PHOTO/APPALACHIANS AGAINST PIPELINES
Editor’s note: The Appalachian pipeline project threatens landscape, water and the economy.
On February 26, 2018, two tree sits were erected on Peters Mountain in Monroe County, WV in the path of the Mountain Valley Pipeline. These tree sits [intended to prevent companies from destroying forests] are located just about where the Mountain Valley Pipeline is proposed to cross the Appalachian Trail. (The company intends to bore through the fragile karst terrain of the mountain, under the Appalachian Trail).
In mid-March, on Day 14 of the tree sits, Mountain Valley Pipeline sent crews to clearcut the West Virginia side of the mountain despite heavy snows. The Peters Mountain tree sits prevented crews from finishing their task, leaving many trees on the pipeline easement standing.
Below is a statement from one of the tree sitters, written that evening:
“It’s evening now, and we’re still here, monitoring the climb lines that anchor our platforms and connect the trees, and trying to keep the snow from blowing into the tree sits. This morning we could look down the mountain into unbroken snow-covered forest, where now we see an expanse of felled trunks.
“The clearing crew cut up the easement, through private land on the WV side of Peters Mountain and into the National Forest, working in the area around the sits from the morning into early afternoon. Thankfully, friends on the ground helped make sure workers understood how the rigging is anchored to the trees and platforms, so no one cut trees attached to our lines or trees that would have hit those lines as they fell. This has left a significant piece of the easement in the National Forest with trees still standing, including where Mountain Valley Pipeline plans to bore under the Appalachian Trail.
“We intend to stay here as long as the trees do.
“The progress Mountain Valley Pipeline has already made is painful to see, and the roars of the chainsaws still ring in our ears. Yet that the company would do this—send out a chainsaw crew in a snowstorm to cut a gash up this beautiful, wild mountain; plan to drill through fragile karst terrain without regard for water or life; continue to ignore and attempt to trample on everyone in Virginia and West Virginia who live on land they do not want this pipeline to destroy—only strengthens our resolve.
“We’ve received so much support from the start of this action, from people sharing what’s happening here across social media to the folks who live nearby who braved the winter weather to bring hand warmers, food, and reading material to us.
“We will continue, against the pipeline, against the forces of the state that support the pipeline companies and continue to uphold the colonization and exploitation that Mountain Valley Pipeline, Atlantic Coast Pipeline, and all pipelines are a part of, alongside the myriad struggles against pipelines and extraction everywhere, in defense of the land and waters we love.”
For updates on the Peters Mountain tree sits and this ongoing campaign, follow Appalachians Against Pipelines and Farmlands Fighting Pipelines on Facebook. To donate, visit bit.ly/supportmvpresistance.
