A state/federal team led by the State Regulatory Authorities and the Office of Surface Mining is working to get more high-value hardwood trees planted on reclaimed coal mined lands in Appalachia. The Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative (ARRI) will make use of partnerships between OSM, State Regulatory Authorities, academia, other government agencies, private groups, coal industry and land owners to reduce barriers to reforestation and provide assistance and encouragement to get more quality trees planted correctly on mined lands.

The ARRI leadership team held its first meeting May 25-26 in Charleston, WV, where Jim Taitt, Chief of OSM's Federal Programs Group in Pittsburgh, clearly laid out the group's mission. "This Regional effort is aimed at successfully planting trees on active and abandoned mine sites," said Taitt.

Importance of Forests

Forests are important to the people of Appalachia for many reasons.

Trees are a good investment -- High quality timber can offer substantial revenue for landowners and job opportunities for local residents.

Forestland is environmentally important -- Forests minimize soil erosion and remove carbon dioxide from the air. Forests also provide habitat for wildlife and diverse plant species and help conserve water resources. Planting trees restores forests for use as outdoor recreational areas that provide areas to hunt, hike, bike and camp.

"Forestland is one of our few natural resources that can be used and then replaced," said Victor Davis, OSM, Knoxville Field Office, TN.

Overcoming Barriers

One of the Team's first tasks will be to address barriers that have hampered reforestation in the past. Brent Wahlquist, Regional Director of OSM's Appalachian Region, has identified three kinds of barriers he believes need to be overcome to achieve effective reforestation.

First are technical barriers, including soil compaction, competition from other plants and establishing a suitable growth medium. Such barriers need to be identified and solutions developed and disseminated through research and technology transfer.

Even more difficult to overcome will be cultural barriers that have developed over decades within the mining industry and among regulators preventing the use of effective reforestation techniques. Both groups have come to expect and prefer that mined areas be restored as smoothly-graded areas that are densely covered with grasses and legumes.

"This misguided belief and culture is pervasive," said Paul Rothman, Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet, KY. "We all need to embrace and promote sound reforestation practices." Wahlquist says there is also a false perception that regulatory barriers impede using effective reforestation techniques and make obtaining bond release for areas planted in trees more difficult. During the ARRI meeting Becky Hatmaker, OSM, Knoxville Field Office, TN, discussed "Changing the Reclamation Culture." She emphasized that compacted soil is not appropriate for growing trees. Hatmaker outlined the Federal Regulations dealing with the reforestation effort and concluded that the Federal Regulations and FRA are compatible.

"Before the federal (Surface Mining Act), surface mines were planted primarily with trees. After the federal law, however, grasses and legumes were emphasized and trees took a back seat," said Patrick Angel, Team Leader, OSM, London, KY. "As a result, many acres of reclaimed surface mines in Appalachia are now grasslands that will take a long time to become forests again."

"There is no reason to feel we did anything wrong," said Davis, "Now we have the technology to try to change the culture and that is what we intend to do."

Forestry Reclamation Approach

As it works to overcome cultural barriers, the ARRI team intends to use the Forestry Reclamation Approach (FRA) to make it popular again to plant trees on mined lands.

The first of five steps using FRA is to create a suitable rooting medium for good tree growth that is no less than four feet deep and comprised of topsoil, weathered sandstone or the best available material. The second step is to loosely grade the topsoil or topsoil substitute to create a non-compacted growth medium.

"Heavily compacted sites result in a poor survival rate of trees," said Davis. "Initial research found that trees were growing better on sites that were mined prior to the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 primarily because of lower soil compaction rates."

The third step in FRA technology is to plant native and noncompetitive ground covers. Next, plant two types of trees, early succession species that provide for wildlife enhancement and soil stabilization and commercially valuable crop trees. Finally, use proper tree planting techniques.

The approach owes much to research done initially by Clark Ashby, formally of Southern Illinois University and Willis Vogel formally of the US Forest Service. Currently research is ongoing at the Starfire Reforestation Project through the University of Kentucky, under the direction of Dr. Donald Graves. Reforestation research also takes place at the Powell River Project, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University led by Dr. James Burger.

The ARRI team is also developing training to reeducate everyone involved with surface coal mining to eliminate barriers. "We expect to have the initial training up and running by the fall," said Hatmaker. A class hosted by the OSM National Technical Training Program, Washington DC is also in the planning phase.

ARRI Team leaders are Davis, Hatmaker, Rothman and Scott Eggerud, West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, Office of Mining and Reclamation. State members are: Richard Davis, Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy; Jeff Emmons, Ohio Department of Natural Resources; Mike Garner, Maryland Department of Environment; Butch Lambert, Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy; and Nevin Strock, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

OSM team members are: Angel, Bill Arnett, Michael Bower, Brad Edwards, Peter Hartman, Michael Hiscar, Isaac Isaacson, Linda Keene, Stephen Rathbun, and Taitt.

For more information on reforestation of coal mined lands contact: Victor Davis (865) 545-4103 ext. 139, vdavis@osmre.gov; Becky Hatmaker (865)545-4103 ext. 148, bhatmaker@osmre.gov; Paul Rothman (502)564-6940, paul.rothman@ky.gov; or Scott Eggerud (304)759-0510, seggerud@wvdep.org.