The New River Controversy, A New Edition

This updated edition of the 1979 original covers the landmark struggle to save the New River from damming in the 1970s. The grassroots movement emphasized the river’s cultural and historical value rather than narrow environmental issues and became one of the great victories of the environmental movement. This edition also includes a new epilogue examining the current ecological status of the New River and the ongoing impact of the original conservation efforts in the face of new environmental threats. The 1979 edition won the Weatherford Award presented by Berea College and the Appalachian Studies Association.

Thomas J. Schoenbaum is research professor at George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C. He is the author of many books and articles on legal and international topics.

R. Seth Woodard is a fisherman and author who holds history degrees from Appalachian State University (BA) and Virginia Tech (MA). He lives in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Sam J. Ervin, Jr., was a U.S. Senator from North Carolina from 1954 to 1974.

Thomas J. Schoenbaum

Foreword by Sam J. Ervin, Jr.

Epilogue by R. Seth Woodard

Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 212
Bibliographic Info: 20 photos, maps, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2007
pISBN: 978-0-7864-2838-0
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1073-3
Imprint: McFarland
Series: Contributions to Southern Appalachian Studies

Acknowledgments (1979)      vii
Foreword by Sam J. Ervin Jr. (1979)      1
Preface to the New Edition      7
Introduction from the 1979 Edition      11

1. The River and the Valley: Geology and Prehistory      15
2. The New River in the Old West: Conflict and Settlement      25
3. The Lost Provinces      43
4. “Progress” Comes to the New River: Phase One
of the Blue Ridge Project      57
5. Another Green Light for Blue Ridge      67
6. The Scenic River Strategy      75
7. Counterattack in Court      85
8. The People Unite      105
9. False Hopes and a New Defeat      119
10. The New River Like It Is      139

Epilogue from the 1979 Edition      171
Epilogue to the New Edition: The New River Valley Since 1976 by R. Seth Woodard      175
Notes      187
Bibliography      191
Index      197

• Winner, Weatherford Award—Appalachian Studies Association
• “An overdue update of the 1979 original covers the landmark struggle to save the New River from a massive TVA-like claim proposed in the 1960s”—Appalachian Voice