In late February, pipeline fighters took to the trees in Jefferson National Forest in Peterstown, West Virginia, in the path of the proposed 42 inch Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP). The resistors are stationed on the site where MVP LLC intends to drill directly through the mountain and beneath the Appalachian Trail. To complete this section of the pipeline route, MVP LLC would drill a 42-inch boring hole through the ridge of Peters Mountain. The Karst limestone terrain of Peters Mountain generates and filters fresh drinking water. Karst terrain also makes this area especially susceptible to landslides and sinkholes. Pipeline construction in this area would destroy a unique biome filled with caves, underground streams, and springs inhabited by life found nowhere else in the world.
Mountain Valley Pipeline would carry fracked gas from shale fields in West Virginia to intersect with the existing Transco Pipeline, a major highway for transporting gas to market overseas. MVP’s goal is not only profit off this pipeline, but increasing international dependence on fossil fuels.
The tree sit on the ridge of Peters Mountain hit 60 days today! 🔥
For 60 days, Mountain Valley Pipeline has been unable to complete tree clearing on this section of the easement, where they intend to bore through the mountain and under the Appalachian Trail.
A note from the tree sitter: “Today marks Day 60 for the Hellbender Stand.
As I reflect on these past months and remember the support of countless people who have made this resistance so powerful and resilient, I’m overwhelmed and humbled. I also remember its struggles. Throughout its tenure, this sit has endured snowstorms and hail, torrential rains and fearsome winds, legal assault and constant surveillance. Yet it persists.
We persist, defiant against the looming forces of corporate greed and unbridled extraction.
Now, the days warm and stretch longer as spring emerges. And now, as the forest begins to fill with the song of birds, the gobble of turkeys, the babble of a spring just a few hundred yards away, even the howling of coyotes and buzzing of flies, I’m reminded of what’s at stake.
Besieged by MVP, I’m also reminded that the best time for action is always now.”
Crowdfunding – bit.ly/supportmvpresistance
