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| Save Our Cumberland Mountains | |
|---|---|
| Name | Save Our Cumberland Mountains |
| Formation | 1970 |
| Type | Nonprofit advocacy group |
| Purpose | Environmental conservation, anti-surface mining activism |
| Headquarters | Appalachia, Harlan County, Knoxville (historical activity) |
| Region served | Cumberland Plateau, Cumberland Mountains |
| Leader title | Founder |
| Leader name | Wendell Berry (associated figure), Homer Ledford (supporter) |
Save Our Cumberland Mountains
Save Our Cumberland Mountains was a grassroots environmental organization formed in 1970 to oppose large-scale surface coal mining and to protect the Cumberland Plateau, Appalachian Mountains, and communities in Harlan County, Kentucky and neighboring counties. The group engaged in direct action, litigation, and advocacy, interacting with figures and institutions such as Sierra Club, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Congress, and prominent activists and politicians of the era. Its campaigns connected to broader movements and events including the Environmental Movement (1960s–1970s), the passage of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, and regional responses to the activities of corporations like Peabody Energy and Pittston Coal Company.
Save Our Cumberland Mountains emerged amid increasing public scrutiny of surface mining practices on the Cumberland Plateau and in coalfields of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. The group organized during the same period as national debates involving Richard Nixon, the Clean Water Act, and environmental organizations such as the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Audubon Society. Early actions coincided with regional disputes involving utilities like Tennessee Valley Authority and mining companies active in the Appalachian coal mining region. Activists drew inspiration from figures and movements including Rachel Carson, the first Earth Day, and local labor and community leaders in Pine Mountain and Cumberland Gap National Historical Park areas.
Founders and early leaders included local activists, clergy, and scholars who linked conservation to community welfare, reaching out to allies such as Joan Baez, Studs Terkel, and regional writers like James Still and Alden Carter. Leadership collaborated with national organizations including Friends of the Earth, The Wilderness Society, and the Environmental Defense Fund. The group worked with legal advocates from institutions such as Yale Law School, Vanderbilt University, and University of Kentucky, connecting to legislators like Senator Wendell Ford and Representative Harley O. Staggers Jr. on policy initiatives.
Campaigns targeted practices like mountaintop removal and strip mining used by companies such as Peabody Energy and Consol Energy. Save Our Cumberland Mountains organized protests, public hearings, and blockades similar to actions by Earth First! and allied with community campaigns in Harlan County War-era disputes. The group engaged photographers and writers in the tradition of Lewis Hine and Ansel Adams to document impacts, collaborating with media outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, and The Courier-Journal. Actions included advocacy before agencies such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement.
The organization’s advocacy intersected with federal and state legislative processes, contributing to debates that led to the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 and influencing enforcement by agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency. Legal efforts involved litigation strategies paralleling cases brought by the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund and landmark administrative proceedings before the United States Supreme Court and federal circuit courts. The group also engaged with state legislatures in Kentucky General Assembly and regulatory bodies such as the Kentucky Department for Natural Resources.
Public outreach combined testimony at hearings, coalition-building with organizations like Appalachian Voices and Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, and cultural advocacy involving musicians and writers from the region such as Jean Ritchie, Hazel Dickens, Earl Scruggs, and Loretta Lynn. Supporters included labor and religious groups like the United Mine Workers of America and regional clergy connected to networks including National Council of Churches. Media coverage featured editorial support from publications such as Mother Jones, Rolling Stone, and regional press like Lexington Herald-Leader.
Critics accused the organization of hindering economic development in coal-dependent counties and of aligning with outside environmental groups perceived as disconnected from local labor concerns. Opponents included corporate interests such as Arch Coal and political figures allied with extraction industries. Debates mirrored national tensions exemplified by conflicts around Reagan administration energy policy, the decline of coal employment, and disputes that also involved entities like United States Chamber of Commerce and National Coal Association.
The legacy includes influence on subsequent Appalachian conservation and community groups such as Coal River Mountain Watch, Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, and national campaigns by Greenpeace and Sierra Club in the region. The organization’s model of combining legal action, media, and grassroots organizing informed later efforts addressing mountaintop removal by activists like Brent Blackwelder and scholars at institutions including University of Virginia and Marshall University. Its impact resonates in contemporary policy discussions involving the Bureau of Land Management, reclamation funding, and the continuing transition debates involving figures such as Bill Haslam and organizations like Appalachian Regional Commission.
Category:Environmental organizations based in the United States Category:Appalachian Mountains