Remembering Laura - Memorial
Fund Helps Her Passion Live On

It’s hard to believe that we’re approaching the second-year anniversary of the tragic death of OVEC’s beloved organizer, Laura Forman, who died on Dec. 10, 2001.

We miss her, still, but are doing our part to carry forward her dream of ending mountaintop removal coal mining. Laura collapsed at a protest that she organized outside the office building of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Huntington. OVEC was protesting the Corps’ misguided practice of issuing general permits (nationwide permits) that allow coal companies to dump waste into streams without conducting site-specific environmental impact studies.

Upon hearing of Laura’s death, people asked us to establish a memorial fund in her name, which we did. All the funds that are contributed to her memorial fund are used in our "Stop Mountaintop Removal" campaign. For those who crossed her path, she was known for her fierce love of coalfield residents and the mountains.

While she walked among us, she devoted so many of her waking hours to making mountaintop removal the most talked-about environmental issue in West Virginia. Full of courage and fire, regulators, coal-friendly politicians and adversaries alike could expect her to give them a piece of her mind.

If you would like to send a contribution to OVEC in Laura’s memory, please send your check to: OVEC, Laura Forman Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 6753, Huntington, WV 25773-6753.