Wally Smith
@wsmith1.bsky.social
Conservation Biologist and Associate Professor at The University of Virginia’s College at Wise; herp nerd and occasional poet exploring the edges of people, ecology, and place. Current VP for Southwest Virginia’s The Clinch Coalition.
Yeah, I think politics is mostly behind it here in SWVA. Lots of money to be made by some politically-connected VIPs when regs don’t have to be followed (& in some cases, public money changing hands between those VIPs & reg agencies themselves, which further muddies the water…pun intended).
July 28, 2025 at 2:44 AM
Yeah, I think politics is mostly behind it here in SWVA. Lots of money to be made by some politically-connected VIPs when regs don’t have to be followed (& in some cases, public money changing hands between those VIPs & reg agencies themselves, which further muddies the water…pun intended).
Oh yeah, for sure. In our area, all that is nested in a broader issue of (some, not all) agencies endorsing large-scale unpermitted stream disturbance as a conservation measure. I’ve sat in a mtg where DEQ said stream excavation is a “beneficial use” of public waterways that does not need permitting
July 28, 2025 at 2:27 AM
Oh yeah, for sure. In our area, all that is nested in a broader issue of (some, not all) agencies endorsing large-scale unpermitted stream disturbance as a conservation measure. I’ve sat in a mtg where DEQ said stream excavation is a “beneficial use” of public waterways that does not need permitting