WEST VIRGINIA

Select photographic and video materials from the 2009 research trip to strip mining sites and surrounding communities in the Kayford Mountain region of southern West Virginia. Research involved visits to active and abandoned strip mines, as well as interviews with anti-strip mining activists, regional environmentalist organizations, child services department representatives, working miners, and local residents. Extensive documentation was done through both on-the-ground activities and an aerial fly-over of mountaintop removal sites.

Associated projects: Mountain Strip, Mountain Views

Photographs

: Environmentalist Larry Gibson and Blane De. St. Croix. Larry had been fighting mountaintop removal mining for over 20 years, in spite of threats and harassment.

: Larry Gibson in front of his cabin at the top of Kayford Mountain. The land owned by Larry’s family is now a 140-acre green patch completely surrounded by stripped terrain.

: Surveying the strip mine. Left to right: Blane De. St. Croix, Larry Gibson, and Jane Benson Front: Larry’s dog, Dog. Dog’s two predecessors were shot and killed.

: Blane De. St. Croix documents the damage caused by Samples Mine, one of the oldest strip mining operations in the Kayford Mountain area.

: Samples Mine. Mountaintop removal in progress.

: Example of the heavy equipment used to remove the soil.

: Samples Mine. Blast warning sign.

: Whitesville, WV. Headquarters of the Coal River Mountain Watch, an activist organization fighting mountaintop removal mining in southern West Virginia.

: Coal River Mountain Watch headquarters in Whitesville, WV. The mural became the site of a spontaneous exchange of opinions when miners stenciled heavy equipment onto the virgin landscape. The environmentalists responded by populating the scene with protesters.

: Flyover of six large strip mines in the Kayford Mountain area.

: Flyover of six large strip mines in the Kayford Mountain area.

: Flyover of six large strip mines in the Kayford Mountain area. The extent of environmental destruction is staggering.

: Mountaintop removal mining begins with deforestation.

: To expedite the process, the mining company dumps the trees into the surrounding valleys. They will be buried under the removed soil.

: Man-made reservoir holding coal slurry. The highly toxic mixture of water, fine coal refuse, and various chemicals is a by-product of the coal preparation process.

: Flyover of six large strip mines in the Kayford Mountain area.

: Flyover of six large strip mines in the Kayford Mountain area.

: Flyover of six large strip mines in the Kayford Mountain area.

: Flyover of six large strip mines in the Kayford Mountain area.

: Flyover of six large strip mines in the Kayford Mountain area.

: Kayford Mountain. Fourth of July retreat organized by Larry Gibson for environmental activists from the area is disrupted by the unexpected arrival of a group of irate mine workers.

: Prior to the event, the mining company laid off 500 employees. They were told the cutbacks were caused by “tree-huggers.”

: Emotions run high as the miners express their views on the activists and their cause.

: Blane De St. Croix and Larry Gibson. Larry passed away on September 9, 2012. He was 66 years old.

Video

Altercation with a group of belligerent miners during the 2009 Fourth of July environmental activist retreat on Kayford Mountain, WV.