WHAT'S AT STAKE?
State parks and wildlife preserves on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee protect an ecosystem that is world-renowned for its rich biodiversity and abundance of rare species.
THE THREAT
Public lands on Tennessee’s Cumberland Plateau are vulnerable to mountaintop removal and other destructive mining practices because other owners hold the underlying coal rights.
State parklands and wildlife preserves on Tennessee’s Cumberland Plateau serve as an ecological treasure chest, protecting natural riches that have made the plateau world-renowned for its biological diversity and abundance of rare species. These public lands belong to the citizens of Tennessee, but they face the threat of mountaintop removal coal mining and similarly destructive practices because other owners—including the Tennessee Valley Authority and mining corporations—hold the underlying coal rights. In Tennessee, Virginia, and other central Appalachian states, mountaintop removal has already claimed some 500 mountain peaks and destroyed or damaged more than 1,500 miles of streams. Tennessee is seeking to prevent a similar fate for mountain ridges that today are managed for hunting, hiking, wildlife viewing, and other outdoor recreational activities.
