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Gift from Gregg, Katharine, 2024 May 7.
Dr. Katharine Gregg began as an Associate Professor of Biology and Director of the Greenhouse at West Virginia Wesleyan College in 1976. In 1985 she became a full professor and the curator of the George B. Rossbach Herbarium, and was awarded Emerita status in 2013. She has been highly involved in regional environmental advocacy efforts since the 1970s, primarily with the Sierra Club (1971-present), but was also on the Board of Directors for the West Virginia Highland's Conservancy (1978-1982) and a charter member of both the W.V. Clean Air Coalition and the W.V. Native Plant Society. Gregg's public work included: Public Participation Coordinator for the Environmental Protection Agency and the Holly Grove Coal Company; consulted for The Nature Conservancy and the W.V. Department of Natural Resources; and lobbied in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Gregg's longest commitment was with the Sierra Club, which she joined in 1971. She helped found the Henry's Knob Group of the South Carolina Chapter in 1972 and was secretary of the LeConte Chapter from 1975-1976. In 1977, she helped to restart the West Virginia Group of the Potomac Chapter, aided in its accreditation in 1984, and remains a central figure of the organization.
As part of her advocacy work, Dr. Gregg served as the Potomac Chapter's delegate to the Appalachian Regional Conservation Committee, and was a committee member for events such as the West Virginia Clean Air Workshop (1978), the Canaan Conference (1979), and the Coal Workshop (1980). Gregg also testified in hearings before the Office of Surface Mining, the Department of Interior, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Environmental Protection Agency.
In addition to her knowledge of policy and organizing, Gregg was also an experienced outdoorswoman, and was knowledgeable about backpacking, camping, canoeing, and eastern flora.
Information from Dr. Gregg's biographical note (A&M 4621, Box 2, Folder 4), as well as her biography on West Virginia Wesleyan's "Dreamers and Giants", and her ORCID page.
[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Katharine Gregg Papers, A&M 4598, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.
Papers, reports, and other materials of Dr. Katharine Gregg relating to projects and reports on which she worked, including the Canaan Valley Power Project, Monongahela National Forest Land Management and Resource Plan, and the Holly Grove Mining/Little Kanawha Environmental Impact Statement. This collection also includes material documenting Dr. Gregg's involvement with the Sierra Club, including two yard signs protesting the creation of the proposed Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline.
Addendum of 2024 August 26 includes records documenting Gregg's environmental advocacy and activism, including materials regarding her involvement with the Sierra Club, her interactions with the United States Forest Service and National Parks Service, and others. Also includes a t-shirt advertising against the construction of the Stonewall Jackson Dam.
Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.
Includes press clippings, Environmental Impact Reports, court documents and correspondence.
Includes press clippings, Public Participation Committee minutes and reports, and United States Environmental Protection Agency reports.
Papers primarily related to Gregg's term as Chairman of the Sierra Club in West Virginia. Includes correspondence with the United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service and the United States Department of Interior, National Park Service.