Window Rock, in the "Tennessee Lands Unsuitable for Mining" petition area.
Environmentalists, business groups and the State of Tennessee agree that protecting our mountains is vital for the economy and the environment.
By Bonnie Swinford
It's not every day that a chamber of commerce or local governments in coal country agree with environmentalists that protecting the mountains from coal mining makes good business sense. Yet this year Sierra Club members were joined by several unlikely allies in supporting the state of Tennessee’s request to designate 67,000 acres of public land on the Cumberland Plateau as unsuitable for surface coal mining.
Above, mountain in the Royal Blue Wildlife Management Area (photo by Melinda Welton, courtesy of SELC). Below, a mountaintop removal mining site (photo by Karen Kasmauski, courtesy of SOCM).
Last year, the U.S. Office of Surface Mining (OSM) released a draft report supporting the Lands Unsuitable for Mining (LUM) petition in the North Cumberland Plateau. In comments to OSM on the petition, the Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism, Gatlinburg Convention & Visitors Bureau, Sevierville Chamber of Commerce, the County of Sevier Lodging Program, and The Smoky Mountain Tourism Development Council stated:
"We feel strongly that protecting the Cumberland Plateau’s mountaintops from the harmful effects of high-elevation surface mining will ensure the beauty of the ridgetops will remain for future generations and encourage sustainable economic development."
Protecting the important cultural, recreational and ecological resources in this region also has broad bipartisan support, including from the administration of Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander. These officials, along with business groups and thousands of people across our state, recognize that maintaining the integrity of our state parks, wild and scenic rivers, and national recreation areas supports tourism and brings needed jobs and economic opportunity to a transitioning region.
Tennessee’s Cumberland Plateau contains most of the older growth forest that exists in the area, as well as a diverse array of habitats and wildlife. The rivers and streams of the area contain one of the highest concentrations of endangered species in North America and the area provides vital breeding habitat for almost a third of all surviving Cerulean warblers. The area is also popular for hunting, hiking, wildlife viewing, and other outdoor recreational activities.
Cerulean Warbler watercolor by Saro Lynch.
Mountaintop removal and other forms of destructive surface coal mining have forever changed the landscape across large swaths of the Appalachian Mountains and pose a threat to the economic future of the region. In Tennessee, environmentalists and conservatives in the rural Cumberland’s have found common ground in protecting our mountains in order to build a strong future based on a more diverse and sustainable economy.
The Office of Surface Mining’s approval of this forward-thinking petition provides a unique opportunity to safeguard the Cumberland Mountains, a special part of our nation’s natural heritage, and to preserve the entirety of this ecologically and economically important area for future generations.
Bonnie Swinford is the Appalachia Just Transition organizer for the Tennessee Chapter of the Sierra Club.