Dear State Agency Official,

I am writing to encourage you to deny the permit request to allow large scale gold mining in our state.  If you have visited Southwest Virginia and viewed some of the land that has been raped by mining companies and then abandoned, you would clearly understand the harm that such acts causes not only to the environment, but also to the communities left behind to deal with the loss of jobs, the abandoned buildings, the washing away of land during storms and the flooding and landslides that has become more prevalent in our communities.

Our communities need sustainable, safe, forms of economy building, not efforts that disrespect our land and provides short-term job opportunities. Please vote no on this request.

Respectfully submitted,

Tracey L. Wright