Coal Riv­er Moun­tain is an ancient Appalachi­an cra­dle of rolling ridges and nes­tled hol­lows, which pro­vide refuge to a vari­ety of del­i­cate wildlife species and a home to a unique­ly Amer­i­can moun­tain cul­ture. But just beneath the sur­face lays some­thing that calls into ques­tion the mountain???s very sur­vival: $4.3 bil­lion worth of coal. Massey Ener­gy holds per­mits to clear-cut 6,450 acres of hard­wood for­est on the moun­tain and to det­o­nate thou­sands of tons of explo­sives. The blasts will top­ple debris into nine miles of streams below, destroy­ing not just the moun­tain, but also the land and the way of life of those who live there. The peo­ple of Raleigh Coun­ty, West Vir­ginia are the ones who will suf­fer from the loss of their moun­tain to strip mining.