Issue 8

How to Reclaim Coal-Mined Land to Forest

Formed in 2003, the Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative (ARRI) is a coalition of groups, including citizens, industry, and government (including the Forest Service), dedicated to restoring forests on coal-mined lands in the Eastern United States.

ARRI advocates a five-step forestry reclamation approach:

1. Create a suitable rooting medium no less than 4 feet deep and made up of topsoil, weathered sandstone, and/or the best available material.

2. Loosely grade the topsoil or topsoil substitute to create a noncompacted growth medium.

3. Use ground covers that are compatible with growing trees.

4. Plant two types of trees—early successional species for wildlife and soil stability, and commercially valuable crop trees.

5. Use proper tree planting techniques. The specifics for each of these steps are available from the ARRI Web site under Forest Reclamation Advisories or at arri.osmre.gov/PDFs/FRA_No.2.pdf.

Funded by the Forest Service, Chris Barton, assistant professor of forest hydrology at the University of Kentucky, made a 30-minute video explaining the process. You can watch it as streaming video on the Southern Regional Extension Forestry Web site at sref.info/video/reclaiming or you can order the DVD through the New Products Section (see page 42).

For more information: ARRI: arri.osmre.gov/

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