Commentary: A Revised Appalachian Homestead Act – Reclaiming Land and Restoring Hope

Commentary: A Revised Appalachian Homestead Act – Reclaiming Land and Restoring Hope

Introduction In 2016, I proposed in the Daily Yonder an Appalachian Homestead Act—a plan to redistribute land from bankrupt coal companies and absentee owners to local residents for housing, farming, sustainable forestry, and pioneering economic ventures.  Nearly a decade later, the case for that vision has only strengthened. Central Appalachia—particularly the coalfield counties of Eastern Kentucky, Southwest Virginia, Eastern Tennessee, and So…