Bass Pro Shops Founder Johnny Morris Calls for Rejection of Proposed Valley Link Route

Johnny Morris wrote:

“Almost Heaven, West Virginia…” Any time we hear John Denver’s heartwarming song, we’re transported back to mornings watching the mist rise off the Blue Ridge and feeling the soft current of the Shenandoah beneath a drift boat. Everyone who has ever hunted, fished, hiked, or camped in this cathedral of nature knows in their bones that this is one of the most wild and wonderful places on God’s great earth.

That is why we were shocked and saddened to learn about a proposal by Valley Link for a 260-mile, 765-kilovolt transmission line that would clear-cut over 6,300 acres across 20 West Virginia counties, part of the Shenandoah Valley, terminating in Frederick County, Maryland. This would rip through a place where life is truly “older than the trees”—living waters, ancient timbered ridges, historic battlefields, and family farms, some of which have been in the same family since the 1700s.

A thought shared by many of our customers gets right to the point: there has to be a better way.

As Americans, we all know reliable electricity and energy security are vital to our economy and our communities. But progress cannot come at the expense of flattening centuries-old family farms, fragmenting vast stretches of forest, and scarring hallowed ground we cherish, including Civil War battlefields and properties owned by George Washington’s family. The proposed route cuts directly through timberlands that provide habitat for white-tailed deer and wild turkeys, and impacts waters celebrated for smallmouth bass and alive with bald eagles and blue herons. Once you carve a 200-foot-wide industrial path and erect 180-foot-tall towers throughout these woods and waterways, the damage is heartbreaking and irreversible.

As fellow sportsmen and conservationists, we can all be proud of what we’ve done together to champion conservation and defend our sporting heritage. Before tearing through unspoiled land, utility partners and regulators owe it to future generations to consider other less damaging routes. And we must exhaust every modern, common-sense, low-impact engineering alternative. By utilizing existing disturbed rights-of-way, upgrading current transmission corridors with advanced conductors, and exploring underground technologies where appropriate, we can power America without triggering one of the largest clear-cutting endeavors in West Virginia history.

We are inspired by and feel deeply compelled to stand steadfast alongside the landowners, sportsmen and women, farmers, and community leaders who are rising up to conserve one of America’s most iconic wild landscapes. We’re honored to join with our friends in West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland, who are urging public authorities to reject this currently proposed route and method and go back to the drawing board. We hope you’ll stand alongside us to honor and protect the birthplace of Country Roads.

Let’s stand united. We are proud to stand steadfast beside you in conservation, together we can continue to make a big difference.

Johnny MorrisFounder, Bass Pro Shops