In the mountains of Southwest Virginia, where many residents face economic hardship and limited infrastructure, clean water and intact forests are vital to public health and quality of life. Yet industrial logging, flash flooding, and weak regulatory oversight continue to threaten the Clinch Ranger District and the globally rare biodiversity of High Knob. Since 1998, the Clinch Coalition has been working to stop preventable damage and inform citizens through public education, policy advocacy, science-based monitoring, and legal action. The group has exposed illegal sediment runoff from ATV trails, challenged destructive land-use plans, established protected areas, and demanded transparency around proposed nuclear reactor sites. They remain steadfast in their commitment to protecting these ecosystems – strengthening the resilience of the land, and the people who depend upon it.
View from the High Knob Observation Tower.
The Clinch Coalition, supported by ten board members and three staff, focuses on protecting High Knob Mountain and the Clinch Ranger District. What began as a grassroots fight against clearcutting has grown into a leading environmental watchdog in Southwest Virginia. The group has stopped industrial logging in old-growth forests, worked closely with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality to close and repair eroding ATV trail sections, and brought public attention to risky nuclear reactor proposals near vulnerable communities. Recently, they launched the Steve Brooks Legacy Internship—named for a late founding member—to train the region’s next generation of environmental leaders. Through public events, coalition building, and consistent on-the-ground advocacy, they have helped ensure that rural, working-class communities in Wise, Lee, and Scott counties have a voice in decisions affecting their land, water, and future. “Without them, no one would be watching,” said a resident at a recent public meeting in Scott County.
Devil’s Fork Trail, Jefferson National Forest.