A Virginia River that attracts visitors from all over the world is on a list of the most endangered American Rivers out today. AmericanRivers.org says the Russell Fork River, on the Virginia border with Kentucky, faces a threat of pollution from coal mining waste, if permits are approved allow the mining nearby.
The famed Russell Fork River includes a stretch they call The Beast of the East, a class 5 rapid that’s a match for top kayakers. There’s great fishing on the Russell and an endangered crayfish living there.
The river made the most endangered list because of the possibility that the Paramont Coal Company could re-open a mine nearby and cause waste chemicals to flow into its tributaries, that is, if parent company, Alpha Natural Resources, gets approval for a permit to allow that.
Tarence Ray, with the advocacy group, Appalachian Voices says the river and the state park brought nearly 10-million dollars into Virginia and Kentucky in 2015, and that kind of tourism is part of what towns in the region are counting on for their economic future
“We see this as emblematic of a lot of the choices that communities in this region face right now because of the decline of the coal industry and we just want to make sure that we are preserving assets like the Russell Fork River that will be beneficial economically and culturally for future generations.”
A spokesman for Alpha Natural Resources says there are no plans at this time for its subsidiary, Paramont Coal to re-open the Doe Branch mine. Alpha declared bankruptcy in 2015.
To see a list of the ten most endangered American Rivers click here.
