Hugh Rogers Seen from Snowy Point, Canaan Valley’s northern half is a wetland mosaic unbroken by human landmarks. Turn around, and they appear in every direction. To the northeast, [...]
By Cindy Rank Together with co-plaintiffs and the support of public interest lawyers from Appalachian Mountain Advocates and Public Justice, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy has successfully challenged any number of [...]
Protecting Our Appalachian Legacy: The Fight to Save the Candy Darter
By Andrew Young South Fork Coal Company has an extensive track record of non-compliance with the water protection requirements of Surface Mine and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) across all of its [...]
Paean to West Virginia Backroads
By Bonnie Thurston Geography is our glory, butroad building’s a challenge.Always has been. Still is.This contributes to our tendency to isolate, to beby nature suspicious.Why not? Incomers haveraped our mountains,carried off [...]
A West Virginia Native Species Lost
On Nov. 16, 2023, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service officially declared the tubercled-blossom pearly mussel (Epioblasma torulosa torulosa)—a freshwater mussel once abundant in large eastern rivers from south [...]
Methane Leaks and ARCH2: A Problem Not Yet Solved
By John McFerrin If we don’t get methane leaks under control, the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2) will be a failure. Introduction The Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub is [...]
Bird Banding at Dolly Sods Resumes After Year-Long Hiatus
Brooks Bird Club, headquartered in Wheeling, has been supportive of the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy since our beginnings. Chuck Conrad, administrator of Brooks Bird Club for decades, was one of [...]
Plugging Orphaned Oil and Gas Wells
By John McFerrin The problem Orphaned gas wells are everywhere. There are about 6,500 gas wells in West Virginia that are no longer producing and need to be plugged. West [...]
