Rendezvous Helps Protect Russell Fork
by Scott Harding

Whether it was October's harvest moon or pent-up concern about protecting a treasured natural resource, a spirited assortment of paddlers, climbers, mountain bikers and other outdoor enthusiasts gathered in Haysi, Va., in early October for the fourth annual Russell Fork River Rendezvous, a three-day, noncommercial celebration of the river, mountains and its people. Founded in 1995 to help call attention to environmental degradation at the hands of mining and timber companies, and raise funds to protect the area's natural integrity, the event has seen attendance explode from 150 to more than 1,000 in four short years. "Extraction industries have had a stranglehold on the resources and people of this area for a hundred years," explains event organizer Brent Austin. "This is our way to help show our concern."

The Russell Fork region has long been a provider of timber and fossil fuels, adds Jerry Elkins, a fifth generation local and president of Headwaters, an environmental group focusing on issues around the Russell Fork, and now it is threatened by a new form of mining--natural gas development. Mining corporations, says Elkins, categorize the development of natural gas in coal seams as mine safety and are able to skirt environmental regulations that normally apply to commercial gas development. The gas extraction involves pumping hydrochloric acid into bedrock to prime the strata for fracturing to release natural gas. The gas is then collected and sold. Elkins estimates that up to 200,000 gallons of hydrochloric acid has been pumped into the ground near the Russell Fork. It is uncertain where it ends up, and the fracturing of bedrock is suspected to cause shifts in groundwater flows. James Stapleton of the Russell Fork Water Watch says this has resulted in the drying of several wells and streams. "The Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River, a sister stream of the Russell Fork, has already dried up at its headwaters," he maintains. "And similar methane mining is planned for the headwaters of the Russell Fork."

Erosion caused by this gas development is also scarring hillsides and silting up local streams. According to Austin, this sediment pollution is the most critical issue facing the Russell Fork. "It occurs from a number of activities including strip mining, methane extraction and logging," he says. Other issues concerning the area include the Haysi Dam Proposal, nutrient pollution from septic systems and runoff, and better recreational management of dam releases. A growing interest in giving the river Wild and Scenic status offers a star of hope for more permanent legal protection.

In the meantime, locals continue to show their grassroots support through the festival. This year, Rendezvous goers were treated to more than a dozen bands and plenty of paddling, including the annual Class V race through the river's 1,600-foot-deep canyon. And as usual, the conservation celebration ended with a thundering drum circle under the bright glow of a full harvest moon. --For more information on next year's Russell Fork Rendezvous, visit Russell Fork Water Watch at www.kymtnnet.org/~wwatch.htm. --Scott Harding