Good morning, Please see this note from Mary English, Baker Fellow:

For a run-down of an important environmental issue for East Tennessee, please see the 
attached (prepared by Don Barger, Director, SE Regional Office, National Parks 
Conservation Association).  In a nutshell:   

In response to a petition from the State of Tennessee, the federal Office of Surface 
Mining is considering banning future ridgetop coal mining in the state’s North Cumberland 
Wildlife Management Area.  NCWMA straddles parts of Anderson, Morgan, Scott, and 
Campbell counties.  OSM has issued a draft environmental impact statement and is taking 
comments on it until January 25 (http://www.osmre.gov/programs/rcm/TNLUM.shtm).  
You can submit a comment electronically by going to 
http://parkplanning.nps.gov/OSMRE_TN_LUM/  

Some key points you might want to address include:

•         your views on ridgetop mining and its environmental impacts
•         ways you value the Wildlife Management Area and areas downstream from it, 
such as the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area
•         your vision for the economic future of this part of East Tennessee – e.g., coal 
mining, or recreation and tourism

_________________________________
Mary R. English, Ph.D.
Fellow for Energy and Environmental Policy, Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy
Senior Fellow, Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
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865-584-2747