West Virginia and Landsat

Abstract

Many may recall “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” made famous by John Denver, leads with the lyric “almost heaven, West Virginia, Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River.” The descriptors are apt. Nicknamed the “Mountain State,” West Virginia inspires thoughts of coal mining or logging in the Appalachian Mountains and valleys, or the leaping trout in the winding waters of New River Gorge National Park & Reserve . West Virginia is second only to Wyoming in coal production nationwide. Its mines produced more than 67 million tons of coal in 2020. Logging pumped about $3.4 billion into the State’s economy in 2019; tourist spending added another $4.6 billion. Those industries are key for West Virginia, but agriculture and fisheries also play a role in the State's economic fortunes. Peaches and apples are major drivers of food production, as are beef and poultry. Trout, meanwhile, are caught and sold commercially, and are stocked throughout the State's rivers for local and visiting anglers. Scientists, land managers, and others use imagery from the U.S. Geological Survey Landsat satellite program's deep historical archive to better understand and manage West Virginia’s storied forests, fields, mountains, and foothills.