About iLoveMountains.org
Local, state, and regional organizations across Appalachia are working together to end mountaintop removal and create a prosperous future for the region. Through iLoveMountains.org, members of the Alliance for Appalachia have come together to use cutting edge technology to inform and involve Americans in their efforts to save mountains and communities.
This site was initially produced by Appalachian Voices and Mathew Gross, a pioneer in online organizing and former director of internet communications for the Howard Dean campaign. “I Love Mountains” has become the unofficial motto of the movement to end mountaintop removal, beginning with a bumper sticker produced by the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy that is commonly seen throughout the mountains. To buy “I Love Mountains” stickers, hats, and shirts, click here.
Website Partners
Appalachian Citizens Law Center
Prestonsburg, Kentucky
www.AppalachianLawCenter.org
The Appalachian Citizens Law Center is a non-profit law firm that provides free legal services to persons and citizens’ groups who have legal issues related to coal mining, logging, drilling, and other resource-related practices in Central Appalachia.
Appalachian Voices
Boone, North Carolina
www.AppalachianVoices.org
Appalachian Voices brings people together to solve the environmental problems having the greatest impact on the central and southern Appalachian Mountains. Our mission is to empower people to defend our region’s rich natural and cultural heritage by providing them with tools and strategies for successful grassroots campaigns.
Appalshop
Whitesburg, KY
www.Appalshop.org
Appalshop is a multi-disciplinary arts and education center in the heart of Appalachia producing original films, video, theater, music and spoken-word recordings, radio, photography, multimedia, and books. For 37 years, Appalshop has been an active force in strengthening Appalachia’s assets and wrestling with its problems. Appalshop has worked with many of our region’s citizen groups in producing videotapes, radio programs, and other work that presents the realities of daily life in the coalfields.
Coal River Mountain Watch
Whitesville, West Virginia
www.crmw.net
The mission of Coal River Mountain Watch is to stop the destruction of our communities and environment by mountaintop removal mining, to improve the quality of life in our area and to help rebuild sustainable communities.
HeartwoodHeartwood is a cooperative network of grassroots groups, individuals and businesses dedicated to the health and well-being of our nation’s hardwood forests and their interdependent plant, animal and human communities. Heartwood protects forests and supports community activism through advocacy, education and citizen empowerment.
Keeper of the Mountains Foundation
Dawes, West Virginia
www.mountainkeeper.org
Keeper of the Mountains Foundation was created to fund Larry Gibson’s efforts to preserve and foster the values of mountain culture. Larry Gibson’s family has lived on or near Kayford Mountain since the late 1700’s. Since 1986, thousands of people have visited Larry to witness the continuous, slow motion destruction of Kayford Mountain by mountaintop removal.
Kentuckians for the Commonwealth
London, Kentucky
www.kftc.org
Kentuckians For The Commonwealth is a statewide citizens organization working for a new balance of power and a just society. As we work together we build our strength, individually and as a group, and we find solutions to real life problems. We use direct action to challenge-and change-unfair political, economic and social systems. Our membership is open to all people who are committed to equality, democracy and non-violent change.
MACED - Mountain Association for Community and Economic Development
Berea, KY
www.MACED.org
MACED creates economic alternatives that work for people and places in Appalachian Kentucky. They aim to promote “high road” www.lopment efforts—strategies that result in adequate wages and meaningful work, protect the environment and make a difference to communities most in need. They work with people to demonstrate www.lopment ideas that work, provide financial capital and expertise to make them a reality, and conduct research and educational activities that support meaningful public policy. We are currently demonstrating sustainable forestry in the region and promoting an alternative to predatory payday loans. MACED is also working in partnership with KFTC to create a stronger and more effective economic www.lopment system in Kentucky— one the supports an economic future for the region beyond coal.
Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition
Huntington, West Virginia
www.ohvec.org
Our mission is to organize and maintain a diverse grassroots organization dedicated to the improvement and preservation of the environment through education, grassroots organizing and coalition building, leadership www.lopment and media outreach.
Statewide Organizing for Community eMpowerment
Lake City, Tennessee
www.socm.org
The mission of SOCM is to assist Tennessee residents to protect, defend and improve the quality of life in their communities and across the state. From organizational roots in rural coal counties of the Cumberland Mountains and Cumberland Plateau, SOCM is working toward environmental, economic and social justice for all Tennessee residents.
Sierra Club Environmental Justice Projects: Central Appalachia
www.SierraClub.org
Mining activists in Appalachia are some of the most dedicated people in the world. They live in fear of blasting, flooding, overweight coal trucks, and slurry releases and still they keep hope. There is an old hymn that says, “Just like a tree that’s planted by the waters, I shall not be moved.” In Appalachia, they have destroyed the trees, polluted our water, cut off the tops of our mountains, and blasted the foundations of our homes, but we will not be moved.
The goal of the Sierra Club’s Central Appalachia Environmental Justice site is to support the work of these activists in their struggles against the irresponsible practices of the mining industry. Working on behalf of the Sierra Club are environmental justice organizers Bill Price and Bill McCabe.
Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards
Big Stone Gap, Virginia
www.SAMSva.org
Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards is an organization of concerned community members and their allies who are working to stop the destruction of our communities by surface coal mining, to improve the quality of life in our area, and to help rebuild sustainable communities.
SouthWings
Asheville, North Carolina
www.Southwings.org
Founded in 1996, SouthWings is a non-profit conservation organization that provides skilled pilots and aerial education to enhance conservation efforts across the Southeast. SouthWings flights are contributing significantly to increased public and media awareness of regional environmental issues, particularly mountaintop removal coal mining.
West Virginia Highlands Conservancy
Charleston, West Virginia
www.WVHighlands.org
Formed in 1967 to preserve the natural beauty of the West Virginia Highlands, the Conservancy is the state’s oldest environmental advocacy organization. For nearly four decades the Conservancy has been a leader in citizen efforts on a variety of mining issues critical to protecting the environment and life in West Virginia.
To purchase “I Love Mountains” bumper stickers, hats, and shirts, visit their website.
