Preservation of Selected Unreclaimed Strip-Mined Lands in Ohio

Some of the unreclaimed strip-mined lands in Ohio and similar areas of Appalachia constitute a valuable resource for educational, research and recreational purposes. Preservation of natural resources has focused on unique biological and geological resources of the state for inclusion in scenic, interpretive, or scientific preserves. Some of the unreclaimed strip-mined areas constitute unique scenic, scientific, and interpretive resources that could be incorporated into a preserve system, which could be expanded to permit numerous types of recreation suitable for unreclaimed areas. Criteria should be developed for the preservation of some of these unreclaimed areas before the most unique relicts of the Pre-Environmental Age are lost to the numerous reclamation programs now available. OHIO J. SCI. 79(4): 170, 1979 The extraction of mineral resources is usually accompanied by production of waste rock, tailings, and a hole in the ground that may or may not be visible. For centuries these residuals of mining have been considered nuisances, but part of the "price to be paid" in utilizing some of our geological resources. In some cases, the waste material was recovered for another use such as fill or road ballast, but often it simply marked the entrance to underground or surface workings. Some of these residuals not only changed the natural appearance of the landscape and caused visual pollution, but they also caused air and water pollution, thus degrading vital resources. The change of landscape and loss of resources was recognized by opponents of the mining industry more than 400 years ago. Agricola (1556) noted that " . the strongest argument of the detractors is that the fields are devastated by mining operations, for which reason formerly Italians were warned by law that no one should dig the earth for metals and so injure their very fertile fields, their vineyards, and their olive groves . ". He pointed out that when the ores are washed, the water released poisons into the brooks and streams and either deManuscript received 15 June 1978 and in revised form 8 January 1979 (#78-35). stroys the fish or drives them away. Therefore, "the inhabitants of these regions, on account of the devastation of their fields, woods, . and rivers, find great difficulty in procuring the necessaries of life . " Strip mining has existed in the United States for more than 100 years and in Ohio since 1914 (Dickman 1964). The need for more coal at economically acceptable prices in combination with technological advances in earth-moving equipment produced significant increases in the amount of coal obtained by surface-mining techniques in Ohio during the 1940's (Collins 1976). As a result, larger areas than around the tipple of the underground mine were subject to landscape modifications. In the past, there was little incentive to reclaim mined land and almost all operators followed the same procedures. The frontier mentality of unlimited resources in America and the absence of strip-mine laws combined to produce the legacy of unreclaimed strip mines in Ohio. In addition to the degradation of mined land, the effects of strip mining commonly extended beyond the mine itself. For example, valuable farmland and other resources in the drainage basin of the mine have often been ruined by acidmine drainage and siltation of streams