Links to Environmental Organizations

“The Earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it; the world, and all that lives upon it.”  (Psalm 24:1)

Many environmental advocacy organizations are active in the southern and central Appalachians, either as regional groups affiliated with larger national organizations or as stand-alone local groups.

Note that for purposes of this page, the word "conservation" and the word "environmental" are interchangeable.

Listing of these organizations is primarily for information. Members are encouraged to learn about these groups and to consider active involvement and support with one or more of them. These groups take in members from across the spectrum of citizens, and thus operate within a plurality of beliefs including many who are Christian along with those who hold other beliefs.

Christians For The Mountains will at times and for specific purposes partner with some of these organizations to share resources and engage in political action. Much of the heroic work being done to protect the earth is by groups such as these, for which we are grateful and indebted.

Below are links to some of these groups. This page is just a starter. Members are encouraged to submit more links:

Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition (OHVEC) is a hardworking and effective organization whose mission is to organize and maintain a diverse grassroots organization dedicated to the improvement and preservation of the environment through education, grassroots organizing and coalition building, leadership development and media outreach in West Virginia, southern Ohio, and eastern Kentucky. Their website has extensive information on Mountaintop Removal, frequent news updates, photos, extensive links, and much more.

Coal River Mountain Watch (CRMW) is another sparkplug organization based in Whitesville, West Virginia, working to stop the destruction of our communities and environment by mountaintop removal mining, to improve the quality of life in our area and to help rebuild sustainable communities. A major sponsor of Mountain Justice Summer. Excellent links, photos, information. A grassroots organization.

Appalachian Voices is dedicated to protecting and restoring the ecological integrity, economic vitality, and cultural heritage of the central and southern Appalachian Mountains. The group is based in Boone, North Carolina, and has over one thousand members, including hundreds of small, locally-owned businesses from across Appalachia. The staff and board of Appalachian Voices include two ecologists, a forester, an anthropologist, two small business owners, three attorneys, and three experienced grassroots organizers. The organization's issues include Mountaintop Removal, Air Pollution and Forest Health, Sustainable Forestry, and Public Lands. Produce a free bi-monthly newspaper with a distribution of 65,000 over six states.

The Coalfield Communities of Southern West Virginia is a website produced by Penny Loeb who first became acquainted with the devastation of Mountaintop Removal when she came to West Virginia to do an article for US News and World Report magazine. The site is a network compilation of reports from persons in the southern coalfields impacted with flooding, blasting, and community life quality from MTR.

Keeper of the Mountains Foundation is located on Kayford Mountain, an oasis in the midst of thousands of acres of mountaintop removal destruction. Founder Larry Gibson encourages tours of this property in order for people to experience the visual impact of mountaintop removal. This organization is dedicated to the culture and land of the southern Appalachians.

The West Virginia Highlands Conservancy is the state's oldest environmental activist organization, working on issues such expansion of wilderness areas in the state, the Monogahela National Forest plans, curbing road construction in ecologically sensitive areas, wind energy, mountain top removal mining, and public acquisition and protection of the Blackwater Canyon. The organization produces a monthly newspaper, and sponsors numerous high quality outdoor experiences.

Kentuckians For the Commonwealth (KFTC) continues a long history of successfully fighting abusive coal mining practices including the Broad Deed Form and strip mining.

West Virginia Rivers Coalition advocates for clean water.

The Sierra Club is one of the premier national organizations with 750,000 members including many within state chapters in our region....Kentucky Sierra Chapter....Virginia Sierra Chapter....Maryland Sierra Chapter....West Virginia Sierra Chapter....western North Carolina Sierra Chapter....Tennesse Sierra Chapter. Many smaller regional groups as well.

Southwings is a non-profit conservation organization that uses a network of volunteer pilots and small aircraft to protect and conserve the natural resources and ecosystems of the Southeast. We do this by providing a bird's-eye view of the natural wealth of the region's forests and watersheds, and by exposing environmental degradation and illegal land management practices that would not otherwise be known. SouthWings is headquartered in Asheville, North Carolina, and works across the Southeast in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, and West Virginia. Christians For The Mountains plans to arrange for clergy and other Christian leaders to fly over the southern mountains impacted by Mountain Top Removal mining to see for themselves the devastation.

I Love Mountains is the product of 7 local, state, and regional organizations across Appalachia that are working together to end mountaintop removal and create a prosperous future for the region. Powerful graphics and online videos on site. This site is an outreach of Appalachian Voices to bring to the national public policy forum the goal to end mountaintop removal and other egregious coal industry abuses.