Majors, Chisholm and Bondurant: A dispatch from the path of the Mountain Valley Pipeline    

The Following article was printed in the Roanoke Times on March 14, 2018

By Lynda Majors, Russell Chisholm and Roberta Bondurant

The photo above shows the path that workers for the Mountain Valley Pipeline have cut across Brush Mountain in Montgomery County.  Courtesy of Lynda Majors

The writers serve on the Executive Committee of Protect Our Water, Heritage Rights, a coalition of nonprofits from Virginia opposing the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

Gov. Ralph Northam and Secretary of Natural Resources Matt Strickler:

The abuses of federal eminent domain for private pipeline profit coupled with “environmental mitigation” schemes set frightening precedent for our commonwealth and nation. Since the Mountain Valley Pipeline appeared in 2014, Virginia state and federal courts have avoided decisions against the gas industry, including the question of “public need,” rationalizing it as administratively determined by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

Public Need

Former FERC Chiefs Norman Bay and Cheryl LaFleur highlighted in their respective dissents on pipelines including MVP that in fact, no federal agency has undertaken a true “programmatic” needs assessment that considers infrastructure, gas supply, demand and alternatives to the proposed project. FERC and aligned agencies refused such a study for the Appalachian region, although they’ve used them in other regions for 15-20 years. With Roanoke Gas claiming a mere .5 percent interest in MVP gas, mounting evidence indicates it’s destined for LNG export facilities. Read More

Wilderness Skills Institute 2018: Save the Date

As we come into the new year, the Wilderness Skills Institute's planning team has been hard at work developing the course offerings for the 8th annual Wilderness Skills Institute (WSI) in 2018. WSI is the product of a partnership between the US Forest Service, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC), and Southern Appalachian Wilderness Stewards (SAWS) that offers shoulder-to-shoulder learning opportunities for agency staff, partners and volunteers to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to steward our country's most protected landscapes—federally designated Wilderness.

 Like past years, WSI will be held at the Cradle of Forestry in Pisgah Forest, NC on the Pisgah Ranger District of the Pisgah National Forest. The dates for this year's Institute are Week 1: May 21-May 25 and Week 2: May 29-June 1. WSI attendance is offered free-of-charge to participants; there is camping available free-of-charge adjacent to the Cradle of Forestry at Pink Beds Picnic Area and there are variety of lodging options in nearby Brevard, NC.

 Attendance to WSI requires a short application process and can be found at the website 

www.wildernessskillsinstitute.org. The online application period opens on Thursday, January 18th; participants will receive confirmation of their admittance into WSI before the end of March.

 The course offerings the first week of WSI 2018 are:

· Building Strong Partnerships for Wilderness Stewardship

· Crosscut A/B and Wilderness First Aid & CPR

· Crosscut C

· Griphoist and Rigging

 The courses offered during the second week of WSI are:

· Protecting Wilderness Character: Processes and Tools for Wilderness Stewardship

· Introduction to Equestrian Packing for Wilderness Stewardship

· Trail Maintenance

· Wilderness Interpretation

 We hope that you will consider attending and adding to the "esprit de corps" of the premier Wilderness stewardship training in the South. 

ODATCers Hike Tennessee

by Lisa Bagby

In 2017, four of our own ODATC members, took off for Tennessee to experience the Appalachian Trail as it meanders through the beautiful mountains of Tennessee.  Read of their adventure and experience the beauty, vicariously, of this majestic region.  Read More.