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The Nature Conservancy, Virginia DMME, and Virginia Tech Establish an Innovative Mined Land Reforestation Project

Conservation partners collaborate on first carbon sequestration effort in the Clinch Valley

ABINGDON, VA — March 17, 2008 — The Nature Conservancy; the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (DMME); and Virginia Tech are undertaking their first joint effort to reforest a former surface mine. The project is designed to restore approximately 80 acres of native Appalachian forest and thereby increase the absorption of carbon dioxide, one of the main greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.

The partners have selected the 86-acre Flint Gap site, owned by The Forestland Group, in Russell County near the community of Dante. Until reforestation efforts began this past November, the site was mostly covered in grasses and non-native shrubs. Researchers from Virginia Tech have established a protocol for measuring the amount of additional carbon dioxide that will be sequestered once native hardwoods are established and begin growing. 

With thousands of acres of former mined lands potentially available for reforestation, this important pilot project will provide a scientific basis for demonstrating that mined-land reforestation is a viable strategy for improving both air and water quality. 

Carbon sequestration is the process through which forestry or agricultural practices remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, sequestration activities can help reduce the impacts of climate change by enhancing the storage of carbon in trees and soils.  Reforestation has the added benefit of improving watershed conditions, something of critical importance in Virginia’s Clinch River Valley, which harbors one of the highest concentrations of at-risk aquatic species in North America.

“Climate change presents one of the greatest environmental challenges in human history, but through innovative science we are developing pragmatic solutions that can reduce the pace and impact of climate change,” said Brad Kreps, who directs the Conservancy’s Clinch Valley Program. “Its legacy of coal mining and its globally significant biological diversity make the Clinch Valley an excellent setting to strike a balance between our nation’s energy needs and desire to conserve forests and reduce carbon emissions.”

The Clinch Valley contains vast expanses of native Appalachian forest and nearly three dozen species of globally rare mussels and fish. Twenty-two are federally listed as threatened or endangered. In addition to its global ecological importance, the Clinch River offers many opportunities for people to enjoy its beauty through canoeing, fishing, wildlife watching and camping. Keeping the Clinch River and its surrounding forests healthy also protects water quality in a region where many citizens depend on the river as a source of clean drinking water.

Coal mining is an important element of southwestern Virginia’s economy and way of life, but it is also a source of environmental stress. Large portions of the Clinch and Powell river valleys have been subject to coal mining since the late 1800s. While an increasing number of coal mines in Virginia are being reclaimed with tree plantings, there are still thousands of acres that, due to compaction and low productivity, struggle to return to their native forest cover.  

“Through this pilot project we hope to demonstrate that, with the right approach, former mined lands can once again become healthy and productive native forests,” said Richard Davis, a reclamation specialist with Virginia DMME.  “The effective reforestation of mined lands is something that our agency has committed itself to, and we hope to undertake more of these projects in the future.”

The primary source of funding for this effort comes through a consent decree between Dominion Resources and the Environmental Protection Agency. The agreement and the projects resulting from it are designed to create air and water quality benefits. The Nature Conservancy, other organizations and state agencies submitted proposals to Dominion to conduct the environmental mitigation projects required by the settlement. The American Bird Conservancy is also a supporter of this project.

Last winter, the Conservancy and DMME prepared the site for planting by cutting, mulching and shearing all surface vegetation; fertilizing and liming the property to ensure proper nutrient and pH levels for tree growth; and tilling the soil to reduce compaction and allow space for hardwood trees to grow. In February, contractors for the Conservancy and DMME planted a mix of native hardwood seedlings on the site.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at nature.org.