Ohio family restores 60 acres of abandoned mine land with native trees

Rep ese tative
image

I
a
small
u al
co e
of
Jackso
Cou ty,
Ohio,
whe e
the
hills
still
bea
the
sca s
of
coal
mi i g,
o e
family
chose
to
celeb ate
Ame ica’s
250th
a ive sa y
this
yea
ot
with
fi ewo ks
o
pa ades,
but
with
shovels,
seedli gs
a d
a
p omise
to
heal
the
la d.
Thei
60-ac e
p ope ty,
a
fo me
Aba do ed
Mi e
La d
(AML)
site
fo
mo e
tha
two
decades,
had
lo g
bee
a
visible
emi de
of
the
egio ’s
i dust ial
past.
Now,
it
is
becomi g
pa t
of
a
ew
sto y;
o e
of
fo ests,
wildlife
a d
g owth,
acco di g
to
U.S.
Depa tme t
of
the
I te io –
Office
of
Su face
Mi i g
Reclamatio
a d
E fo ceme t.A
visio
bo
du i g
the
pa demicThe
la dow e s
fi st
co tacted
fo este s
f om
the
Appalachia
Regio al
Refo estatio
I itiative
(ARRI)
i
2021,
at
a
time
whe
the
COVID-19
pa demic
was
cha gi g
how
people
looked
at
thei
homes
a d
backya ds.
Like
ma y
families
spe di g
mo e
time
o
thei
la d,
they
bega
to
see
the
pote tial
fo
somethi g
bette .
They
asked
if
the
la d
could
be
eclaimed
a d
epla ted
with
ative
t ees
to
suppo t
wildlife
a d
b i g
the
ecosystem
back.Because
the
site
clea ly
i volved
AML
mi i g
impacts,
the
la dow e s
we e
efe ed
to
the
state
pa t e ,
the
Ohio
Aba do ed
Mi e
La d
(AML)
P og am,
to
evaluate
the
p ope ty
a d,
if
eligible,
move
it
i to
the
eclamatio
p ocess.

Despite
pa demic- elated
delays,
the
p oject
moved
fo wa d.
I
the
followi g
yea s,
the
la dow e s
wo ked
closely
with
the
Ohio
AML
P og am
i
collabo atio
with
ARRI.
Togethe ,
they
walked
the
site,
discussed
optio s
a d
efi ed
a
esto atio
pla .The
scie ce
of
efo estatio The
Office
of
Su face
Mi i g
Reclamatio
a d
E fo ceme t
(OSMRE)
is
the
fede al
age cy
that
wo ks
with
states
a d
t ibes
to
e su e
active
coal
mi es
a e
eclaimed
a d
that
aba do ed
mi e
la ds
a e
add essed.
ARRI,
lau ched
i
2004,
p omotes
the
efo estatio
of
p eviously
mi ed
la ds
ac oss
Appalachia.
ARRI’s
missio
is
to
use
scie ce-based
tech iques
to
tu
legacy
sites,
active
coal
mi es
a d
AML
la ds
back
i to
healthy,
dive se
fo ests.
The
i itiative
emphasises
pla ti g
ative
t ees,
imp ovi g
soil
co ditio s
a d
esto i g
wildlife
habitat
so
these
la ds
ca
agai
p ovide
e vi o me tal,
eco omic
a d
commu ity
be efits
fo
ge e atio s.Fo
the
Jackso
Cou ty
p oject,
the
Ohio
AML
P og am
led
the
eclamatio
wo k
by
g adi g
a d
stabilisi g
the
site
a d
add essi g
safety
a d
e vi o me tal
co ce s.
Afte
this
wo k
was
completed,
ARRI
p i ciples
guided
the
efo estatio
phase.
App oximately
700
ative
t ee
seedli gs
pe
ac e
we e
pla ted
to
establish
a
t ue
fo est,
athe
tha
scatte ed
t ees,
a d
to
set
the
la d
o
a
path
towa d
lo g-te m
ecological
a d
eco omic
value.A
“F eedom
250”
pla ti g
dayJackso
Cou ty
has
a
lo g
coal
mi i g
histo y
a d
was
o ce
o e
of
Ohio’s
impo ta t
mi i g
egio s.
This
p oject
is
pa t
of
a
b oade
effo t
to
e su e
that
this
legacy
i cludes
esto ed
fo ests
athe
tha
aba do ed
la dscapes.
With
suppo t
f om
the
Aba do ed
Mi e
La d
Eco omic
Revitalizatio
(AMLER)
p og ams
a d
ARRI,
ma y
sites
ac oss
Appalachia
a e
bei g
eclaimed
a d
efo ested.
This
p oject
sta ds
out
fo
the
la dow e s’
deep
pe so al
commitme t
a d
thei
active
collabo atio
with
state
a d
fede al
pa t e s.This
sp i g,
afte
ea ly
five
yea s
of
pla i g,
delays
a d
coo di atio
amo g
pa t e s,
the
la dow e s’
visio
became
a
eality.
The
family
hosted
a
“F eedom
250”
t ee
pla ti g
day
o
the
eclaimed
site.
Seve al
ge e atio s
gathe ed
to
ha d-pla t
seedli gs
ac oss
a
2-ac e
a ea,
while
a
p ofessio al
t ee
pla ti g
c ew
pla ted
the
emai i g
58
ac es,
acco di g
to
the
epo t.Th oughout
the
eve t,
the
family
flew
a
“F eedom
250”
flag
i
ho ou
of
the
atio ’s
250
yea s
of
i depe de ce.
They
pla ted
hu d eds
of
ative
seedli gs
i
memo y
of
thei
g a dmothe ,
who
did
ot
live
to
see
the
mi e
esto ed.
Sta di g
togethe
o
ewly
pla ted
g ou d,
the
family
a d
pa t e s
could
see
the
t a sfo matio
of
a
you g
fo est.A
model
fo
the
futu eThe
Jackso
Cou ty
p oject
is
mo e
tha
just
a
t ee
pla ti g.
It
is
a
model
fo
how
aba do ed
mi e
la ds
ca
be
t a sfo med
i to
th ivi g
ecosystems
that
be efit
both
people
a d
atu e.
This
p oject
i volved
ma y
pa t e s
i cludi g
the
Ohio
AML
P og am,
ARRI,
OSMRE
a d
the
la dow e s
themselves.Today
the
site
featu es
ative
t ees,
imp oved
soil
co ditio s
a d
a
esto ed
wildlife
habitat.
It’s
a
place
fo
child e
to
lea
about
atu e,
fo
families
to
e joy
time
togethe
i
the
outdoo s
a d
fo
wildlife
to
flou ish.The
people
of
Jackso
Cou ty
a e
p oud
of
this
p oject.”
It
emi ds
us
that
deg aded
la d
ca
be
esto ed,
that
eve
a
small
i vestme t
ca
b i g
big
etu s,
a d
that
eve
a
si gle
family
ca
make
a
diffe e ce.As
the
su
sets
behi d
the
hills
of
Ohio
a d
the
bi ds
come
back
to
oost
i
the
t ees,
this
60-ac e
fo est
is
a
livi g
symbol
of
what
ca
happe
whe
we
decide
to
esto e
athe
tha
aba do ,
to
pla t
athe
tha
ext act
a d
to
i vest
fo
the
futu e
athe
tha
fo
the
mome t.

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