• The Roadless Area Conservation Act

    The Roadless Area Conservation Act

    Last week, ABRA joined representatives of conservation organization from across the nation in Washington, D.C. The trip was sponsored by Earth Justice and Sierra Club. We met with lawmakers to convey our concerns about the potential harms to our national

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  • The James River Headwaters Initiative

    The James River Headwaters Initiative

    In April, ABRA received thrilling news: the Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance’s James River Headwaters Environmental Stewardship and Resilience Initiative was selected for a two-year, $247,000 Environmental Protection Agency Thriving Communities grant. This bold program would tackle urgent threats in western Virginia’s

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  • Shenandoah Mountain Act and Virginia Wilderness Additions Act Reintroduced in the U.S. Senate

    Shenandoah Mountain Act and Virginia Wilderness Additions Act Reintroduced in the U.S. Senate

    Senators Reintroduce Bills to Protect Public Landin Rockingham, Augusta, Highland, and Bath Counties Yesterday, Senators Time Kaine and Mark Warner reintroduced the Shenandoah Mountain Act and the Virginia Wilderness Additions Act. See their Press Release here. Shenandoah Mountain Act of

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  • American Rivers names Gauley River to America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2025, due to toxic coal mining pollution

    American Rivers names Gauley River to America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2025, due to toxic coal mining pollution

    The threat of toxic pollution from coal strip mining in the headwaters of one of the Gauley’s primary tributaries — the Cherry River — has made it one of America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2025. In Greenbrier and Pocahontas counties in West Virginia, South Fork Coal Company operates a network of strip mines, haul roads and a coal preparation plant…

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  • No Valid Existing Rights for South Fork Coal Company

    No Valid Existing Rights for South Fork Coal Company

    ABRA—together with the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy and Appalachian Voices—has been deeply involved in exposing and challenging an illegal coal haul road used by South Fork Coal Company in the Monongahela National Forest. After these groups filed formal complaints last

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  • Andrew Young explains the South Fork Coal issue

    Andrew Young explains the South Fork Coal issue

    The Cherry River uprising: A David vs. Goliath showdown to defend the Monongahela By Andrew Young, chair of the WVHC Extractive Industries Committee and staff attorney for the Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance    Since 2023, the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, together with

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