Help Chart Our Future – Pizza & Meeting January 9
Preserve Craig invites you to a public meeting January 9, 2020 at the Craig Botetourt Electric Cooperative meeting room (26198 Craigs Creek Rd, New Castle, VA 24127 on Route 615, a little over 1/2 mile from Route 311). A presentation by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy will begin at 6:30. Preserve Craig will also be seeking input from the public about future project priorities. Come early to have some pizza at 5:30.
We will get to learn about and discuss designating a cultural heritage region that will honor and help protect our county and honor the people of our mountains.
Andrew Downs, a Senior Regional Director of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, will be our guest to talk about this project. He will share ways to move forward honoring the cultural heritage of the area. He is leading an initiative to document and preserve the cultural heritage of Peters Mountain while promoting sustainable growth. This initiative would encompass our area and would build upon the work that Preserve Craig initiated on Cultural Attachment in the 1990s.
The Cultural Attachment work that began in the 1990s led to a special determination and record of decision in 2002 by the National Forest that this area is not an appropriate site for major utility corridors. That decision has never been formally overturned. We continued to develop Cultural Attachment studies and that field is now known as Attachment to Place. Those studies continue to be part of the legal work that Preserve Craig is doing to oppose the Mountain Valley Pipeline. The permit to cross National Forest was revoked by the federal courts and has not been restored. This issue would be presented again if the Forest Service re-opens the permitting process, as the court mandated over a year ago.
Preserve Craig’s mission, to protect our natural, historical, and cultural resources, aligns perfectly with that of the Appalachia Trail Conservancy. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s mission is to preserve and manage the Appalachian Trail – ensuring that its vast natural beauty and priceless cultural heritage can be shared and enjoyed today, tomorrow, and for centuries to come.
At the January meeting you can also learn more about our mapping project and our survey of what other initiatives are important in Craig County. Preserve Craig will be providing free pizza and beverages. We’ll look forward to seeing you on January 9 at 26198 Craigs Creek Rd, New Castle, VA 24127. Please RSVP to preservecraig@gmail.com or call 540-309-9560, so we can make sure we have another pizza for everyone.
Preserve Craig is a participant in the Mountain Valley Watch (MVW), a collaboration of volunteers, nonprofits, and private interests. MVW is documenting construction activity of the Mountain Valley Pipeline to assure compliance with environmental regulations during construction. Call or text to 833-MVWATCH (833-689-2824) with any info on harm MVP is causing.
Protect Our Community
Please donate to protect this special place. Preserve Craig, Inc. is a 501C3 nonprofit volunteer public charity formed in 1991 to protect our natural, historical, and cultural resources. Tax-deductible donations can be made online at www.preservecraig.org or by mail to: Preserve Craig, Inc., PO Box 730, New Castle, VA. 24127.