Nature and Climate as Economic Pillars for a New Appalachian Economy
Insights from the Retreat
framing and purpose
VCI convened an Appalachia-focused retreat on June 8-11, 2025 in Pembroke, Virginia to find innovative and scalable ways to center nature and climate as pillars for a new Appalachian economy.
Appalachia is suffering the effects of climate change by way of devastating natural disasters – especially more frequent and severe forest fires and floods – along with the scars, new and old, of extractive industries such as mining. However, Central Appalachia is projected to be the largest “climate refuge” in the United States by 2050, a potential population boom for which it is underprepared. Given the urgency of these two converging crises – economic disempowerment and cataclysmic events – there has perhaps never been a more timely opportunity to make a difference in Appalachia’s economic future. Participants were largely in agreement on the root causes of Appalachia’s main struggles, and many saw the recent political turmoil as an opportunity to find unity and effect large-scale change within the region: “Nobody is happy with the status quo… If everybody is [angry], surely we have something in common.” This retreat was dedicated to finding that common thread and using it to create a thriving, more resilient Appalachia.
Themes
The most commonly discussed themes surrounded identity, the impact of recent disasters in Appalachia, opening doors to collaboration, and making sense out of an intimidatingly complex network of funding opportunities and other resources:
Authenticity: Participants frequently re-centered conversations with reminders that any proposed solutions should actually serve the affected communities and people and incorporate their vision (synergy with local needs and capacities vs. imposing on them). Appalachia is a place where “the work… can’t be done to people, but must be done with them” to succeed.
Reframing Loss: Echoing the Mountain Lake Lodge ethos of centering “what we do have, instead of what we don’t,” participants sought to highlight what is special and valuable about Appalachia to find new ways of getting things done. So much has been lost from disasters, exploitation, and development in the region, along with the recent upheaval in federal funding; while it is important to leave space for grief, there is a need to uplift what still remains.
Securing and Aligning Resources: Especially in recent years, there is a need to find new methods of financing initiatives within Appalachia, both from outside investment and capitalizing on growing markets (e.g. fly fishing tourism) to create self-sustaining local economies. Barriers to accessing these resources need to be lowered.
Resilience and Restoration: Developing a local “restoration economy” in Appalachia that uses recovery work (construction, stream restoration, mitigation, etc.) as a means of keeping jobs and money within the region, with an added benefit of more rapid response to disasters.
Sustainable Network-Building: Designing ways to capitalize on the momentum from the retreat by creating a more sustainable network of relationships among participants, along with broadening the tent to other organizations. Creating a peer network of sorts to share ideas, resources, and support across sectors and regions.
Unity, not Uniformity: Participants were concerned with building a consistent narrative – “We’re all asked to speak at different conferences and meetings… what if we all said the same thing, had the same message across the board?”
challenges
By far the largest challenge – underscored at every step of the process – was the lack of financial stability throughout the region, both in terms of historically underserved communities and sudden funding losses following slashes to federal grants and programs. Some participants asked whether it was reasonable, or plausible, to attempt large-scale climate change initiatives in areas where people regularly struggle to meet their basic needs, especially those in disaster zones. Disparate financial impacts to organizations and groups across the region were also noted, with some groups now “trying to keep the lights on” and others moving along with little difficulty. Another frequent point of discussion was how to appropriately scale proposed solutions: in which cases did the group need to incorporate sub-regional issues, hyper-local needs/interests, and organizational capacities? Questions arose surrounding whether some initiatives, especially those hinging on significant financial support, could be effectively scaled to work on a larger scale – and whether those accurately captured the needs of the people without erasing certain groups. The sometimes-nebulous definition of Appalachia was highlighted – “When we’re talking about Appalachia, we’re each talking about a different place” – along with the need for relevance to each of these different places: “Some people’s worlds are just 100 miles wide. How do we make our broad messaging still relevant to their world?”
outcomes and action items
Three initiatives were developed at this retreat, focusing on finance, unity of messaging, and recovery:
Appalachian Natural Capital Navigator, developed to help reduce barriers to investment opportunities;
Appalachian Disaster Resiliency Summit, which aims to convene leaders at multiple scales to discuss natural disaster preparation, mitigation, response, and grief in Appalachia;
Appalachia Matters Campaign, an overarching initiative to create a network encompassing topics related to funding, branding, and identity in Appalachia, under which the other initiatives could be nested.
The three initiatives listed above were designed to support and amplify each others’ effects. Another notable idea, potentially a future event housed within the Appalachia Matters Campaign, was that of a multi-stop, long-term “moving family feast” through the Appalachians that celebrates the region’s diversity by sharing in that area’s unique cultural events, traditions, and foods at each stop.
looking forward
At closing, participants described a deeper connection to other perspectives, practices, and traditions: “[I’m] seeing and learning how we approach the same thing in different ways… [and] taking that home will make me better.” They expressed a renewed energy to continue broadening the tent “to bring in new people and ideas to the conversation because we were in this room together… [there’s] great hope, great momentum. We are going to do great things.” The design and facilitation was praised for its emphasis on relationship-building, providing opportunity for the group to forge deeper connections with one another; one participant noted that the retreat experience was “the first time I felt socially connected to others in the Appalachian region.” Some felt refreshed and galvanized by participating in a more diversified community of practice, expressing great power in unity – “Many of us carried a lot with us into here. I’m carrying more coming out, but it feels a lot lighter.” – and that “the smartest person in the room is the room.”
The retreat demonstrated that Appalachia’s greatest strength and potential comes from its diversity of practices, priorities, traditions, and identities – or, as one participant aptly described it, a single, powerful river of ideas flowing through the region: “There are a lot of wonderful tributaries here creating a powerful flow… I’m excited to run these rapids together.”
retreat focus
The Appalachians stretch some 2,000 miles from Newfoundland to Alabama, providing habitat to multitudes of plant and animal species and home to approximately 22 million people.Mature and old-growth forests in the Appalachian region are key to biodiversity, carbon storage, and regional livelihoods. As the region recovers from extreme weather disasters like Hurricane Helene and seeks sustainable economies, what can new economic and conservation models in the region look like?
We know that nature-based solutions have the potential to strengthen the region, but as we seek to protect these lands, we must also value regional livelihoods and economies. What are the community economic opportunities at the overlap between economic development, conservation, and climate? The goal of this retreat is to find innovative and scalable ways to center nature and climate as economic pillars for the new Appalachian economy. The retreat will focus on understanding common challenges, sharing best practices, building trust-based relationships, and finding collaborative strategies.
The gathering is designed as an opportunity for thought leaders from multiple sectors to slow down together and exchange ideas in a beautiful natural setting. We will work not only on policy, financial, and management solutions but also on the relationships that underlie transformative collaborations and open new pathways toward the systemic changes we seek.
Image credit: Appalachian Mountains Joint Ventures
Participant directory and Inspiration and Resources coming soon