Drawn and Quartered: State Two Bits and DEP Fits

Some people in West Virginia state government are upset that the Ansted Historic Preservation Council and OVEC are using the state quarter in our organized opposition to the mountaintop removal on Gauley Mountain.

I can understand why theyre upset. It is the state quarter, after all. West Virginia is a magnificently beautiful state, so there were many possible choices for the scene on the state quarter.

But the New River Gorge was chosen, and now the state has permitted mountaintop removal on one of the ridges in the Gauley Mountain range, which borders the New River Gorge. Ive never known a mountaintop removal operation to level just one mountain the draglines move from ridge to ridge until a huge swath of mountains and streams are gone, and then they keep going. Communities in the way just disappear.

Powellton Coal began mining on Gauley without a permit. They also violated environmental regulations even before they received a permit for the mountaintop removal operation there. Violations of water standards continue.

The nearby New River Gorge Bridge is the site of the largest one-day festival in West Virginia Bridge Day, in October, when traffic is stopped and people can walk on the bridge. Folks come from all over the country to view the fall colors and parachute or rappel down into the gorge almost 900 feet below.

This year on Bridge Day, members of Ansted Historic Preservation Council, OVEC and Christians for the Mountains gathered signatures on petitions asking Governor Manchin and the next United States president to stop the mountaintop removal on Gauley Mountain and everywhere else in West Virginia. It was the easiest petition rap Ive ever done, starting with "See that mountain over there?" I was amazed at how many tourists from other states this event attracts.

We really need to think about the future. Our national economy is in big trouble. People are traveling less, and many will be vacationing closer to home. Wouldnt it make sense to save the beauty of the New River Gorge region?

So, I understand why some folks in state government dont like us "using" the image on the state quarter. Its kind of hard to justify blowing it up.

We don't want the state quarter to feature the motto "Almost Level West Virginia."