Coal River Mountain sits nestled in the Coal River Valley between the Clear and Marsh Forks of the Big Coal River, and is the last major intact mountain in the Coal River Watershed. Coal River Mountain Watch is fighting to protect this mountain and the communities living in surrounding valleys from obliteration.
Alpha Natural Resources plans to strip-mine, largely using mountaintop removal methods, nearly ten square miles of the mountain. This mining, if it proceeds, will devastate the last intact mountain ecosystem in the area, and it will endanger the lives and negatively impact the livelihoods of the residents living below the mining – many of whom have already felt the impacts of the mountaintop removal operations on nearby Kayford and Cherry Pond Mountains.
Coal River Mountain Watch has been working to stop the destruction of Coal River Mountain to preserve our heritage and way of life. Mountaintop removal would cut off access to those that have used the mountain for generations to recreate, hunt, ginseng, and gather mushrooms and other wild plants. It will also subject residents to increased risk of flooding, blasting damage, clouds of blasting dust, and destruction of water sources. This subsection of our website has more information on the current status of mining on Coal River Mountain, the history of the campaign to save it, and our alternative vision for sustainable wind energy on the mountain.
See our “get involved” page for more information on how you can help. For this campaign, we are in particular need of qualified student interns and donations to support ongoing legal work.