Dear Neighbors and all West Virginians,
We are now facing a critical time in our beautiful state. I now speak as one who grew up in eastern Kentucky but was adopted into West Virginia in 1967 by marriage to a super intelligent, caring man who grew up in the coal fields of southern West Virginia. We both witnessed the devastation to the awesome beauty of the mountains surrounding us through the surface mining there. Not only was the land raped and scarred but the waters (rivers, streams, wells, etc.) were polluted to never return to their pure, clean states.
We in West Virginia are now facing another grab for our resources. This time outside forces are planning to grab our land but are presenting their rape as leases of the land. I had been optimistic that West Virginia would finally be on the road to showing the world just what beauty exists here in the state whose motto is that we are “always free”. If you visits other states, you will find that most have already destroyed the beauty that existed there in the past. The sprawl of cities, development of huge data centers or business complexes, etc. have wiped out much of the natural beauty there. Do we want this for West Virginia? We do need business development here but do we want to lose thousands of acres of farmland to solar farms? My husband wanted ‘good steward of the land’ on his grave marker. Even though we paid and do pay taxes on the land we bought, he did not feel as if he was the true owner; only a caretaker. We are all only caretakers of our land for the future generations.
If you can imagine what this state looked like when George Washington first came into this state to survey, you can see how badly we need to make wise decisions concerning the use of our remaining resources. Many years later, photos show trees that after they were cut and lying on the ground were thick enough to be taller than the man standing before it. Our land was rich. Do we want outside forces to again use our land resources to enrich themselves and others outside West Virginia? Do we remain silent while the outside forces use their money to buy our land and possibly the officials who are supposed to represent us as well as making sure they protect the land?
The decisions we make now will affect not only those now living but possibly for many generations to come. Do we want to maintain the history and the amazing beauty that surrounds us or do we give in to outside pressure and end up driving by endless ugly solar fields where once grew colorful wild plants and where the wild animals roamed freely?
Sincerely
Mrs. Vivian Estepp
(widow of Ronald Estepp, retired Soil Agronomist)
