Marvin Winstead Jr. is a stellar example of how one person's stand against an environmental threat can influence an entire movement, and lead to victories for a community that extends far beyond the borders of his own property.
Winstead, a leader in North Carolina's Medoc Group and a member of the N.C. Chapter's executive committee, passed away on Dec. 18, 2024, at the age of 74. The remaining year of his term on the excom is being filled by our treasurer, Dave Keesee of the Orange-Chatham Group.
Marvin was raised and lived on a Nash County farm that inspired his love of nature and land conservancy. His first career was in education, as guidance counselor at Wilson Technical Community College and Southern Nash High School. Later, he focused on his agricultural roots with a hay and feed delivery business that served many local horse owners.
Marvin's activism was sparked in 2013, when he learned that Duke and Dominion's proposed $7 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) was to bisect his farm. He was one of only a handful of landowners who refused to sign an easement agreement for the pipeline project, and fought the utilities' eminent domain claim in court at his own expense for years.
"He quickly became an expert on the issue and a leader of the fight against it," said longtime Medoc Group leader Ben Barnes.
Caroline Hansley, senior field organizer with the Club's Beyond Dirty Fuels campaign, recalled Marvin's passion for the fight, and the personal heartache he felt over the felling of a 100-year-old pine tree – a favorite of his late mother's – during the project's intrusion.
"All they care about is getting their pipe in the ground and pumping gas through it," Marvin told Indy Week newspaper for a story about the project's lingering damage. "No concern over what they do to the landowners, or to the community, and they’re certainly not concerned about what they’re doing to the world at large by expanding the use of natural gas."
Hansley encouraged him to team up with the Sierra Club; he was also allied with some of the other environmental organizations fighting the ACP's planned route across Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina, such as the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, Clean Water for North Carolina, (CWFNC), NCWARN, and Democracy NC.
"He brought fellow Medoc member and impacted landowner Joe Polland as well as Belinda Joyner of CWFNC with us to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2020," Hansley recalled.
The team effort resulted in cancellation of the ACP project in July 2020. The Beyond Dirty Fuels campaign continues to fight pipeline and fracked gas projects in North Carolina and nationwide; you can contact Caroline Hansley for ways to get involved in our state.
"Marvin will be sorely missed, and he inspired so many to fight the ACP and other pipelines," Hansley said. "He was a large figure in North Carolina's environmental community, and we are grateful to have fought with him."
In Marvin's honor, the Sierra Club plans to hold a screening of an Appalachian Voices documentary about the ACP fight, "Not on This Land," in the spring. Keep an eye on our Events calendar for a posting with details.
In addition to his environmental activism, Marvin appreciated the beauty of nature. He was an avid paddler who taught other kayakers, participating in Medoc Group outings and a "No ACP" paddle on the Tar River in 2017.
Though the ACP fight brought Marvin into the Sierra Club, his dedication and leadership continued after that battle was won. He joined the Medoc Group's executive committee in 2018, and had been serving on the Chapter's executive committee since 2022.
"We'll certainly miss his energy, passion and knowledge," the Medoc Group's Barnes said.
He also served as the Chapter's representative to the Sierra Club's Council of Club Leaders, which represents all Chapters to the Club's national board of directors.
"Marvin came to the Sierra Club as someone who wanted to work with others against a threat to the environment directly around him," said Katie Tomberlin, the N.C. Chapter's chair. "He quickly saw the bigger need to protect the environment for all people, and he stepped up to do just that. He will be an inspiration to us now and for years to come."
More news stories, videos and podcasts featuring Marvin's work to fight the ACP:
- Video: Protesters oppose pipeline in Nash County. News & Observer, Nov. 19, 2016
- Debate rages as Atlantic Coast Pipeline nears construction. News & Observer, July 23, 2017
- Podcast: The Land I Trust: The Pipeline (Season 1, Episode 1). Sierra Club.
Podcast: Stories of Celebration Along the Proposed Pathway of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. In Our Backyard Podcast, Aug. 14, 2020.