Did you know: there are 1.5 million acres of abandoned mine land in Appalachia?

Did you know: that thousands of those acres are in West Virgina?

Did you know: abandoned mine lands can be cleaned up and used for all kinds of projects?

Keep reading to find out more!

One and a half million acres of mine scarred lands rest in the Appalachian Mountains that were once home to some of the most diverse and wonderful creatures in America. The thousands of coal mining sites had once produced a needed fuel, provided jobs to the local people, as well as contained irreplaceable ecosystems for creatures of Appalachia, are now abandoned. The barren lands that had been mined prior to the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act in 1977 left these areas completely exposed, with little or no vegetation; heavily contributing to flooding and stream silting, adding to a blighted landscape. The Land Use Planning Program’s purpose is to begin returning environmental stability to the damaged mountainous terrain and in the process, transform abandoned mine land into community assets.

A stream contaminated by AMD

In Mullens, West Virginia an OSM/VISTA operating out of the office of the Rural Appalachian Improvement League, Inc. (RAIL) will design and put into practice the Land Use Planning Program. The OSM/VISTA will collect information pertaining to abandoned mind land (AML) from the eight eastern coal producing states. Although this study is being done in Southern West Virginia, it can be tailored for use in any area dealing with damage done by the mining industry.

The main focus is to raise awareness of the different ways the land is usable after its natural resources have been tapped into, as well as pinpointing the best option for continuing economic growth in the area. Some of the current reclaimed lands have been used for farming of food, timber – which has aided in reducing carbon dioxide- or fuel, including wind and solar. Along with those projects, housing complexes, golf courses, and airports have been developed on AML.

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