From our friends at WV Rivers

Energy decisions impact real people, yet too often, community voices are left out of the conversation. That’s why WV Rivers has partnered with researchers from Northeastern University on a unique project using photovoice. (Photovoice is a method that invites residents to share their experiences through photography!)

Together, we’re exploring how communities in Montgomery, Monroe and Summers Counties, and Williamson experience energy system disruptions — like blackouts from floods or aging infrastructure — and how those disruptions can spark powerful conversations about clean energy and justice. The result? A powerful, community-led exhibit showcasing the challenges and hopes for the future of energy in West Virginia.

Come see the photo exhibits in:

Lewisburg – June 12, 4:30–6:30 PM at the Greenbrier Valley Visitors Center

Greenbrier River Fly Fishing Classic

The make up date for the GRFFC tournament will be on June 21st. Same time line applies, 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. Awards ceremony will be held at Greenbrier Valley Brewing Company that evening. We hope you all can make it. For any questions or concerns please message us on Facebook or at our website www.grffc.com.

Snorkel the Greenbrier

Check out these upcoming public snorkeling events in Cass. The events will be on June 25th and August 6th. Contact Stephanie.r.meeks@wv.gov for more information.

Kayak Auction/ Sale

This beautiful 21 ft Skookumchuck Tandem Kayak has been donated to the GRWA in honor of a local river steward to be used for fundraising. We still have this beautiful kayak available for purchase! It has been valued at @$2000.00. Make us an offer, call 304-647-4792 or email greenbrierwatershed@gmail.com if you are interested. All proceeds will help us keep our watershed clean and healthy. Interested?

SAVE THE DATES!

Contact your representatives, often! Participate! Be heard!

Contact your local, state and federal representatives with your concerns.

WV Legislature HERE

VA Legislature HERE

Members of Congress HERE

Listen to the FERC APRIL - Monthly Virtual Open Meeting

June 27 @ 10:00 AM

Virtual Open Meeting

Commission meeting held in Commission Meeting Room (Room 2C) at FERC Headquarters, 888 First St. N.E., Washington, D.C. 20426

A  free live webcast is available for this meeting from 10:00 am - 11:00 am. All webcasts are archived for 3 months. Full info HERE         

Volunteer ~ Get involved with what matters to you!

Make your time count by volunteering with your favorite non-profit to do any number of things from helping with river cleanups, to monitoring rivers and creeks, to making phone calls or licking envelopes. You will make a difference.

Donate to a non - profit working to help save your backyard.



Share this newsletter on your social media account or in an email.



Follow these pages ~ Stay informed on the issues.

WV Rivers ~ WV Rivers is the statewide voice for water-based recreation and clean, drinkable, swim-able, and fishable rivers and streams-from the headwaters to wherever water flows in West Virginia. 

Appalachian Voices ~ The Appalachian Voice has covered environmental, outdoor and cultural news in the Appalachian mountains since 1996. We provide thorough and well-researched journalistic news coverage to fit a niche not often covered by standard news media.

New River Conservancy ~ Protecting the water, woodlands and wildlife of the New River Watershed.

Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance ~ Protecting the heritage, resources and economy of the Allegheny-Blue Ridge region.

WV Environmental Council ~ Facilitate communication and cooperation among citizens in promoting environmental protection in West Virginia, to assist in organizing grass roots groups, to facilitate interaction among established environmental organizations, and to correspond with all appropriate local, state, and federal agencies involved in the management of West Virginia's environment. 

Wild Virginia ~ Along with our partners, alliances, and citizens like you, we press on in the fight against fracked gas pipelines in our region. The Mountain Valley Pipeline poses a great risk to our forests and surrounding communities. We are also working to improve habitat connectivity for wildlife throughout Virginia and to ensure that all of our waterways are fully protected in accordance with the law.

Stop the Money Pipeline ~ If we can stop the flow of money, we can stop the flow of oil. In early 2020, thirty-two organizations came together to form the Stop the Money Pipeline coalition. We stand on the shoulders of years of movement work pressuring financial institutions to act on climate.

Wanted: New Members

The Greenbrier River Watershed Association is dedicated to continuing our work to preserve and protect our unique environment. We need NEW members and hope YOU will consider joining us, OR please renew your current membership if you haven't yet for 2025. You will be supporting a busy group that monitors the Greenbrier River and it's tributaries, participates in educational events and gets out to pick up trash. Just scan the QR code and join. If you would like to volunteer, just let us know what your interest is. Also, you can join any committee without having to be a board member so if one of our committees matches your interest, just let us know. Thank you!

New volunteer spotlights!

First two photos: Adrianne Thackery, AmeriCorps member with the USFS out of Marlinton, and Kyle Tasker, her supervisor, doing data recording. Last photo: Dr. Bob Must, a retired physician in the Hillsboro area. On Feb. 4th we gathered our water samples with 3 new volunteers! We are happy to have new volunteers for our water quality testing in section 2 in southern Pocahontas county.

Willowwood Water Testing



Greenbrier River Watershed Association water quality testing team is back out for their Feb. testing after having to skip January, due to too much ice. Only this last week did the ice give way and the water rose. This is at our Willowwood testing site with Chris Chanlett and John Farrell board members doing the testing and data recording.

West Virginia Sustainable Fashion Show

returns to Lewisburg April 26



LEWISBURG W.Va. (WVDN) – The West Virginia Sustainable Fashion Show (previously known as Earth Day Fashion Forward) is an annual runway show that celebrates sustainability in the fashion industry and features the work of local and regional designers. It will return to the Lewis Theater in Lewisburg, on Saturday, April 26, at 3 p.m. The show spotlights fashion that reuses and repurposes existing fabric and clothing made from sustainable textile manufacturing, decoration, and care processes. 

Professional and amateur fashion designers are encouraged to enter. In addition to the runway fashion show, the event features a musical performance, a silent auction, and a feast of bubbly and bites. Designers will be awarded in several categories, and the best-dressed guest will receive a prize.

Show Director Diane Browning said, “I’m thrilled to announce we’ll have a national leader in sustainable fashion as our keynote speaker. Lynda Grose is a sustainable fashion professor at the California School of Art and co-author of the book “Fashion and Sustainability: Design for Change. She pioneered sustainable fashion standards as the designer for Esprit’s Ecollection.” A month-long accompanying exhibit at the Greenbrier Valley Visitors Center will showcase process and performance in sustainable fashion.

The West Virginia Sustainable Fashion Show is sponsored by the Greenbrier County Democratic Women’s Club as a fundraiser for their Blue Skies Ahead get-out-the-vote campaign. Go to wvsustainablefashion.com for more details. 

On December 12, 2025, eleven conservation organizations urged the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement to take immediate action to close an illegal coal haul road in the Monongahela National Forest in Greenbrier and Pocahontas Counties, West Virginia. In a letter addressed to the agency’s leadership, the groups explained that South Fork Coal Company falsely claimed that its Haulroad #2 would not enter national forest land when it obtained its state mining permit in 2011. Under federal law, surface coal mining operations and impacts are prohibited in the national forest unless a coal company had “valid existing rights” established prior to the passage of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977.

Haulroad #2 is used to truck coal from South Fork Coal Company’s 1,200-acre Rocky Run Surface Mine to a coal preparation plant near Rupert, West Virginia. Both the road and the mine discharge pollutants into designated critical habitat for the endangered candy darter in the South Fork of Cherry River. Both have been cited numerous times in recent years for various environmental violations, including failures to control sediment and prevent pollutants from entering adjacent waterways.

The Rocky Run Surface Mine and Haulroad #2 are about six miles from the popular Cranberry Glades Wilderness Area and only two miles from the Falls of Hills Creek Scenic Area. The South Fork of Cherry River and its tributaries are pristine headwater streams that ultimately flow into the Gauley River, a world-class whitewater rafting, kayaking and tourism destination.

Full story HERE

ACT NOW: US Fish & Wildlife seeking comments for proposed Endangered Species designations

The US Fish & Wildlife Service proposed listing the Eastern Hellbender to be designated as Endangered Species. This rare species can be found in the Greenbrier Watershed near the Mon Forest. The public has until February 11, 2025 to comment.

The Eastern Hellbender makes its home throughout the New River watershed - from NC to VA to WV. Populations have been in decline for many years, and thanks to sustained pressure from environmental groups, it may have a chance to rebound.

With the proposed ruling to place it on the endangered species list, the hellbender, along with the mussels, have the opportunity, if passed, to receive protections to help populations grow. Please send your comments of support before February 11 HERE

Report says Mountain Valley Pipeline has harmed

West Virginia streams

Environmental groups are asking for stronger regulations on pipelines after a report said that the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) negatively impacted 88% of the streams it crosses in West Virginia.

A report published by West Virginia Rivers Coalition and Downstream Strategies found that 88% of the 139 stream crossings and 89% of the 61 wetland crossings from the MVP were negatively impacted by its construction. According to a press release, 14 stream crossings showed “severe decreases in channel stability.”

“Even when ‘enhanced’ erosion control measures are in place, this report documents the destructive nature of pipeline construction,” Mariah Clay, Southern WV Coordinator at West Virginia Rivers Coalition, said in the release.

Full story HERE

SAVE THE DATES!

Contact your representatives, often! Participate! Be heard!

Contact your local, state and federal representatives with your concerns.

WV Legislature HERE

VA Legislature HERE

Members of Congress HERE

Listen to the FERC Monthly Virtual Open Meeting

January 16 @ 10:00 AM

Virtual Open Meeting

Commission meeting held in Commission Meeting Room (Room 2C) at FERC Headquarters, 888 First St. N.E., Washington, D.C. 20426

A  free live webcast is available for this meeting from 10:00 am - 11:00 am. All webcasts are archived for 3 months. Full info HERE          

Volunteer ~ Get involved with what matters to you!

Make your time count by volunteering with your favorite non-profit to do any number of things from helping with river cleanups, to monitoring rivers and creeks, to making phone calls or licking envelopes. You will make a difference.

Donate to a non - profit working to help save your backyard.



Share this newsletter on your social media account or in an email.



Follow these pages ~ Stay informed on the issues.

WV Rivers ~ WV Rivers is the statewide voice for water-based recreation and clean, drinkable, swim-able, and fishable rivers and streams-from the headwaters to wherever water flows in West Virginia. 

Appalachian Voices ~ The Appalachian Voice has covered environmental, outdoor and cultural news in the Appalachian mountains since 1996. We provide thorough and well-researched journalistic news coverage to fit a niche not often covered by standard news media.

New River Conservancy ~ Protecting the water, woodlands and wildlife of the New River Watershed.

Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance ~ Protecting the heritage, resources and economy of the Allegheny-Blue Ridge region.

WV Environmental Council ~ Facilitate communication and cooperation among citizens in promoting environmental protection in West Virginia, to assist in organizing grass roots groups, to facilitate interaction among established environmental organizations, and to correspond with all appropriate local, state, and federal agencies involved in the management of West Virginia's environment. 

Wild Virginia ~ Along with our partners, alliances, and citizens like you, we press on in the fight against fracked gas pipelines in our region. The Mountain Valley Pipeline poses a great risk to our forests and surrounding communities. We are also working to improve habitat connectivity for wildlife throughout Virginia and to ensure that all of our waterways are fully protected in accordance with the law.

Stop the Money Pipeline ~ If we can stop the flow of money, we can stop the flow of oil. In early 2020, thirty-two organizations came together to form the Stop the Money Pipeline coalition. We stand on the shoulders of years of movement work pressuring financial institutions to act on climate.