Tree Sits Launched in February 2018
FROM: POWHR & Stop The Pipelines WVVANC
On August 17th, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) and Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) announced a “Voluntary Conservation Stewardship Agreement”. This $19.5 million agreement, which was formed without the knowledge of ATC members, was a shock after the ATC’s six years of opposition to the MVP and the resulting destruction to the viewsheds and the Appalachian National Historic Trail in Southern WV and Southwest VA.
Since the announcement of this secretly-formed agreement, ATC leadership has refused to release the contents of the agreement for review by ATC members and the general public. Please sign and share this petition by November 15, 2020, urging the Appalachian Trail Conservancy to make the entire text of this unprecedented “Voluntary Stewardship Agreement” available to every ATC member and to the public. The Trail does not belong to the ATC or any other group or organization, and it is not for sale.
To sign, please fill out the form and click “Add Your Name”. Please also select the appropriate box if you are an ATC member and/or an ATC volunteer.
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DRAFT MEMORANDUM TO APPALACHIAN TRAIL CONSERVANCY
To: Sandi Marra, ATC President and CEO; Members of the ATC Board
From: [LIST OF NAMES]
We, the undersigned, are writing to make you aware of our disappointment in the “Voluntary Stewardship Agreement,” reached between the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) and Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), and the subsequent refusal by ATC leadership to release the complete contents of the agreement to all ATC members, as well as to the general public.
Members of the ATC were not made aware of this agreement until it came out via a news release posted on August 17th by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy on their website:
https://appalachiantrail.org/news/voluntary-stewardship-agreement-to-advance-at-conservation/
which revealed that ATC had entered into a secret agreement with MVP and would receive up to 19.5 million dollars as part of that agreement.
Since that time, numerous people have asked to see the agreement, which appears to be a greenwashed capitulation by the ATC after six years of opposition to this highly destructive project and the resulting harm to the Appalachian Trail and its iconic viewsheds as it passes through Southern West Virginia and Southwestern Virginia.
See the following article that recently appeared on the Energy News Network Website:
ATC members and volunteers, as well as all that acknowledge and respect the Appalachian Trail’s significance, deserve to see the full “Voluntary Stewardship Agreement,” as it was made without our knowledge. Please immediately release the contents of the agreement for public review.
Sincerely, NAME LIST
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Mountain Valley Pipeline is not compatible with the Appalachian Trail
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
These people are so polite. Here’s the email I sent yesterday to the spokespeople linked with the two organizations:
TO: Appalachian Trail Conservancy and Conservation Fund
FROM: Mary Wildfire
RE: Deal with MVP and EQT
I just read the piece in the Business Wire about the deal between the developers of the MVP pipeline, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, and the Conservation Fund. It was certainly cheerful and celebratory. I want to point out that if you are enthusiastic about all the ways you can enhance e the conservation and environmental integrity of the Trail, there are more things you can do besides just allowing a gas pipeline to run under and along the Trail. For example, you could accept payment from coal companies to stripmine mountain peaks along the Trail — there must be some that still contain coal. Perhaps you could get a payment from the US Army to use the trailside as a bomb testing range. The Trail crosses some rivers; you could accept payment from a petrochemical company to set up plastics and chemical plants at the junction. Really, the possibilities are endless.
There is an old joke that goes like this:
He: A philosophical question about values…would you have sex with someone for a million dollars?
She: I believe I would.
He; How about having sex with me right now for twenty bucks?
She: What! What do you think I am?!
Him: We’ve already established that. Now we’re just haggling over price.
Which brings us to the question of YOUR price. $20 million is a lot of money. Would you partner with a polluter whose project threatens the climate for $2 million? How about $500,000? Needless to say, their PR people will put out the usual boilerplate about their commitment to environmental integrity, complete adherence to all laws, and so forth, that’s a given. Without that the deal doesn’t go through, but that’s not a problem — talk is cheap.
With sincere contempt,
Mary Wildfire
Mary Wildfire, I believe part of this is what they plan to do here in WV as Governor “Injustice” is promising “to move our state forward”…WEST VIRGINIA IS DOOMED UNDER JUSTICE. HOW DO PEOPLE THINK HE GOT SO RICH? BANKRUPTCIES AND BANKROLLERS.
I think we should pollute the Greenbrier and make him stay in pathetic, poisoned Charleston…
Mountain Valley Pipeline: Bad for the Appalachian Trail – YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrHnbbZuZrw