The conservation group American Rivers put the Gauley River on its list of most endangered rivers for 2025.
It cites the surface mining activity on one of its primary tributaries, the Cherry River.
American Rivers points to one company specifically, South Fork Coal Company, which has operated on 3,600 acres in Greenbrier and Pocahontas counties.
That activity, the group says, has released sediment and toxic metals into waterways that support both threatened species and recreational activities.
“Local communities are paying the price for mining practices that are flaunting basic safeguards to
protect West Virginians and the economically vital Gauley River,” said David Moryc, senior director of river protection for American Rivers. “This is a severe abuse of the public trust.”
The Cherry and other Gauley tributaries lie within the Monongahela National Forest, home to the eastern hellbender salamander, which is threatened, and the candy darter fish, which is endangered.
South Fork filed for bankruptcy in February. The group says the company has violated water pollution standards 80 times since 2019.
“I shudder to think what the next encroachment by the coal industry into our public land will be,” said Willie Dodson, coal impacts manager for Appalachian Voices. “Are they going to strip Spruce Knob? Are they
going to put a sludge dam at Cranberry Glades? This is the time to draw a line in the sand.”